Air (Nitrogen) Suspension Deleted!

[Shockracer]

Back in 2018 I had the compressor replaced on my 2014. It had a 1st revision compressor and was replaced with a 4th revision compressor. After that all had been great for 4 years, towing, hauling 1.1 Tons of cobble stone and much more. Well, this past year it started to act up again with random errors, it would and wouldn't lift or lower, Aero mode would make it freakout and drop to the bump stops so I would have to tell it to calibrate. I finally said I'm done with the really cool system and going back to coils and shocks.

This past weekend I installed my AirDelete(dot)com kit 3" front Bilstein 5100's and 1.75" rear coils with +35% weight capacity and Bilstein 5100's, I also opted for the RC upper control arms which are so much better than OEM. I have a max package Limited so she is heavy with a full tank of Gas and I pull a 7k to 8K camper with it too. When I removed the rear bags, the passenger side one sat 3" lower than the driver side bag at free rest and the rear shocks were worn-out. The ride quality hasn't diminished and feels so much better at highway speeds. Very low speeds it is a touch stiffer which I'm completely happy with, especially with the trash roads most of us have in the US. The only thing I'm not 100% on in the kit is the banner ironed on to the front coil socks. I cleaned and painted the surface rust areas with VHT epoxy paint on the frame and axle. Other than the banner on the socks, I highly recommend this kit if you are questioning whether it's worth it or not. Total time was around 6 hours taking my time with one other person helping.

 

[Shawn Burns]

When mine goes bad, I think I will go the exact route you have gone. It sounds like you did the work yourself? If you did the work, how difficult was it?

 

[Shockracer]

When mine goes bad, I think I will go the exact route you have gone. It sounds like you did the work yourself? If you did the work, how difficult was it?

Not bad at all. The instructions Airdelete sent are very clear and informative and there are videos on YouTube. I also bought a Haynes manual for torque specs. The worse part was heating and bending a 21mm wrench to hold the nut on the upper shock mount. In my neck of the woods the install would have cost around $1500. I had the tools and torque wrenchs from working on vehicles years ago, but most can be rented free of charge from auto part stores these days. If you do a lift, you'll need an alignment afterwards.

 

[crash68]

The worse part was heating and bending a 21mm wrench to hold the nut on the upper shock mount.

Little late now but if someone else tackles this or is just swapping the rear shocks: https://www.thurenfabrication.com/products/thuren-shock-nut-set-2009-2018-dodge-ram-1500

 

[Jeepwalker]

Ramboxes!! nice.
Is that yer WJ sitting back there? Is that an XJ across the street??

Thanks for sharing your project!

 

[T. Anders]

I did the same thing last year and couldn't be happier. It's nice not having to worry about coming outside on a cold morning and finding the truck on the bump stops.

 

[Shockracer]

I did the same thing last year and couldn't be happier. It's nice not having to worry about coming outside on a cold morning and finding the truck on the bump stops.

View attachment 518156

Nice, clean looking truck BTW!

Exactly! What did it for me was on the last road trip I turned Aero mode back on and it freaked out and dropped to the bump stops on the interstate 150 miles from home. After resetting the battery and finally remembering how I could tell it to calibrate fixing the issue temporarily. Then this winter with it dropping one side or another was the icing on the cake for this decision. My biggest worry was ride quality and towing without squatting. I'm not disappointed with ride quality and think it's better in most cases than the Air ride was. Here soon I will find out if towing with the +35% coil weight capacity helped or not.

 

[turkeybird56]

I did the same thing last year and couldn't be happier. It's nice not having to worry about coming outside on a cold morning and finding the truck on the bump stops.

View attachment 518156

Looks fine sitting there and getting rid of Air. My DT truck is just stock, but I have no issue towing about 7K when I do tow.,. except for the gas gauge complaining as it winds down kinda fast with the Hemi pushing the RPM's sometimes,.

 

[T. Anders]

Nice, clean looking truck BTW!

Exactly! What did it for me was on the last road trip I turned Aero mode back on and it freaked out and dropped to the bump stops in the interstate 150 miles from home. After resetting the battery and finally remembering how I could tell it to calibrate fixing the issue temporarily. Then this winter with it dropping one side or another was the icing on the cake for this decision. My biggest worry was ride quality and towing without squatting. I'm not disappointed with ride quality and think it's better in most cases than the Air ride was. Here soon I will find out if towing with the +35% coil weight capacity helped or not.

Thanks. Your truck is sharp also.

I opted for the +35%, 1" taller rear spring also and I've been very happy with it while towing. I don't tow often, but I need to haul my boat a few times a year. The boat trailer combo weighs about 6500 lbs and you can see in the picture it looks fairly level.

 

[Shockracer]

Thanks. Your truck is sharp also.

I opted for the +35%, 1" taller rear spring also and I've been very happy with it while towing. I don't tow often, but I need to haul my boat a few times a year. The boat trailer combo weighs about 6500 lbs and you can see in the picture it looks fairly level.

View attachment 518619

Wow, with such little squat it looks like it has Air Suspension still.

 

[Kingzilla]

The new set up looks great, do you by chance know the height its currently sittings at? My air suspension just started giving me issues and I will be going the delete route. Driving over 800 miles from Chicago to Dallas on bump stops has convinced me to just pull it. Not interested in having to worry about it in the future. I want to have the new set up sit around the height my truck currently sits at on OR2.