Looking for a good source to replace the leaking DS front shock.
Thanks
Thanks
AHC shock replacement source...NOT conversion as the search engine suggests
- Thread starter BullElk
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DM me I just took out the AHC system and have the front shocks and other components
I still think you should check your pressures first. If nothing else, give the torsion bars a few blinds cranks to see if the leaking slows, but not too far making it floaty.
- Thread starter
- #4
New fluid in reservoir completely leaked out in like two days. So maybe more than pressure related. I really don't know.
Oh yeah, that seems like a bigger problem. Sorry, I don't have any advice on best place to get one or how to do it.
Lots of take-offs available. If you just want a working replacement, give @cruiseroutfit a shout, since they do a lot of AHC-to-caveman-suspension downgrades...I mean conversions!
Personally, I'd love to find some easily-sourced hydraulic cylinders, maybe from a heavy equipment manufacturer, with matching OEM specs but with longer stroke lengths.
Personally, I'd love to find some easily-sourced hydraulic cylinders, maybe from a heavy equipment manufacturer, with matching OEM specs but with longer stroke lengths.
Internally our shock actuators have a progressive style shock washer stack with a ported piston which will differentiate them from most anything else easily sourced unfortunately. And increased stroke lengths would mean increased fluid displacement so the damper accumulators would need to be upsized in volume too, and probably charged to higher pressures, to make sure the diaphragms aren’t over flexed and to ensure the extra displaced fluid has somewhere to go to avoid hydraulic lock up as you approach the end of a compression stroke. Fitting the greater volume/pressure rear OEM accumulators to the front would probably resolve these issues, but then what do you do for the rear as the aftermarket accumulators currently available now actually have slightly less volume than OEM fronts.
That's a great point about the increased volume. A set of OEM rear globes on the front would solve the volume, as you said, and the lower resulting spring rate from the higher gas volume could be addressed with non-AHC t-bars, maybe. The rear would have to stay as it is. Can you explain what you mean about the shock actuators? Everything I've seen pretty much dismisses them as plain old hydraulic rams with all the magic happening at the 16 step valves on the frame rails.
Internally the shock actuators [i don’t use the term ram or cylinder for them] are different to simple conventional hydraulic “power” rams or cylinders that provide force in one or both directions. Primarily the piston is ported so it provides some damping on compression/rebound. There’s also a washer stack that looks to me to a progressive configuration.
You are a wealth of knowledge, as always! I'd love to see an actuator rebuild tutorial for replacing leaky o-rings.
Rebuilding would be good but Mr T didn’t want us to disassemble these things - no end cap or such.
I wonder if the actuator shaft assembly could be transferred to a serviceable shock body? I know it's done for other applications (eg. motorcycles).
The hollow actuator shaft is welded to the outer external upper shock body, the internal working cylinder is pressed into the lower shock body tube with its seal assembly and the piston/valve stack/nut holds the upper and lower sections together at full extension. Not designed for disassembly unfortunately.
So basically, no way to repair a shock actuator once the seals go? I better start buying up all these deleted AHC parts!
- Thread starter
- #15
Well, while LX was on the rack and the old shock had to be cut off, I then find out I received the wrong shock from Benzeen Auto in Cali. That was a Friday afternoon. I scramble and order a new shock from LaGrange Toyota on Friday at 4:00. I paid $174 including two day shipping. It arrived at 9:00 am Monday morning. On truck after lunch good as new. Also turned torsion bars a few times to relieve pressure. Thankfully @PADDO steered me thru this successful process.
While going to lunch with my wife today she said....”It rode great on the main roads today but I could still feel these bumps in the road” (pictured). I’m like look, precious, I know it’s an LX but it’s not a hovercraft for crying out loud.
While going to lunch with my wife today she said....”It rode great on the main roads today but I could still feel these bumps in the road” (pictured). I’m like look, precious, I know it’s an LX but it’s not a hovercraft for crying out loud.
interesting stuff thanks for posting, looks like one could salvage the shaft and just get a serviceable lower section made with a threaded body and lower mount so you can adjust the working height for lifted cruisers...