General cost to remove XREAS and add normal shocks?

[dclark2171]

My 13' Limited has 320,000 with original XREAS system. A small leak is starting on one of the shocks. How much am I looking at, in general, to have the old system removed and new (regular) shock, struts, bushings spring etc?

Handling seems a bit "loosy goosy' and some "clunky sounds" here and there. So what ever else I may need ...please let me know.

My shop owner use to run a Lexus dealership and has much experience removing XREAS systems. Before I take it in for an estimate, just wanting to get a ball park. I'm trying to squeeze another year or two with this one. In acouple of years, I will not be driving the miles like I do now and thats when I will buy something new

I will not tackle this myself.

 

[Humble Leader]

couple points in general for anyone who finds this thread

- the actuators usually never go bad, if the hard lines are in good shape the problem like you noted is the shock itself
- if you catch it early you CAN replace a single component, like a shock. you can because there are valves and if used properly you can close the valve, remove the shock and install a new one. This is the cheapest option most likely
- I'm told by a toyota tech they come slightly overpressurized from factory to account for small fluid loss. I have not confirmed this, I wouldn't know how really
- if you are trying to keep this going and you have not lost significant fluid, you can replace the single shock. when I noticed my one rear leaking after 150k miles, I replaced all 4. I wanted to remove and go bilstein but this was right at the start of corona and shipping/product/shops etc were all shut down. there were no handling issues or noise, just saw some weep. I'm at almost 180k miles now and everything is fine
- if you're noticing handling issues etc you may have lost too much fluid. at this point replace the entire system it will be the most economical
- cost is dependent on location and who does the work. expect a few hundred $ to remove the system fully. some people just cap the lines. I'd opt to remove everything
- replace with OEM SR5 suspension or bilstein 5100. coils are probably fine. your shop owner should be able to do this no problem given your description

unrelated comment: also a lot of people out there saying you can't offroad with XREAS. BS. get out there and go for it. I beat the sht out of my XREAS on washboard unpaved/unmaintained roads all the time because of where I live. I've offroaded with it multiple times and it handles just fine. I see people get the limited trim and immediately start ripping it out. if you're making a trail pig sure. but if its a DD and occasional offroader it will be just fine, save your $. XREAS works well when its working. yes its expensive to repair but so is KDSS

 

[premise]

couple points in general for anyone who finds this thread

- the actuators usually never go bad, if the hard lines are in good shape the problem like you noted is the shock itself
- if you catch it early you CAN replace a single component, like a shock. you can because there are valves and if used properly you can close the valve, remove the shock and install a new one. This is the cheapest option most likely
- I'm told by a toyota tech they come slightly overpressurized from factory to account for small fluid loss. I have not confirmed this, I wouldn't know how really
- if you are trying to keep this going and you have not lost significant fluid, you can replace the single shock. when I noticed my one rear leaking after 150k miles, I replaced all 4. I wanted to remove and go bilstein but this was right at the start of corona and shipping/product/shops etc were all shut down. there were no handling issues or noise, just saw some weep. I'm at almost 180k miles now and everything is fine
- if you're noticing handling issues etc you may have lost too much fluid. at this point replace the entire system it will be the most economical
- cost is dependent on location and who does the work. expect a few hundred $ to remove the system fully. some people just cap the lines. I'd opt to remove everything
- replace with OEM SR5 suspension or bilstein 5100. coils are probably fine. your shop owner should be able to do this no problem given your description

unrelated comment: also a lot of people out there saying you can't offroad with XREAS. BS. get out there and go for it. I beat the sht out of my XREAS on washboard unpaved/unmaintained roads all the time because of where I live. I've offroaded with it multiple times and it handles just fine. I see people get the limited trim and immediately start ripping it out. if you're making a trail pig sure. but if its a DD and occasional offroader it will be just fine, save your $. XREAS works well when its working. yes its expensive to repair but so is KDSS

Would doing this require bleeding to remove air? Would oil need to be added to replace what's lost, even w/ the shutoff valve mitigating this loss to an extent?

 

[Toffees]

My 13' Limited has 320,000 with original XREAS system. A small leak is starting on one of the shocks. How much am I looking at, in general, to have the old system removed and new (regular) shock, struts, bushings spring etc?

Handling seems a bit "loosy goosy' and some "clunky sounds" here and there. So what ever else I may need ...please let me know.

My shop owner use to run a Lexus dealership and has much experience removing XREAS systems. Before I take it in for an estimate, just wanting to get a ball park. I'm trying to squeeze another year or two with this one. In acouple of years, I will not be driving the miles like I do now and thats when I will buy something new

I will not tackle this myself.

Just removal? Or removal and replacement both? Just call and get an estimate. I was estimated ~ $5,000 to do a full replacement ~ 3 years ago by a Toyota dealer. I did the removal myself and it took the better part of 8 hours, but I didn't have the tools or experience that a shop like that has. Just call and see what they tell you. Who's doing the new install and what type of system/install are you doing?

 

[Toffees]

Just removal? Or removal and replacement both? Just call and get an estimate. I was estimated ~ $5,000 to do a full replacement ~ 3 years ago by a Toyota dealer. I did the removal myself and it took the better part of 8 hours, but I didn't have the tools or experience that a shop like that has. Just call and see what they tell you. Who's doing the new install and what type of system/install are you doing?

I don't know if this is a forum issue or a browser issue, but I can't edit.

*I see you're doing a basic replacement, I would pencil in $3k for removal and replacement with some standard shocks. But also, I would pick your replacements carefully. You may not notice because yours are worn out, but when XREAS works it handles beautifully and swapping to generic shocks is noticeable

 

[Humble Leader]

Would doing this require bleeding to remove air? Would oil need to be added to replace what's lost, even w/ the shutoff valve mitigating this loss to an extent?

no bleeding required. if not too much fluid is lost, you can use the pintle valves near the shocks and replace the damaged shock. you can't really replace fluid because its pressurized with nitrogen. if you lose too much of that you're screwed. that's why you must buy all new parts that come pre pressurized and assemble them like it was as brand new from factory. replacing one shock when there's been a long leak doesn't help

if youre noticing driving is not what it should be you've likely lost too much fluid and nitrogen. dealers will tell you to replace the system entirely with factory XREAS if drivability is lost or remove and replace with OEM SR5. if your intention is to get rid of the vehicle then go cheapest. if your intention is to keep look at the cost delta from new XREAS vs SR5. I got 10 years out of my factory XREAS, so hopefully I get another 10 out of the XREAS replacement shocks I put in. with the cost of labor I bet there's not too much of a difference between XREAS replace vs removal + new shocks by a dealer. XREAS will still be more but like the above said when it's working its great. of course if youre a DIY - remove the XREAS and go basic. if you buy all the components and mess up the pintle valve just once you're effed

 

[MZ2215]

Very rough estimate, $500-700 for struts/springs/etc then $2k-4k depending on what the shop costs per hour of labor. Could be as low as $2500 out the door, could be $5000.

 

[premise]

no bleeding required. if not too much fluid is lost, you can use the pintle valves near the shocks and replace the damaged shock. you can't really replace fluid because its pressurized with nitrogen. if you lose too much of that you're screwed. that's why you must buy all new parts that come pre pressurized and assemble them like it was as brand new from factory. replacing one shock when there's been a long leak doesn't help

if youre noticing driving is not what it should be you've likely lost too much fluid and nitrogen. dealers will tell you to replace the system entirely with factory XREAS if drivability is lost or remove and replace with OEM SR5. if your intention is to get rid of the vehicle then go cheapest. if your intention is to keep look at the cost delta from new XREAS vs SR5. I got 10 years out of my factory XREAS, so hopefully I get another 10 out of the XREAS replacement shocks I put in. with the cost of labor I bet there's not too much of a difference between XREAS replace vs removal + new shocks by a dealer. XREAS will still be more but like the above said when it's working its great. of course if youre a DIY - remove the XREAS and go basic. if you buy all the components and mess up the pintle valve just once you're effed

Ok. I think I'm getting it. Though there probably is a small amount of atmosphere introduced to the system when cracked open, it's not detrimental, as it is simply diffused into the oil as a slightly less nitrogen rich gas.