Air Lift 1000 Install (1 Viewer)

[LCHardriver_02]

I am wanting to order mine, but want to be sure they will fit properly with my new OME 863s. Have started a thread for the search on the height dimensions, but no one has piped up yet.

Your set up looks nice! Do you have your spare mounted on the back or will it be back up under there?

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Made installation easy.

One problem I've had with a tucked away location like this, is it's hard to use an air gauge to get a good read on the PSI. I'm second guessing tucking mine behind the DS rear Fender by the Fuel Filler neck.

 

[re_guderian]

One problem I've had with a tucked away location like this, is it's hard to use an air gauge to get a good read on the PSI. I'm second guessing tucking mine behind the DS rear Fender by the Fuel Filler neck.

put valve stem extenders on them.

 

[DJWUZJ]

For those who went the way of adding Air Bags, has anyone decided to ditch them?

Better yet, anyone running them with OME 866's... or even 866's plus 15mm spacers?

Trying to eradicate the rig of saggy booty. I'm still losing about .5-.75" with all the gear in the back.

 

[Bomar]

For those who went the way of adding Air Bags, has anyone decided to ditch them?

Better yet, anyone running them with OME 866's... or even 866's plus 15mm spacers?

Trying to eradicate the rig of saggy booty. I'm still losing about .5-.75" with all the gear in the back.

Why not go a slee heavy or 863s? My Slee heavy's work well with bumper and additional 40 gallons of fuel and totally full tanks and gear. No sag.

 

[Loyota]

Mine worked great for awhile. Then the hoses pulled loose from the bags. I cannot tell if the nipple was broken off or what. I'd rather not pull the spring out to fix it but suspect its needed. I followed all the instructions for installation but maybe the hole for the hose was not large enough?

Also, I think it may be best to always keep some air in the bags to keep their shape.

 

[jonharis]

Mine worked great for awhile. Then the hoses pulled loose from the bags. I cannot tell if the nipple was broken off or what. I'd rather not pull the spring out to fix it but suspect its needed. I followed all the instructions for installation but maybe the hole for the hose was not large enough? Also, I think it may be best to always keep some air in the bags to keep their shape.

You hit all the major talking points. You need to keep 5psi in the bags all the time (a pain) to keep them from shifting around. For the 100, id recommend enlarging the hole on the spring mount to .75-1" or so. Then sleeve the airlift air hose with fuel line to protect from cutting. I now think that the airlift compressor is a worthy addition, mainly to monitor that you have the recommended minimum pressure in the bags.

Slee Heavies are not sufficient for a fully loaded truck with rear bumper/tire carrier or when pulling a trailer.

 

[SparksParts]

For those who went the way of adding Air Bags, has anyone decided to ditch them?

Better yet, anyone running them with OME 866's... or even 866's plus 15mm spacers?

Trying to eradicate the rig of saggy booty. I'm still losing about .5-.75" with all the gear in the back.

I bought bags that were about an inch taller for the LC100 and ran the hose up to the metal bracket in the compartment that holds the jack. Enlarged the hole as everyone suggested and so far no issues. I have the Ironman Lift and 15mm spacers. Haven't had the chance to offroad but I did use the highlift to fully extend and nothing was rubbing up or down so I should be good.

 

[DJWUZJ]

Why not go a slee heavy or 863s? My Slee heavy's work well with bumper and additional 40 gallons of fuel and totally full tanks and gear. No sag.

When fully loaded, I'm running about 300lbs of drawers, gear, fridge, food, etc in the rear. This doesnt count the RTT (100lbs), Bulldog (50lbs) or rear bumper (150lbs) which is still planned for 2014. All in, thats 600lbs.

Eventually I'll shed the tent and some weight to a trailer, but then I'm back to adding some tongue weight.

I havent seen anything to date that directly compares the 866 to Slee Heavies. When I called Slee to ask, the only commentary they provided is that comparing the two is tricky since 866's are progressive rate, however the Heavies would be "a little stiffer". This wasn't enough for me to justify the leap to be back at square 1.

Jon's post adds to this, so I'll probably try the air lift and see how it goes.

Goal is to be able to raise the front a tad more, which when adding load I'm running short on rake.

If it doesnt work, I'll swap 15mm spacers for 30mm spacers, since I'm looking to make up about .75" and that would be very close.

 

[spressomon]

With Slee rear bumper with spare swing-arm (shovel, propane tank, etc. mounted too), AO drawers chocked full of heavy tools, parts, fridge, etc., I'm running OME868 now...a carry over from when I had the KK trailer in tow. But I'm switching back to OME864 so I can also drop the front back down about 1".

The air bags will get you adjustable additional load carrying capabilities. You are effectively raising the spring rate without any commensurate change in shock tune/damping. This, in addition to more constricted rear suspension articulation when running the air bags (even at 5psi), was something I didn't like so much. Kinda felt like a suspension with badly worn shocks.

But nothing is perfect so if you have big variances in load over the rear axle then...

The other way, again somewhat imperfect in concept but actually works very well for me, if you are running 2.5" monotube shocks with remotes (think Fox, King, Radflo, Icon, etc.)...you can increase the nitrogen pressure to 300-400psi to get additional lift. You also get a bump in compression damping with the higher nitrogen pressure (top of shock exit hoses). When you bump the nitrogen pressure its best if you do this with the shocks extended (frame supported on jack stands with suspension drooped out).

HTHY

 

[bamabrock]

For those who went the way of adding Air Bags, has anyone decided to ditch them?

Better yet, anyone running them with OME 866's... or even 866's plus 15mm spacers?

Trying to eradicate the rig of saggy booty. I'm still losing about .5-.75" with all the gear in the back.

Hit me up on FB with your address and I'll send you the set I never installed when I get back to Birmingham this weekend.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

I'm going to ditch mine for 863s. I'm adding a bumper and drawers at the same time. And the air hoses always seem to pull out of the airbags for me.

 

[Chris Sandstorm FJ]

I have run the same bags for several years with great results but I found it necessary to go larger in dia. and elongate the holes to avoid damage to the hose and connection.

x2, these work great and I use with the 860 coils, so super plush ride for DD.. Then I pump'em up when I load it up for the desert.

BTW, I did have a leak, cause I skipped drill the coil mount widening whole step. Did not call for it on my 4runner, so I figured no need with the 100, but that was a false assumption. The fix was really not that difficult, just one day of taking apart, drilling mount wider and putting it all back together. I also had a clamp go bad at another time and that was also an easy fix.

I think the 2 issues I've had and resolved were still not that hard to remedy and the bags have worked great most of the time.

For me, I am just not willing to drive a brick for a daily driver, I want the cush ride the Land Cruiser can deliver.

 

[Aaron13]

x2, these work great and I use with the 860 coils, so super plush ride for DD.. Then I pump'em up when I load it up for the desert.

BTW, I did have a leak, cause I skipped drill the coil mount widening whole step. Did not call for it on my 4runner, so I figured no need with the 100, but that was a false assumption. The fix was really not that difficult, just one day of taking apart, drilling mount wider and putting it all back together. I also had a clamp go bad at another time and that was also an easy fix.

I think the 2 issues I've had and resolved were still not that hard to remedy and the bags have worked great most of the time.

For me, I am just not willing to drive a brick for a daily driver, I want the cush ride the Land Cruiser can deliver.

Chris,
I have the OME 860s as well. I have read through this post and I see where guys purchased the #60728, 60733, and 60744s. Which ones did you order having the OME 860s as well? I ordered the 60744 and the airbag is only 7 inches in height? Can anyone help me out here?

 

[re_guderian]

Just installed a new set of bags on the '04 LC. A couple of learnings.

- I ordered the 60728 kit for OEM springs. I am running 30mm spacers on top of the springs, so I left the rubber bumper there, and cut off all but the top section, so that it more or less matched the thickness of the spacer.

- The included air line isn't anywhere near long enough, at least for the way I route the lines. I use the included Air Lift lines for the DS bag, since it is nice and flexy, and the DS has the most convoluted entry under the spring perch. I used about 11 feet of line for the driver's side. I went to NAPA and got 20' of air line from them (little bit stiffer line), and 6' of ashphalt-coated wire loom. I routed the PS bag line across the back of the axle housing, using about 2 ft of the wire loom to protect the air line from the exhaust heat, and then both lines up the upper control arm, over to the frame at the front of the upper control arm, then down the frame rail.

- I used the template and a step drill (from HF). Easy work on getting a ~1" + hole where it needs to be. The existing hole is useless, and swallowed up by the larger hole. I also left a large loop of line at the end in case I hate where I routed the valve stems...

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I routed the lines in the frame and used an existing hole in the side of frame just in front of the rear tire for the valve stem. Stays clean and easy to get to.

 

[yuji]

I called AirLift, gave them the dimensions of an AHC 2000 LX, and the inside diameter was 6", height was 11" (with sensor lift) between the bump stop MOUNT and the top of the bottom bump stop.

Air Lift told me to use the factory one #60728, which is 8.5" tall. It comes with spacers, and we need to cut our top bumpstop anyways, which means we can really use a lot of different height AirLifts.. we just cut more or less bump stop.

Hope that helps all.


Actually I noticed OP here just removed the bump stops completely, so I'd like to do the same.. in case I ditch these bags.

I called em up again and got more part numbers

#60755: 10.5 inches tall
#60808: 9.5 inches tall
#60728: 8.5 inches tall

It seems like breakage comes from droop when the bag gets stuck to the top of the spring.. so the taller the better it seems. I do want some droop still though, so it seems like the 9.5 inch bag makes sense.. 10.5 seems too tall.

 

[plarsen111]

Hi everyone,

I am not a mechanical guy like most of you, so please forgive my question(s).

I remove the shock (got that) and then it says to remove the "Sway Bar Nut/Bolt". I see the sway bar connected in several different places. Which bolt am I removing exactly?

Also, I don't know much about that coil. So if I remove the sway bar nut/bolt and place jack stands under the trailer hitch, the axle drops enough that the coils just come out?

From here I can see how I can remove the bump stopper, drill a larger hole for the airlines, and put everything back in place. But those two steps/items are holding me up.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[kevin2i]

Best mod for the $$. I was worried about the ride - but there is no 'bouncy-air-shock' feel.

notes:
First, you have to have XXL jack stands to do it by the hitch bar. Don't try it with wood blocks + auto jack stands, the stands will start to lean as you lower the vehicle. My sloped driveway didn't help. Not really too excited about crawling under, then maybe trying to bench press a hundy off my chest . . .

I moved the truck into the garage, and as noted -- put the jack stands on the front lower control arm mount. Once up, to get more spring clearance, jack up the opposite side of the axle (wheel up about 3" from droop). 1/2" hole seems to be adequate, and I protected most of the air hose with 5/16 fuel hose.

I would say and no until after the job is done. Simply 'cuz it's a little dirty, and I didn't have monster stands. 2 floor jacks would help.

Doing an Air Lift install is dead simple. This is a job and the results for the money are outstanding.

Install is a snap. I jacked up the entire rear of the truck until the tires were right about to clear the ground and placed jackstands under the rear class 3 hitch bar.

 

[yuji]

The air lift was amazing... no more AHC in low. Until I presumably loaded it up with more than the AHC could handle (even if at no movement, it could with the air assist) and now I have a persistent blinking AHC "OFF".

It's time to go conventional.