presslab Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Does anyone know if the stock air bag shocks on my 88 GL-10 are nitrogen charged? If compressed, are they supposed to extend on their own? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 if you're just referring to the air bladders, they are only filled with air - the same stuff you're breathing. yes, they should extend on their own. sometimes just jacking the car up and turning it on will allow them to extend and function properly. but usually this is a sign of lots of troubleshooting and work ahead of you. the system is complicated...struts, height sensors at each strut, o-rings galore, a solenoid at each strut, solenoids on the air tank, pressure sensors, air tank, compressor, drier, lots of place to leak, air hose and a computer too. troubleshooting the system is not easy. unless there's a really huge need for the air suspension i highly recommend converting it to conventional coil over struts. i've owned 20+ XT6's (all air suspension) and keep it myself, i like it for novelty reasons. but i also have too much XT6 experience and parts lying around so it's relatively easy. if you're bent on keeping it, i don't mind helping though, just letting you know these systems are a major headache for a lot of people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presslab Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 Thanks Gary, I was thinking of the shock absorbers. I bought new rear shocks a few years ago (with the air bags) but they still are a bit soft in the damping department... The front seem fine for whatever reason. It probably sounds crazy but I was thinking of replacing the oil with something thicker. I don't know if I'm going to have to recharge them after I drill it and change the fluid. I could add a shrader valve maybe to recharge them; I did this with a mtb shock and it worked fine. I know I could change the bags to springs but I like the self leveling feature. I load tons of SCUBA stuff in the back, about 400 lbs, so I want to keep the bags. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 i understand keeping the self-leveling feature - air strut fans unite! can you clarify "a bit soft in the dampening department". when it's loaded down or even while driving around normally? EA82's are so light in the rear i can't imagine it making a noticeable difference when empty. if it's when loaded - sounds like it's reaching the design limits. my XT6 does the same when i load a trans and engine in the trunk, about the same weight you're talking about. it drives horrible with that much weight in the trunk. not sure how struts *wear* but maybe the heavy loads have placed a toll on some part of the system...internal valves or parts in the strut or the oil? not sure what the solution is but if you're up to replacing the oil then by all means give that a whirl. document that with a photo or two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presslab Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 Sure, when I get the guts to drill one I'll take a few pics. The damping is soft even unloaded. For example, when I go over a bump on the freeway, like an overpass or something, the front takes the bump nicely, but the rear end squats and bounces a couple times after the bump is over. When I get it loaded up, the rear end is even worse of course. I bought the front stuts used (low mile), maybe they were off a XT. In any case, the damping seems a lot stiffer. The rear struts always seemed soft, even when new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 The damping is soft even unloaded. For example, when I go over a bump on the freeway, like an overpass or something, the front takes the bump nicely, but the rear end squats and bounces a couple times after the bump is over.oh yeah, that doesn't sound normal. i've never noticed any of my XT6's doing that, i love the way the air suspension rides. either i didn't notice or they don't do that (i don't think they do). you might want to try another set of struts in the rear for kicks or try XT6 rear struts? they will bolt up, but i don't know how different the height sensors may be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presslab Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 Well, I checked it out. On the side of the shock it says "gas charged do not disassemble". :-\ I can't tell for sure but I think it is a monotube shock which means I have to take it all apart to change the fluid. The lower shock eyelet is roll-crimped onto the shock housing; that would be the place to start disassembly. I wish I would have kept my old shocks so I could disassemble them. Oh well I think I'll leave it alone for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterbottom321 Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 I don't know about changing the oil in them but I have to get this off my chest, I'm running air shocks right now on the back and I wouldn't trade it for any coil over setup. My current set up is that I made a tube with an o ring that goes to a shrader valve (like the one on your tires) and I pump my airshocks up to whatever height I want. If I want to let air out, just hook a 9v across the solenoid valve wire to let some air out. The sagging springs just can't match being able to load level. The handling is great and there is nothing like riding on air, especially on a washboard road. Coilover guys will swear it isn't worth the hassle, but like I have done, just ditch the computer controller and even the built in compressor if you like. No need to worry about the height sensors. Jack it up before you go off road and let it down on the road. Someday I hope to rig up a series of switches in my dash to control the solenoids and ride height. For me, I just felt like a lift kit was too intensive and overkill when I could use what I already have to get a few inches. Serious, when you manually inflate you can get a lot higher than the computer would normally go with the air shocks. I should post some pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Serious, when you manually inflate you can get a lot higher than the computer would normally go with the air shocks. I should post some pictures.yeah, pictures! good job, sounds neat. some over at subaruxt.com have installed manually adjustable switches. there's some pictures and wiring information over there for doing that. on XT6's they already have the components for a height control switch which was available in Canada. it's possible to raise and lower the vehicle with the push of a button. i believe some XT Turbo's were like that too. anyway, i'm sure manually they go even higher than "high" on those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presslab Posted June 18, 2008 Author Share Posted June 18, 2008 My GL-10 has a height button, it gains about 2" I think. It does start noticably start topping out when in the high mode, I'm not sure I'd want to drive around with it much higher. I've been thinking about doing the reverse and having a low mode, lower than normal height. I'd lose the auto leveling though, because the location of the height switches aren't in the right spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presslab Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 So a follow up. Since I didn't feel confident opening up the shocks, I decided to stiffen up the spring rate. Just pushing on the bumper it was obvious how soft it was, especially compared to the front. How to do that with air bags? Reduce the internal volume of the bag so the stiffness ramps up quicker. I injected 7oz of silicone grease (Dow Corning 111) into each rear air bag. I could probably stand to inject more. But it seems a lot better so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRMusher Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 How and where did you inject the silicone grease? I have an 87 GL-10 turbo auto with the air suspension system. I replaced the rear with 91 Loyale shocks. Only one side went out but it killed the whole thing. I tried patching the bag and even put in tire slime thru the air input, but the rip just go too bad to do anything with. Been happily driving on those with the front still on air, but now the front is going out on the opposite corner from the bad rear. Did more tire slime but the hole is getting too bad to use. Will swap to front loyale struts unless a better option is encountered. I do a little off road withich really beats the air bags, running 185/80/13 tires.:-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
presslab Posted July 25, 2008 Author Share Posted July 25, 2008 How and where did you inject the silicone grease? I used a regular grease gun loaded with the 14oz tube of Dow 111, and used a short piece of hose to attach the gun to the air bag inlet after removing the solenoid valve. I measured the volume going into the shock by measuring the length of the shaft protruding from the grease gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyoung Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 I have a set of air shocks that are probably good, removed because of compressor issues...might be into selling them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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