Hey fellas,
Back in late 2007, my AHC ride was feeling loose, and sometimes felt like a blown shock. Small undulating bumps were rough, but not like a stiff shock (one symptom of flat accumulator) but more like a blown out strut (very soft and not dampened). This made the truck sway funny on uneven roads. I had approx 100k miles on it.
I found out about Keith Bowers (Texasoil) and B and B suspension. I thought I'd give it a try and ordered the globes. $1432 (shipped). All I can say about this is his packaging sucks.
Anyway, the 4 actuators were eventually installed, and the fronts felt good, the rears felt super stiff... (like the accumulators were overcharged, or flat). I told Keith and he immediately sent out another set for the rear. I just installed them yesterday, and the results were good. (Keith, I'm sending the old pair to you asap).
As for installation, here's a few things I went through:
-Put a jack on the middle of the frame, on the side you are working on. Then open the bleed screw SLOWLY. When the pressure is off, on all 4 corners, you can now remove the old globes.
-A Ford fan wrench from Kragen ($25) worked perfectly to remove the stock oem globes. I installed the aftermarket globes by hand, nice and snug. I don't think they will come off by themselves.
-The larger globes went on the rear (like oem setup).
-A bracket for the running board had to be loosened up to make a little room to install the front/left B&B globe. After the globe is in, the bracket can be retightened no problem.
-Bleeding the AHC: This might be overkill, but it worked well for me... First fill the AHC reservoir w/ new fluid. I went up to 3/4 tank full. Then i started the engine, and hit the AHC switch to Hi... then N... then Low... and back to High (waiting to make sure the pump finished for each level). Then I bled the globe starting from the rear. Make sure to crack open the bleeder screw very slow. I would bleed it but stop before the suspension was fully down. I didn't use a jack at all for bleeding.
-I started the engine, raised/lowered/raised the AHC, shut off engine, and then bleed 1 globe... for EACH globe. This way I knew each one was under pressure when bled. I bled the fronts 2 times for each globe, and 3 times for each rear ones... which means I started the engine and cycled the AHC 10 times total.
This may not be totally necessary, but it worked great... plus it's easy. Time consuming, but easy.
-I went through 1.5 cans of Toyota AHC fluid... I think that's enough to flush the old fuild out.
I went through some ordeal to get to this point, but the actual AHC globes were easy to replace and flush.
'EDIT- The ride is still a bit on the stiff side, still trying to figure this out. Definitely better than the worn out oem AHC actuator globes, but still not the same Lexus ride I'm looking for. (this truck is bone stock... not looking to lift or replace w/ normal shocks.
Back in late 2007, my AHC ride was feeling loose, and sometimes felt like a blown shock. Small undulating bumps were rough, but not like a stiff shock (one symptom of flat accumulator) but more like a blown out strut (very soft and not dampened). This made the truck sway funny on uneven roads. I had approx 100k miles on it.
I found out about Keith Bowers (Texasoil) and B and B suspension. I thought I'd give it a try and ordered the globes. $1432 (shipped). All I can say about this is his packaging sucks.
Anyway, the 4 actuators were eventually installed, and the fronts felt good, the rears felt super stiff... (like the accumulators were overcharged, or flat). I told Keith and he immediately sent out another set for the rear. I just installed them yesterday, and the results were good. (Keith, I'm sending the old pair to you asap).
As for installation, here's a few things I went through:
-Put a jack on the middle of the frame, on the side you are working on. Then open the bleed screw SLOWLY. When the pressure is off, on all 4 corners, you can now remove the old globes.
-A Ford fan wrench from Kragen ($25) worked perfectly to remove the stock oem globes. I installed the aftermarket globes by hand, nice and snug. I don't think they will come off by themselves.
-The larger globes went on the rear (like oem setup).
-A bracket for the running board had to be loosened up to make a little room to install the front/left B&B globe. After the globe is in, the bracket can be retightened no problem.
-Bleeding the AHC: This might be overkill, but it worked well for me... First fill the AHC reservoir w/ new fluid. I went up to 3/4 tank full. Then i started the engine, and hit the AHC switch to Hi... then N... then Low... and back to High (waiting to make sure the pump finished for each level). Then I bled the globe starting from the rear. Make sure to crack open the bleeder screw very slow. I would bleed it but stop before the suspension was fully down. I didn't use a jack at all for bleeding.
-I started the engine, raised/lowered/raised the AHC, shut off engine, and then bleed 1 globe... for EACH globe. This way I knew each one was under pressure when bled. I bled the fronts 2 times for each globe, and 3 times for each rear ones... which means I started the engine and cycled the AHC 10 times total.
This may not be totally necessary, but it worked great... plus it's easy. Time consuming, but easy.
-I went through 1.5 cans of Toyota AHC fluid... I think that's enough to flush the old fuild out.
I went through some ordeal to get to this point, but the actual AHC globes were easy to replace and flush.
'EDIT- The ride is still a bit on the stiff side, still trying to figure this out. Definitely better than the worn out oem AHC actuator globes, but still not the same Lexus ride I'm looking for. (this truck is bone stock... not looking to lift or replace w/ normal shocks.
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