GRAYM

OK so I know that my rear suspension no longer operates the way it should...with 230K miles and owned since 03....time has taken its toll. So I was wondering if anyone has a parts list to repair the rear air suspension so that I can take it directly to my toyota dealer to install. I can tell that the air suspension is trashed simply because I would normally hear the car lower when I parked in the garage etc...now it doesn't do anything.

Let me know if anyone has any ideas,

Thanks!!

natedog650

Just out of curiousity, seems like everyone in your shoes is looking at converting their suspension rather than replacing the stock air suspension due to significant costs. Any reason why you are not?
Benefits of air vs. conversion?

ALAN553

So many parts to address, shocks, reservoir pump/solenoid assembly, air springs, height sensors.

SmittysGX

So because its not working correctly, does that mean all those items are bad? Is there a reasonable way to diagnose the problem and just fix what is broken on these are suspension systems? Mine still works however I have noticed a time or two where it seems low on air and I have to change the selector to High in order to air them up to normal. I'm thinking maybe a very slow leak somewhere. What's the cost of a conversion anyways?

ALAN553

The air bags probably have a small leak, for conversion prices there are many posts in this forum, just have to do the search.

SmittysGX

Ill check it out, Thank you!

xbrian

Guys, I actually just did my conversion this morning. I bought the Strutmasters kit and took it to my Meineke guy not only because it is cold out and I was tired of hitting my head on the roof for 3 days now but If it was warm I would save myself that $180. About 2 yrs ago I replaced both sensors for $500 or so and this time around I could actually hear the air leaking out of the the passenger side airbag/ shock. To make matters worse, I could hear the compressor kick in often and 3 days ago and I guess it finally got tired after loudly grunting for a month. 11 years of use on a '03 is fair enough life out of the system and I figured for $600+ for the compressor, approx $400 for the air shocks and roughly $200 to replace the rusty shock/dampeners, I was better off spending the $375 shipped for the Strutmasters.
To cut to the chase, the question I really had was how does the ride compare to stock so I'll attempt to answer for everyone's benefit from what I can tell so far.

1) No noticeable difference on smooth or slightly uneven pavement.
2) Over slightly raised train tracks and rough road you can feel the subtleties slightly. Definitely not as much felling as my BMW 3 series but approx 96% of stock GX470's ability to dampen this vibration. I really don't understand the justification for such a system but I guess that's luxury. Keep in mind also that this car sells as the Parado in other parts of the world and I've driven in one so I believe Strutmasters did their best to come close to the stock feel as possible. The fronts system is the same so no difference there so perhaps I should get input from the kids.