Anybody put rear air suspension in a SE?

[TeryT]

I tow a larger trailer with a tongue weight of around 700 - which is right at the 4Runner's max. Even though it is a weight distributing hitch system, it still causes the rear to go down, and pops the front up a little, although nothing too drastic.

I was wondering if anybody has an idea if the rear air suspension system would go in my sport model OK. Or would heavier springs be a better mod? (which would most likey be much cheaper)

Thanks!

 

[khaug]

I tow a 4,000# trailer with our '03 Limited which has rear air suspension. It's certainly convenient, as it automatically levels the rig when I drop the trailer on.

Looking at the air suspension setup, I think it's going to be VERY expensive to retrofit. The option was bundled with the X-REAS shocks on our 'Runner, and the package cost something like $1200. The air suspension completely replaces the coil springs with air bags, and includes a compressor, a height-sensing system, a switch in the cabin and some wiring.

I previously towed with a '98 'Limited 'Runner, and installed a pair of Air Lift bags to level the load. The ones I installed required an external air source, but that wasn't a problem for me, as I own a garage compressor. Any time I wanted to tow, I'd put 20 psi in the air bags and was good to go. And when I was done, I'd bleed the air bags down to the 5 psi minimum that Air Lift recommended and the ride was back to normal.

The Air Lifts worked just fine and were trouble-free over the 5 years and 75K miles I had the truck. They cost under $100 and were easy to install. If I were to replace our '03, I'd probably do Air Lifts again rather than spend big bucks for the small increment of convenience the factory system provides.

Good luck. Please let us know what you do and how well it works.

 

[TeryT]

Thanks for the info. I too had wondered about the aftermarket bags. However, in looking at my 4Runner, it has huge rubber bumper mounts inside the rear springs. It doesn't appear like bags could go in there.

 

[khaug]

With my '98, I completely removed the jounce bumpers and ran with just the Air Lifts in place. It worked fine, as long as I kept Air Lift's recommended 5 psi minimum pressure in the system. In fact, the ride on rough pavement without the bumpers was better, as they'd limited suspension travel in the rear.

You might call Air Lift or check out their web site. I believe they have a tech support line that can answer questions.