Question on installing Air Lift 1000

[Jonthemoon]

Hi !
I've already read all I can on the subject and really appreciate the sticky and all the messages I've read. Tonight I've jacked the truck and tried to look on how to do the job and I'm a bit confused . Here are my main questions.

Let's say I'm on a lift (I will go at a nearby garage to lift it up just to simplify the job)
What I understand is that I should :

1. Remove the wheels
2. Remove the rubber bumper completely using a 12mm socket after having soaked it in WD40 (Or should I leave just an inch of the rubber thing ?)
3. Pass the air pipe in the bolt hole having enlarged it to 3/4 of an inch
4. Route the air tube through the frame (Do I have to drill a hole in the frame ??) to where I want to put the valve
5. Squeeze the air lift tube through the coil and plug the hose.
6. Make sure all is airtight, put some pressure, test it with soapy water
7. Put back the wheels
8. Drive home then have a beer.

Or, should I remove the coil, drill a 3\4 hole in the bottom plate and route the air this way while still removing all the rubber stopper ???

I hope to work on it tomorrow evening so any insight would be really appreciated.
Attached are some photos of what I was looking at. It seems quite obvious when I read the posts here but when I try to figure out how to do it I'm pretty much confused...








Thanks in advance, I owe you all already,
Jon

[Hawairish]

I've heard of installations without removing the springs (which is what you've described), but it just seems like it creates more obstacles than it saves work. For instance, do you have a 90° drill adapter, chuck, and short drill bit? And once you've unbolted the bumpstop, will it clear the spring coils to be removed?

Also, your bumpstop looks like one for a Jeep, not OE. Shouldn't make a significant difference, just need to figure out if you can unbolt it or twist it off.

That said, I'd spend the extra few minutes removing the springs to not have to work around them. And if you intend to use a lift, you'll also need tall stands to support the rear axle during the spring removal process (the shocks act as droop limiters, and will need to be removed to allow the axle to move away from the chassis to take load off the springs).

The rest of the install is straight forward, but basically custom as far as routing the lines and such. Your placement of the Schrader valve(s) will dictate where/what you need to drill.

I installed a set on my buddy's R50 and did the following:
1) Instead of two separate valves, one per bag, we just tee'd them together to a single valve
2) Installed the valve up in the driver's side rear wheel well. There was a flat spot that was tucked up and out of the way during articulation.

[Jonthemoon]

Thanks !

I didn't realize that the Axle would drop off. Good catch.
The thing is I only have 2Ton stands and jack. My jack cannot lift from the pumpkin. I can jack from the Hitch to release all the pressure on the shocks without lifting the wheels though.

So, I realize that to be able to drill a hole either in the bottom plate or on the top one, I'll have a hard time without removing the spring.

So, maybe just lift the truck on the lift, then hold the Axle with a tough enough jack, unscrew the shocks , drop the axle, remove the spring, drill the bottom plate, remove the rubber bumber stop (completely ??) then route everything.

Does this seems like a good plan ?

Thanks a lot again,

[Jonthemoon]

Another question,

DO I need to remove all the rubber bumper or should I just trim it and leave some material ?

THanks. I'll probably work on it tonight and will post pictures of my experience.

[Hawairish]

I've only ever pulled my springs using 4 jackstands a good floor jack. Even with a basic jack, you can just work one side at a time (in fact, that's how I remove my springs...do one side, then to the other).

But you could also just lift the truck up a few feet on the lift, undo the shocks, and lift the truck up a few more inches. With your spare tire pulled, you'd have another headroom to sit under and work...if you felt safe do so, of course.

And yes, the bumpstops get removed.

Are you changing the springs, too, while you're at it? They're a relatively cheap replacement item.

[EdBwoy]

When I did mine, 2 times at that, I've left the bump stops. They seem to be holding very well.

I didn't remove the springs either. I believe I used a combination of jacking at the pumpkin, trailer hitch, and jackstands at the front of the lower trailing arms. Just extend the springs enough and if you squeeze air out of the bags, you can just feed them through. I don't think the shock was overextended either.

I have the bags with the inlets facing down, and I just used a drill, probably 3/8" to open the bottom up a little. I used sand paper and/or a Dremel to deburr it.

I routed both bags to one Schrader valve beside my tow hitch wiring. I poked it through the bumper cover. It's not a symmetric Tee as there's more line coming from the passenger side, meeting a short section from the driver's side and then snaking out to the fill port at the back. The lines are zip-tied along the axles, then along the tow hitch, then out.

One thing to watch out for is the bottom plate, or whatever surface is in contact with the bag. The first kit I got didn't have a way to protect the nipple from being scuffed by the metal. The tube on one nipple got scuffed up and developed a hole. That bag got deflated but luckily only deformed, didn't break. Since they're tied together, the other bag went flat too and got popped due to low pressure. The replacement kit came with some rubber washers that I slipped the nipple thru, super glued to the bags and seated down. So far so good.

Make sure you maintain the air pressure as they recommend.
Also, allow some slack in your lines as you install the kit - you might need to cut small pieces off as you repair.