XT6 - Air or KYB?

[SuBrat84]

I haven't been able to troubleshoot it... but I should have a better idea by next week... I just want some opinions what you guys think about the Air Suspension vs. Putting the KYB's in it?? Are these air shocks even replacable if they are bad? What are some common problems with the air suspension? What should I look for with it up on blocks? etc etc?

[operose]

you really need to jump over to xt6.net.... I remember gary ("grossgary" here and there) posting a thread with pics about reconditioning older air struts... also lots of good info regarding which seals and o-rings go bad, plus we're all into xt's so we have at least a little bit of knowledge of the subject

[idosubaru]

derrick is right on the money. check out that thread if you're into preventative maintenance. i bought my current daily driver 4 years ago at 100,000 miles. i now have 220,000 miles and i've never replaced the air bags on it. they're fine. but the rubber does go bad, that's why i suggest maintaining them a bit if you want to keep them and don't want to buy replacements.

 

the air strut is replaceable, just like any other strut. 3 bolts up top, 2 at the bottom (for the fronts), it comes out really easy. then the electrical and one air fitting. easy to replace. but they are hard to find and run 400+ new from the dealer. you can source them online for about 250 is the lowest you'll find a new one for. or buy used, again slightly tricky to find i like having a set of spares, but mine are all in really good shape. EA82 (XT Turbo and others) air struts will not fit on the XT6. i guess the rears might...but the fronts definitely won't.

 

the air bags wear at the very bottom where they "fold" back on themself. this is where they contact the bottom of the strut. when the bottom of the strut gets a little rust, this rust is rough and gradually wears the air bag away and it will develop holes. i clean the rust up and paint them to keep them from doing that, never had to replace an air bag yet.

 

another common failure point is the air compressor from coming on too often. if you have a leak anywhere and youre compressor is cycling on often then that will eventually burn it up and you'll be looking for a new (used) one.

 

if you can keep your air bags from leaking and replace all your o-rings then you're setting yourself up for a good experience with your air suspension. there's an o-ring at every airline fitting (white caps with 4 prongs). if one prong breaks off it will still hold and seal, but try like the dickens not to break them, they do break rather easily. i think even 2 will hold if they are opposite each other. a thin piece of tubing with a slit along the length of it so it wraps around the air line is the easiest way to remove the lines without breaking the tabs. i've never done that, but it's a good idea, i always just use a screw driver with no problems. but next time i think i'm going the tube route to simplify things. anyway...replace your o-rings...they are 20 years old so it's not IF they will fail but WHICH ONES! just tear into it and replace every single one of them. the one on the rear struts requires removing the solenoid from the strut to replace the o-ring.

 

i dig my air suspension and have had relatively few problems with it myself. regular struts would have fewer problems, but i can diagnose this system and have all the extra parts so no big deal to me. i installed the canadian height switch button too so now i can raise it up and down.

 

like derrick said, go to www.xt6.net for more information, do a search and you'll come up with some stuff. was a guy in canada recently that had a terrible time with his, could not get it to work for anything. i sent him a new compressor and computer and it still wouldn't work?? that's certainly not common, never seen that before.

[SuBrat84]

So I guess the compressor is not coming on... I jiggled it and it shot a little bit of air to the front right strut to try and get it to inflat and then it just died... this thing has electrical issues out the wazuu... I'm still working on the fuel system... Thanks for all the good info.. and I have been over on xt6.net a bit.. and I've even been waiting for like a week to get approved so i can post over there...

[idosubaru]

ha, sorry about the approval process, we just started that not too long ago, a matter of weeks. too many bogus sign ups so there wasn't much choice.

 

give your compressor 12 volts and see if it comes on. that will verify for sure if it works or not. even if it comes on it may not have enough pressure to work properly. or it might work but the computer is turning it off for some reason. i doubt it's "electrical" in the sense that it's a really tricky electrical short or wiring issue. it is most likely just a component of the suspension has failed - compressor, strut (height sensor or leak) or a solenoid or a leak at one of the oring or the computer. that's the list of issues to check.

 

you can also go to the auto parts store and put together some fittings to adapt the top of your front struts to receive air from a regular air compressor. this way you can load the struts and see if they leak. don't really need to do that, but those fittings are really nice if you have an air compressor to work with. you would unscrew the existing fitting at the very top of the strut (either 10 or 12 mm fitting) and screw this adapter in its place. then blow it up at will.