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Air Ride Front Shock Upgrade

38K views 82 replies 28 participants last post by  Ed Hands 
#1 ·
Looking at replacing the front shocks on my truck with Bilstein 5100s. The issue is I can't find anything anywhere about changing the front shocks if you have the factory air ride suspension. Sto I'm looking for advice/ suggestions on how best to go about doing it. Anyone that has done this, what recommendations do you have and what issues were there if any?
 
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#75 · (Edited)
Here's my upgrade fellas! It works and has been on my truck for over a year now. Way better handling, tracking, cornering. Air ride is intact but I did have to make some changes in Alpha OBD height calibrations to level it right and allow the air ride levels to work. All in all a pretty easy DIY upgrade.

My first time doing this upgrade I made it way harder than it needed to be but like anything else once i learned how the components work it's really not all that hard.

For this procedure you'll need:

Vice grips
Wrenches
Small flathead screwdrivers
A nut and washer or wing nut to fit on one of the strut tower studs
C-clamp
Needlenose pliers
Panel popper screw driver
Small hammer
Grease
Allen key for Bilstein shock threaded end.
2 - Bilstein 5100 shocks 24-187367

First things first you'll want to remove the banding clamps holding the rubber boots on. I wanted to re-use these so I simply used a flathead and hammer and bent the hook back to release the clamps. On the top of the strut there is a brass one-way valve that you will need to unscrew using a wrench and vice grips or if you have the special channel lock tool. Be careful if there is still some pressure in the shock. Use a small flathead and remove the dust cap from the top of the strut Using a nut or wing nut that fits the strut tower bolts, place the box end of wrench on the stud and put the nut on a couple of threads. Take your c- clamp and use the edge of the strut tower and the other end of the wrench to apply pressure to the cap of the strut. With enough pressure there is a spring clip that you will use a flathead to carefully pry out of the channel. You do not want to know how I got that out the first time.. Once that is out remove the sketchy pry bar system and pull out the cap.

Using a small wrench and a biggerish wrench unbolt the shock bolt. Remove the rubber spacer and mind it's orientation for replacement. Flip the assembly upside down, and pull down the rubber boot to expose the coller of the strut. Place a larger-ish screw driver in the strut yoke and suspend between two benches. Place a soft matt or your favourite shop hoodie underneath the shock. Using precision pounding on the strut collar, forcibly remove the airbag from the shock. After it lands on your toes and then your shins, remove the boot from the shock and remove the rubber O-ring and plastic ring from the OG shock. Make your peace with the OG shock and discard. Clean O-ring and the airbag Collar where the O-ring seats with a scouring Pad and lightly grease. Place the metal lock ring at your desired height on the Bilstein shock. I just used the lowest setting for factory-ish height. Note* the Bilstein shock body is just a hair smaller than the factory one at where the collar sits, so you'll need to have to utilize the Bilstein collar and have a machine shop Slightly modify the OD and trim the thinner bit off. Dimensions are at the bottom. Place the O-ring on new shock and grease inside and outside of O-ring. Discard the rubber bump stop from top of the new shock, and don't forget to put the airbag boot on the shock body, and re insert into airbag. Put back together in reverse order. Place the included washer onto the shock and then rubber spacer and using an Allen key and a wrench tighten it down. Push the spacer back into the airbag top. Re-grease the shock top-cap O-ring and replace. Using the sketchy wrench method, apply pressure to the cap and put lock ring back in groove. Using a screwdriver and a hammer tap the ring back into place to ensure its seated properly. With the yoke on the floor, push the lower boot down and force the airbag lower collar onto the O-ring. You should feel it seat into its position. Place the boots back on and re clamp using a small flathead to pry the hook of the clamp into the retainer and hammer the hook closed. Reinstall brass one-way valve, and top dust cap. At this point you could/should pressurize the shock up using a fitting that fits the top and an air compressor/bike pump. The lower shock collar should seat nicely once pressurized.

Install suspension and get re-alignment.

Bottom of Air strut collar ID 58.6mm
Plastic collar OD 58.25mm
BILSTEIN collar OD 59.5mm
BILSTEIN collar ID 50.35mm

Notes:
-The OD of Bilstein ring needs to match the OD of the plastic one
-Cut off the thinner section of the Bilstein ring and square off the face. Slightly bevel outside edge.
-Re-use bottom seal o rings if in good shape or find a few new ones. Thicker is acceptable.
-Use a marine grease to lubricate o-ring seat and o-ring prior to installation.
 
#77 ·
Yes, read post #75. I believe i layed it out pretty simply. Remove the boot cover but keep the clamps in good shape. Unscrew the brass airbag check valve. Using a wrench, a nut, and a c-clamp apply pressure to the top cap and remove the retaining ring. Take top cap off. Using an Alen key and wrench remove the strut nut. Flip shock upside down and suspend with a long screw driver through the yoke and between two workbenches. Gently tap on the bottom of the airbag collar until airbag drops off the shock. Its pressure fit tightly to don't be afraid to use some precision pounding.

Cheers.
 
#78 ·
Hello, new here. I picked up a 2015 ecodiesel limited. Out of curiosity am I understanding correctly that this system doesn't purge and refill but rather is filled with nitrogen and only in the event of leakage does it pull in air? I'm new to this truck but not air systems, had a full size Range Rover I ran to 250,000km and my wife had Land Rover LR3 and now the last of the LR4's. Never had any air suspension issues but I studied every system and inch of the Range Rover so I know the system well.
 
#79 ·
Yes the system has two onboard storage tanks and a little compressor that transfers the pressures to the bags and back for raising or lowering. That was design intention with nitrogen because it's dry/inert/ and doesn't change its volumetric characteristics with changes in outside air temperature, but vehicles being what they are the nitrogen will eventually leak out and the system also has the ability to draw in outside air from in behind the right tail light. It won't tell you it's doing this so you'll only find out once winter hits and you find out how well moisture works in a compressor and delicate air valving.

If you're keen enough in the summer you'll hear the compressor run often sitting in the driveway and or purge itself due to the changes in volumetric pressures with the daily changes in temperature. It will not do this if it was charged with nitrogen.

As a rule of thumb I always performed a nitrogen flush and recharge before winter hits. I liked the air ride even with its headaches. Wish my new Eco had it.
 
#80 ·
Yes the system has two onboard storage tanks and a little compressor that transfers the pressures to the bags and back for raising or lowering. That was design intention with nitrogen because it's dry/inert/ and doesn't change its volumetric characteristics with changes in outside air temperature, but vehicles being what they are the nitrogen will eventually leak out and the system also has the ability to draw in outside air from in behind the right tail light. It won't tell you it's doing this so you'll only find out once winter hits and you find out how well moisture works in a compressor and delicate air valving.

If you're keen enough in the summer you'll hear the compressor run often sitting in the driveway and or purge itself due to the changes in volumetric pressures with the daily changes in temperature. It will not do this if it was charged with nitrogen.

As a rule of thumb I always performed a nitrogen flush and recharge before winter hits. I liked the air ride even with its headaches. Wish my new Eco had it.
Thank you for the reply:). I can see advantages and disadvantages to the closed system. I have seen a dodge dropped in front due to air issue and it could still drive and turn just fine, you would be surprised how many manufactures don't consider this. I'm a big air fan also, in the Land Rover forums I used to say to anybody worried buying a used vehicle to just buy new struts and bags and valve blocks but I see the pricing on all this stuff went up a lot.

So being a closed system I wonder if the mentioned not able to go into off road 2 is not an issue of the system maybe being low on volume but not meeting a warning threshold (or triggering sucking in air) so when it can't achieve the expected hight it assumes it a payload problem? Going to have to find a sequence of operation document on it. Could be a great way to check integrity of system.

I was wondering why the compressor would run to lower the back of the vehicle when I removed payload, the land rovers would release the air but this truck pumps the nitrogen back into the storage tanks:)

Why aren't people just buying rebel struts and shocks to upgrade the standard air struts to billstein? Guess maybe there's a hight difference, I see some used rebel setups come up for sale but I can't find specifics on dimensions.

Again, thanks for the reply, so much to learn when you switch vehicles.
 
#81 ·
@Jaymo - The conversion worked flawlessly for about 20+K miles and rides so much better. I too like the functionality of the truck with the adjustable stance. Problem recently has shown up when I left the truck outdoors for a week in below freezing temps. I purged and recharged the system, recalibrated all the height settings once the shocks were installed, but now the truck is stuck with the service air suspension immediately warning as the pump will not activate. I'm curious if anyone has dug into the pump itself to clean it or free it up, or if its time to just replace that unit. The truck has roughly 220k on it, so i wouldn't be surprised. I just don't want to throw money at the problem if its a simple fix. Everything was working perfectly until the week long freeze... Any suggestions would be great!
 
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