Air lift / air helper rear coil airbag part # advice

[TheRealPoser]

I looked around a bit on the forum and I haven't been able to find the answer to my question. If there's another thread with the answer feel free to point me to it.

I'm trying to figure out the best model number order for Air Lift or Firestone rear coil airbags. I have the Ironman 4x4 FCP "2 inch" lift. On the exit off-road website says the part number for the stock suspension (60728) will work with up to 2.5 in lift. That's the only reference I've seen to dealing with taller than stock springs so far. The airlift website also gives a table for universal kits, which is based on the internal diameter of the springs and internal height with the bump stop removed. I measure about 5.75 in diameter and roughly 10 in height. By this measure it suggests kit 60925. The latter kit appears to be a shorter bag with a pair of plastic spacers for each coil instead of a taller bag.

Does anyone have experience with either and have a recommendation from your experience? My only reference point is that I have airlift bags in a fourth gen 4Runner. I'm using the kit for the stock suspension but I have a 3+ inch lift. One difference is for the 4Runner the installation instructions have you cut the bump stop shorter but keep it. I just left the bump stop a bit longer to make up for the lift. That kid came with it plastic spacer, so to deal with the fact that the bump stop was narrow on the top the spacer on the top instead of the bottom to distribute the force on the bag. The Land cruiser installation instruction say to remove the bump stop altogether. At the moment I'm considering going with the kit for the stock suspension and cutting the bump stop to leave 2 in to make up the difference.

 

[bucfl]

I use Airlift 1000 model and have a 1.5 inch lift in rear. Not sure if that helps you. Try contacting airlift company for exact info.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Few threads down:

Airbag Suspension Questions

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[TheRealPoser]

Few threads down:

Airbag Suspension Questions

forum.ih8mud.com

Thanks, I saw that thread but before the 3:34pm post with some useful info. I didn't want to hijack that thread since the OP was about RTT leveling. I'm a bit surprised the bag they recommend is short even with stock suspension. Makes me wonder about using the kit based off the measurements instead to see how that works....

 

[TheRealPoser]

I use Airlift 1000 model and have a 1.5 inch lift in rear. Not sure if that helps you. Try contacting airlift company for exact info.

Good to know. I contacted Firestone but so far only crickets from them. I'll try airlift instead.

 

[TheRealPoser]

Well it turns out I was wrong in my thinking, and it's ok if the bag is not the full length of the coil. The excerpt below is from the installation instructions for the Air Lift brand universal fit kits. I had always thought the bags functioned by stiffening the springs via bulging between the coils wraps. However, reading other opinions on the internet convinced me I was wrong and it was about the height of the bag. Apparently this is another reminder not everyone on the interwebs is true (shocking)!!

Seems coil internal diameter is the most important factor for function. Height is important so the bag isn't TOO tall. Later in the instructions it states it is better to have an under-sized bag, as over-sized will fail prematurely. It also states that the plastic pucks are there to protect the bag ends from puncture, not to "fill in" gaps. That likely explains why the universal fit bag (60925) that seemingly should fit based on measurements of the coil looks like it's actually shorter than the recommended bag for the LC. It comes with 2 pucks for each side, to protect the two bag ends in case it touches.

Given the recommended kit doesn't appear to come with any pucks, I'm now considering if I should get the universal option for the added protection with the pucks.