Replacing 15 year old springs

[nickswan]

My AHC off light has gone from blinking once in a while to almost constant now. I've bled the nasty black slime out and replaced with fresh AHC fluid. I haven't checked the sensors or the neutral pressure, but I get like 8 graduations from Low to Hi. Any chance replacing the sagged out 15 year old coils will alleviate some of the load and get that light off?

I've found OEM coils for $200 shipped online and am trying to attack this AHC system from the cheapest components on up.

I've also read that a difference in sensor heights from left to right can shut it down too. Anyway to check it without spending a fortune on diagnostic scanners?

 

[cpcc]

Ditch the AHC and go to a stock TLC set up. Cheaper and much less painful in the long term.

 

[nickswan]

if it wasn't for the super cush ride of the comfort mode AHC I would ditch it, but if new springs and clean properly adjusted sensors work, i'll be a happy camper. if not, its getting ripped out and replaced with an OME heavy kit with radflos. new oem coils will be here in 2 days, i'll update this with results.

 

[APKhaos]

Removing the rear springs on my non-AHC was straightforward, and I suspect it would be the same for yours.
With the truck on a lift [or high enough on jack stands] removing the shocks, diff breather and watching everything carefully the rear axle can be dropped as far as the ASB will allow. Its stable at this point, and the rear springs can be removed. There's still a tiny bit of tension, but they come out by hand - without brute force. New springs go in the same way. If that's not far enough to clear the new springs you'll need to unbolt the ASB to get an extra inch or two.

 

[nickswan]

I had a few hours this morning and tossed the new coils in. Comparing them side by side they appeared to still be the same size, but that's where their similarities ended. I've only had them in for about 30 miles, but so far no AHC lights and the rear end wiggle it did backing out of my driveway is gone. So far so good!

 

[rwheelz]

Where did you find real coil springs for $200? I need to replace mine.

 

[BadReligion]

I just threw my rear coils from my 04 LX away. Had I seen this tread, I would have given them to you for free!

Like others have said, it is much cheaper to just ditch the AHC and go with a conventional setup. Even if you use Slee's super nice adjustable/rebuildable shocks, it can still be done for much less than replacing AHC components.

 

[Gottagetone]

I was about to scrap my old springs and decided to turn them into lamps.

Then I sold em for $135!

 

[agaisin]

Where did you find real coil springs for $200? I need to replace mine.

How much do you think they cost?
look up 48231-6A730 and 48231-6A740 - from toyotapartszone or lexuspartsnow it's $100 or less for each new oem ahc coil spring. You may do slightly better with mud vendors.

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