Can someone explain to me why people get aftermarket suspension and lift when a well functioning AHC system can raise the car by 3 (?) inches?

[TahoeSlice]

My mistake at the time: Listening to Texasoil tell me his accumulators were better than factory accumulators. Gave him about $1.5K over time on replacements for replacements. Finally, I fussed him out and threw in the towel and threw away a bucket of blue accumulators.

Nobody knew back then what they know now. If they did (around 2007), they kept it a secret, lol

I've been conventional for a long time, but nothing can replace the buttery smooth ride of a functioning AHC.

I have 2 cans of unopened fluid if anyone needs them...

Do you still have any fluid? How much do you want for them?

I’m finally getting a chance to refresh my AHC and hopefully get another 370k out of it. Did well for the 100k I’ve been the owner, but starting to show signs of needing maintenance.

This thread has helped confirm my belief that, in my situation, it’s better to fix it than to go conventional. If I ever have the funds to go the SAS route though... ok now just dreaming

 

[TahoeSlice]

I run the OME medium springs in the rear to help with the weight of the rear bumper and will proly swap out the torsion bars for the LC ones once I add a front bumper. I also added the Wheeler front bump stops to the front, if AHC were to take a s*** on the trail the OME rear springs and front bump stops would in theory get me off the trail... System works great for me, I drive to the trail in regular mode and then crank it to high when I slap the B in 4Low...

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Can’t get enough of this pic. Representing for my new favorite 100 color! I might be biased though...

3x locked? Just realized it looks like some daylight under that rear tire

 

[Mors]

I'm in the process of deleting my AHC now, as nice as the system is, for me removing it came down to one of the rear hard lines finally rusting through. Replacing the globes is one thing, but it seems like Toyota installed those hydraulic lines before putting the body on, I don't have the patience to try swapping in new ones now.

 

[kreiten]

Can’t get enough of this pic. Representing for my new favorite 100 color! I might be biased though...

3x locked? Just realized it looks like some daylight under that rear tire

Yep, ARB Air Lockers front and rear, 4.88 gears, 25% TCase gear reduction...

 

[aging fleet]

My '06 didn't come with it so I have no pony in this race, but based on the steady flow of AHC threads each week, it's not like the system is infallible. I wouldn't remove a properly functioning AHC system, but I definitely understand why one would go conventional when things go bad.

 

[suprarx7nut]

My '06 didn't come with it so I have no pony in this race, but based on the steady flow of AHC threads each week, it's not like the system is infallible. I wouldn't remove a properly functioning AHC system, but I definitely understand why one would go conventional when things go bad.


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Your perception is a common one. The kicker there is that almost all the failures result from a complete lack of maintenance and are really simple fixes - even after a decade of neglect. Plenty can go wrong, but it's both easy to prevent and to fix. There are a few exceptions like rusted lines, persistent air pockets and wire harness faults from collisions, but more commonly people have horribly out of spec pressure or dead globes. Pressure fix is often free and the globe fix is <$700.

It's painful to read of people spending $2000+ to downgrade their suspension out of fear when the fix was a fraction of the time and effort, but they just didn't have the patience or awareness to understand the problem and solution.

Once you know how the system works, what upkeep means and what the 2 or 3 common issues are it's only about 10% as scary as the internet might have otherwise had you believe.

 

[medtro]

Your perception is a common one. The kicker there is that almost all the failures result from a complete lack of maintenance and are really simple fixes - even after a decade of neglect. Plenty can go wrong, but it's both easy to prevent and to fix. There are a few exceptions like rusted lines, persistent air pockets and wire harness faults from collisions, but more commonly people have horribly out of spec pressure or dead globes. Pressure fix is often free and the globe fix is <$700.

It's painful to read of people spending $2000+ to downgrade their suspension out of fear when the fix was a fraction of the time and effort, but they just didn't have the patience or awareness to understand the problem and solution.

Once you know how the system works, what upkeep means and what the 2 or 3 common issues are it's only about 10% as scary as the internet might have otherwise had you believe.

The reality is there are not many shops want to fix AHC problems. Not all AHC owners are DIYers. Not all DIYers want to spend all their free time fixing AHC. The practical solution to them is AHC delete. Furthermore, AHC delete can be done for less than 4 new globes if you plan accordingly. The 41 pages long How-To: TechStream In 5 Minutes is also a good indicator of AHC problems. The forum would be less exciting without AHC and Techstream .

 

[JunkCrzr89]

The forum would be less exciting without AHC and Techstream .

 

[OwnerCS]

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The page and hit count would fall through the floor without them.