Airlift 1000 installed - wow, that was easy

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Ross Carlson
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Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 10:33 pm

Airlift 1000 installed - wow, that was easy

Postby Ross Carlson » Sun May 12, 2013 7:04 pm

Start to finish under 30 minutes. Didn't even bother taking the wheels off, just raised it a bit with my jack (threw a stand under it just in case) and was able to stuff the bags in the springs without too much trouble. Ran all the hoses, drilled a hole in my 7 pin trailer connector bracket and blamo, done.

Best $100 upgrade I think I've ever made to any car I've owned. Won't be able to do a test tow until next weekend so I'll report back if there are any issues.


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cgray
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Postby cgray » Sun May 12, 2013 7:48 pm

How did you run and mount your air valves?

Ross Carlson
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Postby Ross Carlson » Sun May 12, 2013 8:28 pm

Ran them up through the top opening of the spring then feed both toward the center near the transfer box. Put the T there then ran another line around the driver's side (away from the exhaust) and zip tied it to the trailer connector harness. Made sure everything had plenty of play while also not sagging. None of the zip ties went tight (snug) so I shouldn't have any pinching.

Unfortunately I'm heading out of town in the morning so I won't be able to test it until I'm home, then straight to the track for a tow. It's such a simple system I don't expect any issues (famous last words, right?)

If you try the install you'll see that's the easy part. The only hard part was cramming the bags in between the springs. The first was really hard but the second was easy as I figure out a method. You'll deflate/fold them up as much as you can then put the plug back (so it stays deflated). Jam them in, run the lines, drill hole for air port and tighten those bolts. Easy peasy.

Calicajun
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Location: Lancaster, CA

Postby Calicajun » Mon May 13, 2013 5:30 am

Sounds great, going to do that to my 2012 PF now. Have been holding off because I thought it would be a all day or tow day job. Do they make a air bag set for the front end of the PF too?

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NmexMAX
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Location: Northern New Mexico

Postby NmexMAX » Mon May 13, 2013 7:58 am

Calicajun wrote: Do they make a air bag set for the front end of the PF too?
No, different shock/spring set-up.

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Oly 22
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Location: Coquitlam, British Columbia Canada

Postby Oly 22 » Mon May 13, 2013 6:49 pm

The higher you can jack up the rear end, with in reason, the more the coils, on the springs open up and the easier to insert the bags. The hardest part for me was deciding where to mount the valves. Ended up doing this.
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volvite
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Postby volvite » Mon May 13, 2013 9:40 pm

Nice. I think lots of people have removed the Ts and ran each side their own line. That way the air is not pushed from one side to the other side in turns.

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Thu May 16, 2013 3:45 pm

I went with the two line method. Ran the lines along the top of the frame and used a long tie-strap to keep them secured. Mounted the valves in the plastic bumper cover on the beveled edge of the opening for the receiver hitch, one on each side. I had access to a shop and lift and did a lot of reading up on the process before installing them. It was done in less than 30 minutes and that was taking my time. I've been running them at 12 psi. Haven't noticed a whole lot of difference during regular driving, but definitely notice them whenever I hid a large bump! No more bone-jarring, bottoming-out! Kit cost me about $48 since I had a $50 coupon from Advance Auto Parts.

Heisenberg
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Location: North Shore of Superior Eh!

Postby Heisenberg » Tue Jun 04, 2013 6:16 am

I must be a Klutz (TM) as it took me over 2 hours wrestling with the bags last night :shock:

Part of the problem was the working environment: A not-quite level gravel driveway, along with a TON of sand and gravel raining down on me from under the truck whenever I touched something. Yes, I did try to powerspray under the vehicle as well as I could. For some reason the folded bag needed a LOT of persuading to fit between the coils, even at full extension. I imagine some silicone lube, or even talcum powder may have helped (I had neither). I ran separate airlines to the bumper for now, but left them extra long in case I think of a better place.

The difference in ride and handling, even empty, was well worth the skinned knuckles and sand in my ears.

Up next: The clutch fan. Hopefully it will sound less like a Huey at start-up and improve gas mileage a little.

H.

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davejackaman
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Location: Kruger Park, South Africa

Postby davejackaman » Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:11 am

Hi
Fantastic product, took me half an hour and it was all in. I used a bit of dish-washing liquid and a end of a wooden broomstick to push them into the coils.
I placed the valve through a hole where a body clip normally is next to the tow bar, works like a charm


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