Do-it-yourself air suspension installation

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

Today, car manufacturers use several types of suspensions. The most popular, of course, spring. However, many premium and commercial vehicles have been equipped with pneumatic systems for many years. It is more expensive, but provides a high ride and allows you to change the clearance if necessary. Often, owners of lower class cars think about installing such a system. Is it possible to install air suspension with your own hands? As experience shows, this operation can be carried out independently. What are the features of this system and how to install the air suspension with your own hands? Consider the installation methods in this article.

Characteristic

So what is air suspension? This is one of the varieties of car suspensions, which has been used in the automotive industry for over 70 years. It was originally developed forsemi-trailers and trucks. However, in the 90s, air suspension began to be installed on cars and premium SUVs. It can also be found on large buses. The key feature of this suspension is the ability to adjust the clearance, which is why it is so in demand among tuning enthusiasts.

If we talk about domestic cars, this system is often installed on front-wheel drive VAZs. You can also find a similar suspension on UAZ vehicles, but as an auxiliary one.

In addition, the air suspension provides a comfortable ride, evenly absorbing all the bumps in the road. As an elastic element, a pneumocylinder filled with pressurized air is used here. It is he who acts as a standard spring or spring, which are used in the design of most machines. We also note that the factory air suspension systems are able to adjust the damping stiffness. So, there are three modes: comfort, sport and normal.

Cooking components

To install the air suspension on a Toyota or any other car with our own hands, we first need to prepare all the components of this system. First of all, you should choose the right air bags. It is important that the air element does not interfere with the operation of the suspension, does not touch the brake hoses and other critical chassis components. We also note that now ready-made kits for a specific brand of car are being sold. This applies to both foreign and domestic cars.cars. For example, a set of ready-made four-circuit suspension for Priora costs about 80 thousand rubles. Front cylinders are assembled with a rack.

Solenoid valves are used in the circuit so that the system can hold and bleed air when necessary. They operate on 12 volts. Usually they have a flow area of 15 millimeters. Connect with 0.5 inch threaded fittings.

You should also prepare the compressor. You can take a domestic one (for example, Berkut R20). He does his job very well. To have where to pump air, you need to prepare the receiver. Its volume must be at least 10 liters. You can use the budget option - buy a 20-liter KamAZ receiver by welding U-shaped supports to it. It already has openings for air injection and condensate drain.

What else do you need?

In addition, it is worth buying:

• Tees.
• Solenoid valves.
• Nipples.
• Hoses.
• Fittings.
• Manometer.
• Dehumidifier.
• Fasteners.

The purchase kit already includes all the necessary components for installing the air suspension with your own hands.

Front mount

Note that this mounting scheme is universal. The chain of elements arrangement will be as follows:

1. Pillows.
2. Manometer.
3. Solenoid valves for air inlet and outlet.
4. Receiver.
5. Reversevalve.
6. Compressor.

Most of the cars, on which such a system is usually installed abnormally, have a classic MacPherson strut suspension. Under such a scheme, ready-made pneumatic racks are already being sold, they only need to be mounted on regular places of the front chassis instead of spring ones. In order to work you will need:

• Set of socket and box wrenches.
• Tie rod end puller.
• Hexagon.
• Hammer and pliers.

Since the front struts are rarely disassembled, before installing the air suspension with your own hands, you need to “soak” all bolted connections with VD-40 fluid. It is enough to wait five minutes for all compounds to deoxidize. If necessary, you must first clean the dirt from the bolts with a wire brush. Take care not to damage the rubber boots (for example, on the steering tips).

Getting Started

So, put the car on the jack and remove the wheel. We unscrew the brake hoses with the keys and remove them from the holder bracket. Next, using pliers, we unbend the cotter pin on the steering tip finger and unscrew the nut (usually with a 17 wrench). Then we take the tip puller and press it out of the seat. We turn the support and unscrew the nuts of the steering knuckle. If necessary, the bolts can be carefully knocked out with a hammer.

Pay special attention to the eccentric bolt when dismantling the rack. He is responsible for the alignment. It is important not to lose it.

After all the described manipulationsunscrew the fastening nut under the hood (where the strut support bearing is located). Usually these nuts are unscrewed with a 13 wrench. After that, you can safely remove the spring rack out.

What's next?

Next, install a new air suspension. You need to fasten in the reverse order - first the top, and then the bottom. Brake hoses are also attached to the same rack. After installing the air strut, connect the air hoses to it. We bring them according to the scheme to the solenoid valves. Since the compressor with valves is usually located in the trunk, you will have to run a hose through the entire body. You can fix the hoses next to the fuel, on plastic clamps. It is important that they do not fray, and the length itself is enough for a normal turn. We do the same operation with another part of the suspension.

This completes the work on the front. According to the same scheme, you can install the air suspension with your own hands on Mercedes.

Rear axle mounting

Here the process is somewhat different. Often, on cars where air suspension is not provided by the factory, there is a spring semi-dependent beam. It will be installed on it. But the location of the springs is different here. In the design of the car at the rear there is no such rack as the front. Springs and dampers are sold separately.

Do-it-yourself air suspension installation is as follows. The car is jacked up and the wheel removed. Next, you need to dismantlethe spring itself. If it sits tightly on the fenders, it is recommended to use a special screed. Pulling the spring out, put a pillow in its place. Installation is carried out using special plates, which are usually cut to fit the parameters of a particular beam.

The pre-installation kits already have all the necessary plates. We just have to drill holes for their fastening, fix the platform with bolts and put the pillow in place. We do not affect the shock absorber (in rare cases, it should be unscrewed from the bottom to provide more beam travel in order to install a pillow or remove a spring). After that, hoses are connected to the cylinders. We fasten them in the same way - on plastic clamps (better than wide ones).

The final stage of installing the air suspension with your own hands

After that, we bring all the hoses to the solenoid valves, and then connect the compressor. The latter needs to be powered by 12 volts. We supply the positive electrode from the battery, and the minus can be applied to the "mass" (that is, to the body). Don't forget about the receiver.

Further in the cabin is the control unit. Control units differ in design, so the exact wiring diagram is in the instructions for each air suspension kit.

That's it. Please note that if you installed the air suspension with your own hands (on a Mercedes or Priora, it doesn’t matter), you must definitely go to a wheel alignment. Sometimes installation angles are shifted after installationwheels. If you put the air suspension on the Gazelle with your own hands, it is not necessary to go to wheel alignment, because it will play the role of an auxiliary element, and the steering rods will remain intact during installation.

Repair

Is it possible to repair the air suspension with your own hands? Unfortunately, the elements of this system cannot be repaired. If necessary, the air suspension is completely replaced.