AHC Suspension Conversion (IronMan Foam Cell vs. OldManEmu) (1 Viewer)

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Hahha awesome! Essentially you got the brand new suspension and CV. That’s awesome!

I've learned on other suspension builds about the "yin and yang" relationship between components and enhancements. On suspensions that are over 20 years and 200,000 miles, new bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, rubber components will let an old rig drive and handle like new.
 
I loved my AHC but the time has come. The AHC on my 05 LX470 is toast. Car skips across the road on bumps. Was going to go Tough Dog becasue of the great reviews and positive feed back on Jason who works there. Sadly nothing is available but Iron Man is having a 25% off sale right now on kits. For the full stage 3 Nitro kit its almost $500 off. My thought is I can upgrade the shocks to Tough Dog and change springs when I get closer to 300K miles. The AHC did ride great until about 170K. And as nice as it is, I'm over the worries.
 
I loved my AHC but the time has come. The AHC on my 05 LX470 is toast. Car skips across the road on bumps. Was going to go Tough Dog becasue of the great reviews and positive feed back on Jason who works there. Sadly nothing is available but Iron Man is having a 25% off sale right now on kits. For the full stage 3 Nitro kit its almost $500 off. My thought is I can upgrade the shocks to Tough Dog and change springs when I get closer to 300K miles. The AHC did ride great until about 170K. And as nice as it is, I'm over the worries.
I'm in the same boat. TD is about $600 more than foam cell pro (with discount). Not sure which one to go with.
 
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I loved my AHC but the time has come. The AHC on my 05 LX470 is toast. Car skips across the road on bumps. Was going to go Tough Dog becasue of the great reviews and positive feed back on Jason who works there. Sadly nothing is available but Iron Man is having a 25% off sale right now on kits. For the full stage 3 Nitro kit its almost $500 off. My thought is I can upgrade the shocks to Tough Dog and change springs when I get closer to 300K miles. The AHC did ride great until about 170K. And as nice as it is, I'm over the worries.
Before you rip your AHC out have you done anything to diagnose the problem?

you can check the health of your globes by doing a graduations check as the globes is what causes the dampening on AHC.
I am suspect that your AHC has failed at 170k as I have 267k miles on my 06 and mines still functioning like a dream after I helped it by turning the front torsion bars, and adding king springs in the rear.
Just to give additional context I have a full steel front bumper with winch, 3 drawers in the rear with fridge and battery steel roof rack and a RTT that weighs around 220lbs.
AHC is simply the best suspension you will ever get on these vehicles and in my opinion is worth keeping.
 
Before you rip your AHC out have you done anything to diagnose the problem?

you can check the health of your globes by doing a graduations check as the globes is what causes the dampening on AHC.
I am suspect that your AHC has failed at 170k as I have 267k miles on my 06 and mines still functioning like a dream after I helped it by turning the front torsion bars, and adding king springs in the rear.
Just to give additional context I have a full steel front bumper with winch, 3 drawers in the rear with fridge and battery steel roof rack and a RTT that weighs around 220lbs.
AHC is simply the best suspension you will ever get on these vehicles and in my opinion is worth keeping.
I am going to flush the system before I delete it. Just for prosperity. My issue is that it has dropped when my car is fully loaded and would not go back up without me jacking it up to assist. Also I feel like it’s such a boat on turns, highway and stopping. The AHC was a nice Cush ride but as the globes have aged it rides like a bobbly head. Now a bobbly roller skate head. I’m concerned with two cross country trips and a few off-road camping trips planned this summer that I don‘t want any “loose ends”. I actually already ordered a suspension kit. If I feel magic after the flush, maybe I’ll stick with it.
 
I am going to flush the system before I delete it. Just for prosperity. My issue is that it has dropped when my car is fully loaded and would not go back up without me jacking it up to assist. Also I feel like it’s such a boat on turns, highway and stopping. The AHC was a nice Cush ride but as the globes have aged it rides like a bobbly head. Now a bobbly roller skate head. I’m concerned with two cross country trips and a few off-road camping trips planned this summer that I don‘t want any “loose ends”. I actually already ordered a suspension kit. If I feel magic after the flush, maybe I’ll stick with it.
Definitely early signs of a bad globe. A bad pit of globes are around $1000 to $1200 here. I had to change them at 100k, all 4 globes. The back started bouncing, 6 months later the front started too. Was a bad year. Also the front shocks were leaking as well. So was a total $3k investment with labor. This is with not changing the back shocks.
 
Definitely early signs of a bad globe. A bad pit of globes are around $1000 to $1200 here. I had to change them at 100k, all 4 globes. The back started bouncing, 6 months later the front started too. Was a bad year. Also the front shocks were leaking as well. So was a total $3k investment with labor. This is with not changing the back shocks.
That is what concerns me. I'll lose the cloud ride but for $3k I can completely rebuild suspension with new UCA's, trail arms, torsion bars, shocks, springs and fittings. Then I don't have to worry about flushing suspension systems or maintenance. I'm just a simple man.
 
That is what concerns me. I'll lose the cloud ride but for $3k I can completely rebuild suspension with new UCA's, trail arms, torsion bars, shocks, springs and fittings. Then I don't have to worry about flushing suspension systems or maintenance. I'm just a simple man.
I wish I did the same back at 100k. I am at 180k now. The front struts are leaking again. No issue with the globe. Did the gradient test. No issue. But just changing the front shocks are $1k. So decided to swap everything for IMFC for total of $2K.
 
I wish I did the same back at 100k. I am at 180k now. The front struts are leaking again. No issue with the globe. Did the gradient test. No issue. But just changing the front shocks are $1k. So decided to swap everything for IMFC for total of $2K.
Thats exactly where I am. I ordered the full IM stage 3 kit a few days ago. Found a local mechanic that works on landcruisers and they are going through vehicle now. Giving her some repairs so we can get to 300K Miles.
 
Thats exactly where I am. I ordered the full IM stage 3 kit a few days ago. Found a local mechanic that works on landcruisers and they are going through vehicle now. Giving her some repairs so we can get to 300K Miles.
I also had some major repairs done myself. The radiator and rack and pinion are both leaking pretty bad. Taking that in this week. Gonna be around $1200 in parts and labor. I also bought almost $100 in OEM hose that I see are going bad and leaking coolant. Make sure you change the radiator Ts. They are notorious for breaking.

I bought the IMFC during the sales. Got an appointment with the mechanic on 4/19 to install them. He does suvs. Miyaki Motors in Monrovia California. Post pictures when you get it done. I will do the same!

By the way how much lift are you doing? Stage 3 is pretty hard core. I attached a picture of my front back wheel heights in AHC normal.
8D224033-4C82-44FA-A3E0-14E0931C480E.jpeg
 
Before you rip your AHC out have you done anything to diagnose the problem?

you can check the health of your globes by doing a graduations check as the globes is what causes the dampening on AHC.
I am suspect that your AHC has failed at 170k as I have 267k miles on my 06 and mines still functioning like a dream after I helped it by turning the front torsion bars, and adding king springs in the rear.
Just to give additional context I have a full steel front bumper with winch, 3 drawers in the rear with fridge and battery steel roof rack and a RTT that weighs around 220lbs.
AHC is simply the best suspension you will ever get on these vehicles and in my opinion is worth keeping.
What was the advantage with using king springs in the rear?
 
What was the advantage with using king springs in the rear?
There are 2 springs on the back that helps the veichle relieve weight from the globes and the “shocks”. In “” because the shocks on an AHC are actually height control struts. The back springs are stock and lose their shock absorption over time. Hence the king springs as a replacement. The torsion bar in the front does the same thing for the front wheels.
 
There are 2 springs on the back that helps the veichle relieve weight from the globes and the “shocks”. In “” because the shocks on an AHC are actually height control struts. The back springs are stock and lose their shock absorption over time. Hence the king springs as a replacement. The torsion bar in the front does the same thing for the front wheels.
I think mine are due for replacement, looking a tad saggy. DO you know what model number springs they are?
 
I wish I did the same back at 100k. I am at 180k now. The front struts are leaking again. No issue with the globe. Did the gradient test. No issue. But just changing the front shocks are $1k. So decided to swap everything for IMFC for total of $2K.
Thats exactly where I am. I ordered the full IM stage 3 kit a few days ago. Found a local mechanic that works on landcruisers and they are going through vehicle now. Giving her some repairs so we can get to 300K Miles.
Curious to know why you guys chose IM over TD adjustable suspension?
 
Curious to know why you guys chose IM over TD adjustable suspension?
Never heard of TD. The big brands here are OME and IM. TD may be a great choice too! Also IM Foam Cells are well reviewed. Plenty of videos on youtube. It seems to be the closest to a stock AHC on Sports mode.
 
Never heard of TD. The big brands here are OME and IM. TD may be a great choice too! Also IM Foam Cells are well reviewed. Plenty of videos on youtube. It seems to be the closest to a stock AHC on Sports mode.
Just like IM, Tough Dog has great reviews on this forum and on other websites. They are an Australian company too but unlike IM, they are made in Australia and are adjustable depending on the terrain.
 

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