AIRBAG Spacers

[nitteo]

I love the airbag system, I am about to put a 2' Dobinson lift but would rather keep the self leveling of airbags.

would a "puck" system work? what is the inside diameter that i should get?

Body Lift Blocks, Pucks 2"-3" diameter with variety of lengths (PACK OF 4) | eBay

All Body Blocks are cut from UHMW-PE. When selecting the center hole size, know the size of bolt you will be using and choose the size larger. 7/16 bolt will not fit in the 7/16 hole.

www.ebay.com

 

[kody472]

I'm interested also. I have an OME lift and "tricked" the bags to get lift. I'd rather use a spacer-style system instead of overinflating the bags.

 

[nitteo]

found these also

Air Lift Coil Spring Airbag Spacer | 2.00 Inch Height

Air Lift 09567 coil spring airbag spacer is designed to protect the air bag on Air Lift 1000 and Firestone Coil-Rite kits. Call Dave @ 1-800-358-4751 for help finding the correct air spring or visit TruckSpring.com.

www.truckspring.com

 

[Mr Chuck Norris]

Those bare pucks won't quite work. They are meant to go inside coil springs to take up some space for aftermarket airbags, such as Airlift and Firestone.

You would need a spacer that bolts to the axle pad, and had a snug/setscrew for the airbag post. Just like these:

Post in thread '8.2 e-locker with KDSS and airbags' 8.2 e-locker with KDSS and airbags - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/8-2-e-locker-with-kdss-and-airbags.1253944/post-13876948

 

[Mr Chuck Norris]

And I have a pair of those Airlift pucks sitting in a scrap bucket from an old set of Airlift 1000 bags. I can take a pic of them next to my removed OEM airbags to show the issue.

 

[SmithGX]

You can also get taller bags instead of a spacer. This might be a good choice if you are planning to replace older airbags anyway.

OA6011 - Aftermarket Full Air Suspension Kit Replacement

Airbag Man Suspension specialises in air suspension systems for various vehicles, improving ride comfort, stability, handling & overall performance. Suitable for cars, trucks, vans, 4WDs, trailers, caravans, camper trailers, boat trailers & used for towing, hauling, off-roading, & load leveling...

airbagman.com.au

 

[Mr Chuck Norris]

And I have a pair of those Airlift pucks sitting in a scrap bucket from an old set of Airlift 1000 bags. I can take a pic of them next to my removed OEM airbags to show the issue.

Snapped a couple pics of the Airlift poly pucks. They are actually a lot softer than I remembered so there's no way I would trust them underneath the OEM bags.

A UHMW/Delrin plastic would work though, and would be pretty easy to DIY.

 

[kody472]

Snapped a couple pics of the Airlift poly pucks. They are actually a lot softer than I remembered so there's no way I would trust them underneath the OEM bags.

A UHMW/Delrin plastic would work though, and would be pretty easy to DIY.

View attachment 2694599

View attachment 2694601

What diameter is the puck And how thick would you think it would need to be? I have a 2” OME lift. I can get some of those delrin rods from Grainger.

 

[rommelrommel]

If you want 2" of lift and to have the bags inflated to where they were inflated stock, 2".

My reservation about a hard plastic is securing it to the airbag seat on the axle well enough. I also recommend that it's small enough diameter to go inside that flange on the outside of the factory bag.

 

[Couve Cruiser]

I fabricated some rear airbag spacers fairly easily from some high strength ABS 2"x 4"x 12" bar stock. The minimum bar length was 12" from Mcmaster-Carr. I used a 4x4x2 piece and left it square to provide a more solid base for the spring to seat on. I drilled a circular channel using a 3 7/8 then a 3 3/4 hole saw on a drill press. I went about 5/16" deep. I beveled the inside corner of the channel to accommodate the weld bead on the inside of the air spring base. In the center i used a 7/8' spade drill bit to make a hole for the locating nipple in the center of the air spring base. I drilled the 7/8 hole deep enough to accommodate the nipple with room for a bolt head below it to bolt to the axle pad. On the bottom of the spacer i used a 75mm forstner drill bit to create a circular indentation to seat on the circular raised portion of the axle mounting pad. I used a dremel to bevel the outside edge of the indentation, to match the angle of the slope that descends from the flat center portion of the mounting pad. I'll include some pics to clarify things a bit.

 

[centerisl]

FWIW I just this afternoon picked up my GX470 from Mule Expedition Outfitters with the upgrades detailed in Project Vehicle: Lexus GX 470 - Expedition Portal - https://expeditionportal.com/project-vehicle-lexus-gx-470/.

Mule sourced the ARB Upper Control Arm, OME BP-51 Shocks & Coilovers, Timbren Jouncers, I sourced new Lexus Airbags (eBay), Air Lift 52420 spacers (Amazon). They installed everything for $1,350 on top of the parts (plus an alignment). So far it rides nicely on the road - just what I expected. And I have 2" of lift and refreshed airbags. FWIW, my bags with 230k miles were still in decent shape with some initial cracking on the bottom.

 

[kody472]

FWIW I just this afternoon picked up my GX470 from Mule Expedition Outfitters with the upgrades detailed in Project Vehicle: Lexus GX 470 - Expedition Portal - https://expeditionportal.com/project-vehicle-lexus-gx-470/.

Mule sourced the ARB Upper Control Arm, OME BP-51 Shocks & Coilovers, Timbren Jouncers, I sourced new Lexus Airbags (eBay), Air Lift 52420 spacers (Amazon). They installed everything for $1,350 on top of the parts (plus an alignment). So far it rides nicely on the road - just what I expected. And I have 2" of lift and refreshed airbags. FWIW, my bags with 230k miles were still in decent shape with some initial cracking on the bottom.

Can you tell or show me how they secured the bags to the spacers?

 

[Gxunit201]

Can you tell or show me how they secured the bags to the spacers?

Right after removing my air bags and converting to the Eibach ProLift kit, I noticed that Rough Country sells an Air Spring Cradle for $40 as well an Air Spring Spacer for $60. Seems interesting and looks like it may fit.

Air Spring Cradle Kit

Air Spring Cradle Kit

www.roughcountry.com

Air Spring Spacers

Air Spring Spacers

www.roughcountry.com

 

[centerisl]

Can you tell or show me how they secured the bags to the spacers?

I do not know - I can call next week but they are slammed right now with Overland Expo PNW.

 

[kody472]

Right after removing my air bags and converting to the Eibach ProLift kit, I noticed that Rough Country sells an Air Spring Cradle for $40 as well an Air Spring Spacer for $60. Seems interesting and looks like it may fit.

Air Spring Cradle Kit

Air Spring Cradle Kit

www.roughcountry.com

Air Spring Spacers

Air Spring Spacers

www.roughcountry.com

That cradle kit along with the spacer might just work. Fairly inexpensive too.

 

[kody472]

I do not know - I can call next week but they are slammed right now with Overland Expo PNW.

Understandable. That would be great if you get that info.

 

[Couve Cruiser]

I fabricated some rear airbag spacers fairly easily from some high strength ABS 2"x 4"x 12" bar stock. The minimum bar length was 12" from Mcmaster-Carr. I used a 4x4x2 piece and left it square to provide a more solid base for the spring to seat on. I drilled a circular channel using a 3 7/8 then a 3 3/4 hole saw on a drill press. I went about 5/16" deep. I beveled the inside corner of the channel to accommodate the weld bead on the inside of the air spring base. In the center i used a 7/8' spade drill bit to make a hole for the locating nipple in the center of the air spring base. I drilled the 7/8 hole deep enough to accommodate the nipple with room for a bolt head below it to bolt to the axle pad. On the bottom of the spacer i used a 75mm forstner drill bit to create a circular indentation to seat on the circular raised portion of the axle mounting pad. I used a dremel to bevel the outside edge of the indentation, to match the angle of the slope that descends from the flat center portion of the mounting pad. I'll include some pics to clarify things a bit.

View attachment 3360066View attachment 3360069

View attachment 3360076View attachment 3360080

I made a couple revisions to the spacer setup I posted earlier. I drilled and tapped a hole in the lower air spring locating pin. I then threaded in a rod of sufficient length to protrude from the bottom of the spacer about 3/4". This will insure the spring base doesn't unseat from spacer when the air spring is extended during
articulation.

 

[Timujin]

FWIW I just this afternoon picked up my GX470 from Mule Expedition Outfitters with the upgrades detailed in Project Vehicle: Lexus GX 470 - Expedition Portal - https://expeditionportal.com/project-vehicle-lexus-gx-470/.

Mule sourced the ARB Upper Control Arm, OME BP-51 Shocks & Coilovers, Timbren Jouncers, I sourced new Lexus Airbags (eBay), Air Lift 52420 spacers (Amazon). They installed everything for $1,350 on top of the parts (plus an alignment). So far it rides nicely on the road - just what I expected. And I have 2" of lift and refreshed airbags. FWIW, my bags with 230k miles were still in decent shape with some initial cracking on the bottom.

Can you post a photo of what the rear spacer using the factory airbags looks like? Searching for Bigfoot is similar to trying to find a 1"-2" spacer in 2023-2024 for the factory airbags. I am not ready to drop $700+ on Aussie extended bags because I need spares locally. The Gods are pushing me to an Eibach load leveling setup which I really do not want.

 

[Mrpinortiner]

In hindsight I wish I'd have gone this route instead of ripping out all the air suspension stuff when I lifted. I carry varying loads weekly and would really like the auto-leveling function. I had to go heavier springs in the rear for my tools, but without them loaded I get the stink bug look.
Lesson learned.

 

[Timujin]

Ordered a set of 52420 universal 2" spacers as mentioned in other threads for the factory airbags. The three holes and the diameter of the spacer line up with the airbag air connection, centering pin, and retaining clip pin. The spacers holes need to be opened up. Next is to figure out how to mount the spacers to the top of the airbag resting spot in the chassis. At least the centering hole and outer centering pin hole will be used. The factory airbags will require more spacer material removal because the air connection is molded/fixed. Getting close.