Keeping air bags?

[Onefastrx7turbo]

I see everyone deleting the rear bags, and I understand the springs are more reliable and maintenance free. That said, is it possible to retain the air suspension and still lift the truck? Understand there are aftermarket air bags available, so is that feasible or will they pop out with heavy articulation? I doubt I'm going to do any rock crawling with this rig; it's mostly for adventuring and some light trail duty. I searched but could only find the "I ditched the air bags" type of threads. Please don't flame me

 

[mtwilly87]

I wondered this too. Keeping the rear bags, and adding a 1-2" lift just in the front to level it out. Id lose electronic dampening in the front but it would remain in the rear, not that I really care about the dampening.

 

[madtoy]

Yes - search for the airbag trick. Basically you just space the rear height sensors to make it think it's too low, and it lifts the rear. Probably get an inch or inch and a half out of it. It will make the ride a bit harsh though.

 

[mtwilly87]

I've seen the airbag trick. What about not tricking the air bags and just raising the front 1-2" to level the truck out? Or would the airbags sense the level up front has changed and try to compensate somehow?

 

[jclarke450]

I got 2 inches after tricking mine. I'm not unhappy with the ride. Feels a bit firmer, but not harsh at all.

 

[co4wheel]

Make a spacer for under the bags

 

[Onefastrx7turbo]

All good replies! Are there any aftermarket bags which are taller or could I space the stock bags? I'm looking for a 3 inch lift overall.

 

[Scat Adams]

You really don't want to rely on the stock airbags, its just a matter of time before they fail. They are by far the worst feature on this truck, rip them out for a 3" spring setup and be done with it. If you still want airbags after that for heavy loads or whatnot, go with an aftermarket airbag like the Air Lift 1000, around $100 and gets the job done. Good luck!

 

[co4wheel]

All good replies! Are there any aftermarket bags which are taller or could I space the stock bags? I'm looking for a 3 inch lift overall.

I could see using a spacer to get a 1.5 or so inch's. Not 3". Thats a lot of lift. Now a 1.5 lift and then using the High setting and low speed would get you more then 1.5 off road.

 

[TahoeLX450]

I've seen the airbag trick. What about not tricking the air bags and just raising the front 1-2" to level the truck out? Or would the airbags sense the level up front has changed and try to compensate somehow?

I put on the Rancho 9000 Leveling Struts and 9000 adjustable rear shocks and I'm happy. They raise the front 2". Have new springs 1.5" lift custom made from Coil Springs Specialties for the rear but haven't installed them yet. Only wanted a mild lift and it works for me and gives me options to adjust my ride for conditions. Rancho has discontinued the inside the cab adjuster so you do need to crawl under the truck to adjust unless they bring back the option.

 

[Onefastrx7turbo]

thanks everyone. Scat, if I got the airlift 1000s, I'd also need the real coil conversion? if I kept both, is there a danger of something happening to the bag with articulation?

 

[Scat Adams]

thanks everyone. Scat, if I got the airlift 1000s, I'd also need the real coil conversion? if I kept both, is there a danger of something happening to the bag with articulation?

A coil conversion isn't necessary to use the airlift's.

Yes, there is a definite danger/risk of something happening to the stock bags with off road use, especially with a higher mileage truck. I can't stress it enough that if you plan on actually using these trucks- swap out the stock airbags. You don't want to be off the grid and have an airbag start leaking/fail.

 

[blakewhisenant]

I lifted my GX and kept the bags. I took a pair of old bag and cut the lower half off each. I cut them at a slight angle, roughly 1/2 taller towards the backside, as the axle comes forward when you lift /lower the axle.

 

[yackowski]

I raised the front of mine 2" (5100's/eibach 2" Spring) and tricked the bags 1/2" to level it out. The ride isn't terrible, but a far cry from awesome. I will be replacing the bags with springs at some point. My bags are new and I am trying to get more than 1K miles out of them, or I would have already made the swap.

 

[Onefastrx7turbo]

I just like the ability to level the truck when I haul a lot of weight or in the event I tow something. I'm guessing I can use the air lift bags, stock compressor but then also do the rear spring conversion like the Gentleman did...

 

[langsen]

I wondered this too. Keeping the rear bags, and adding a 1-2" lift just in the front to level it out. Id lose electronic dampening in the front but it would remain in the rear, not that I really care about the dampening.

You only lose the electronic damping if you remove or unplug the shocks. But you can get around this, for example if you replace either the front or rear shocks, you can put a resistor across the terminals of the shock connector to trick the ECU so the damping will still work on the two remaining shocks.

I replaced my rear shocks with 4runner shocks a couple years ago and put the resistor across the rear shock connectors. They were just whatever I could find at radio shack that was close to what the FSM indicated, I think 6.8 ohm 5 watt. The front damping works fine but now I'm thinking the rear shocks are too soft and I would really like to just replace the oil in the original shocks and use those.

No problem with airbags here. I replaced mine at 150k miles as a precautionary measure but they never leaked or gave me any trouble. I hear you can patch them with tire slime if they let you down.

 

[bhendron]

I lifted my GX and kept the bags. I took a pair of old bag and cut the lower half off each. I cut them at a slight angle, roughly 1/2 taller towards the backside, as the axle comes forward when you lift /lower the axle.

You did what, now?

 

[blakewhisenant]

See the lift here: Oklahoma GX Member

It rides like stock - but it's taller. For the front I installed OME 884s. The front lift is just over 2.5 inches, the rear it about the same, I also added a tad bit of air in the springs for some additional height, and to try to firm the ride some.

 

[langsen]

So is it just a spacer made out of an old air spring?

 

[blakewhisenant]

Yep. I have taken it off road, tucked the wheels and had no issues. Its very simple, think of it as a lift block, or longer strut. I might lower my bump stops just because...

The shocks keep the springs (metal or air) in the proper position, if you add longer shocks and don't do the research, you might end up in a pinch when the coil flexes out of its perch. But thats not unique to air springs. My local Lexus dealer gave me a pair of busted bags for free - try that.

I cut them with a plasma cutter, but a cutoff wheel would be cleaner. Add some slope so the air bag stays non-angled as possible.

The reason I went this route is because I like the ride of this SUV, I also did not want to tons of money on a high end system to only park the thing in my driveway - if I become a true off road fella, I will change out the rears for sure.