Is my air suspension dying? (1 Viewer)

[thundercatts]

Hi All,

I've got an 04 GX470. I replaced all the shocks with 2020 Taco TRD OR shocks, and my air bags have always worked fine. I tow trailers, so they are a nice to have. I did pick up some 4Runner TRD OR rear coils, just in case my airbags went out...

And I think they are.

Whenever my GX sits for a few hours, the rear sags down and the air compressor runs for a minute or two when you start it up to fill the bags. Then it rides just fine. I'm assuming there is some kind of problem with the system, but it does work fine once the bags are re-inflated.

Any idea why this might be happening? The compressor doesn't run all the time as if there's a constant leak, it's more like it just lets all the air out when parked.

If the system is shot, is there a cheap fix? Or a decent aftermarket solution for the airbags? I like being able to change the ride height for towing. Or tell me that swapping over to the rear springs is the best and I'll buy the kit and do it.

 

[Rednexus]

Your airbags are probably dry rotted with micro cracks. If you are otherwise happy with your suspension I'd do the coil conversion. I liked the adjustability of my bags but haven't really missed them since going to coils.

 

[HomersCanyonero]

There’s a few reports of people successfully replacing the rear air bags at a reasonable price. There are oem and aftermarket bags.

You can also find several YouTube videos on how to replace the air bags.

You need to confirm the air bags are leaking but sounds like it from your description of the problem.

It comes down to your preference. Rear airbags are okay for off-roading mild to medium trails, towing, and raising/lowering the rear as needed.

 

[NJGX470]

The airbags are most likely leaking through very tiny cracks. I replaced mine with Arnott air bags and it was a fairly straight forward easy install.

 

[rommelrommel]

I did the arnott bags too, they’re made by continental and I imagine they’re good quality and I should get another 15 years out of them.