AHC Replacement Cost

[CT511]

I have a 2007 LC with about 230k on it. I haven’t had any problems with the AHC to this point but the globes are pretty rusted and I want to tear the AHC out and replace it with a non-hydraulic kit, almost certainly one of the kits from Slee.

I like the AHC but I also drive the truck about 600 miles to a vacation spot several times a year, that requires a bit of ground clearance once there. Really don’t want to get stuck on Low with three dogs, gear, etc. in the middle of a 1200mi round trip.

I don’t have the time (or admittedly the skill) to remove all the AHC equipment and replace it with an OME kit or whatnot, so I’ll have a shop do it if possible. My questions are, what is an approximate cost to both remove the AHC and replace with traditional suspension? Also, would a regular shop have the technical skill to remove the AHC completely? I would love to have a Cruiser specific shop do it but live in CT...not exactly a 4WD haven.

 

[nothappening]

I have passively researched this in the past, but have not actually gone through with the conversion myself. I remember reading about someone having it done at Iron Pig near D.C. for around $1700-$2000 with one of the Slee kits. I asked my mechanic about having it done and it sounded like he hadn't done it before and had a few questions if that's the route we were going to take. I don't go to a LC specialty shop but my mechanic has owned multiple LC and is very familiar with them. I'm not sure if your average Toyota specialty place will know how to do it (or be willing) unless they have someone familiar with the AHC system.

That being said, I'll probably make the trip to Iron Pig when it's time for me to do it as I would rather have someone with experience do the removal. Maybe someone in your area will chime in with a good shop.

Edit: Post #13 and #16 user agaisin is what I was referring to: Double Checking on AHC removal

 

[MongooseGA]

It's a job that I was willing to do, until my indy offered to swap everything out for $1,000.

So I paid $1000 and it was well worth it.

$2k... I might have done it myself.

 

[Leandro]

whatever you do, don't go to 4wheelparts.
they quoted me $650 in labor to do it, they had the truck for a week and didn't do it because it was rusty.
Ended up doing it myself on my driveway.
If you plan to just get rid of the AHC, you can cut everything out (struts, TB) and that will save you half of the time. It's not difficult to do it, just labor intensive in awkward positions, especially if you're 300lb like me.
after you finished you will swear over the bible that won't do that job again, but it creates a bigger bond with your truck and the satisfaction is immense.

 

[l3n0x]

If only the globes are bad (and you're sure that only the globes are bad), it's worth replacing the globes, as it costs around the same or even a bit less than a proper suspension kit, and the AHC is like 10 times better than a proper suspension kit.

 

[Brentok]

It's a job that I was willing to do, until my indy offered to swap everything out for $1,000.

So I paid $1000 and it was well worth it.

$2k... I might have done it myself.

Having done the delete recently myself, this seems pretty fair. Maybe really fair if they removed all the components, which is something I hope to never do again. Mine wasn't rusty. If it was, I'm pretty sure the components would still be on mine..

 

[MongooseGA]

Having done the delete recently myself, this seems pretty fair. Maybe really fair if they removed all the components, which is something I hope to never do again. Mine wasn't rusty. If it was, I'm pretty sure the components would still be on mine..

In reality, I'd just been double teamed by a semi + dump truck in a freshly built LC. The $1000 included stripping the new parts from the LC, putting some junk back on it to get it rolled out, and deleting AHC + installing new stuff on my LX.

In my case, highly worth it.

 

[1point4]

This is what I got quoted now in December 2024 to remove the AHC. Seems very high, doesn't it?

 

[delz05]

View attachment 3796905

This is what I got quoted now in December 2024 to remove the AHC. Seems very high, doesn't it?

That is crazy high... maybe the mechanics are too!!!

The shop I work at has done quite a few AHC deletes these past few years, due to line rot. It only takes about 6-8 hours to remove all the components and install a new suspension system. Then another hour for alignment... Shop rate is 145.00/hr.