DIY Airbag Man OA6011 install in 120 Grande

[1coolbanana]

Thanks mate

It is held on by a thin metal clip. Here's a pic.

[1coolbanana]

Great write up Andrew, thanks very much for that.
Silly question for those of us that havent removed the OEM bags yet.............how is it fixed and how do you detach it at the top mount?

Apparently the airbags are made by Dunlop and by your comparison photos, they certainly have a larger bore than the OE items, once you ignore the OE protective shroud.

Yes, it has Dunlop stamped on the rubber and bigger bore in both the bag and the bottom part of the airbag.

What was the main reason for deciding to go with the aftermarket bags?

As we know can buy a pair of genuine bags for $700, I think 8-9 years life was pretty good..... Also much easier to fit genuines with no mods needed. Hopefully these are as good or better.....?

It was in stock and is supposedly meant to fit 2" lifted Grandes.

From a rough pinch test, the airbag thickness is around twice as thick as the factory ones.

[Anth120playdo]

What was the main reason for deciding to go with the aftermarket bags?

As we know can buy a pair of genuine bags for $700, I think 8-9 years life was pretty good..... Also much easier to fit genuines with no mods needed. Hopefully these are as good or better.....?

[Peterpilot]

Nice write up Andrew. My airbags are over 8 years old now and after finding them deflated after sitting idle for a few days, I've also ordered an Airbag Man OA611 kit.

Apparently the airbags are made by Dunlop and by your comparison photos, they certainly have a larger bore than the OE items, once you ignore the OE protective shroud.

Reserved.....

The tools required to do the job:
Trolley jack and factory jack
Jack stands
SST (special service tool used to remove the factory air lines)
Flat screwdriver
Stanley knife
Small Angle grinder with cutting disc (I had a 100mm disc)
Dremel (to remove the burrs)
Paint and paint brush
PPE (safety glasses, ear plugs)


I have only just finished the install last night and have not had a chance to test drive it. My install took place over 3 evenings as I had to go back to work to pay for the airbags and the Prado had to be ready by the weekend.

It took me an hour to jack up the car on the 1st evening as it was fiddly to get it right AND have the garage door closed.
It took about 2 hours on the 2nd evening to modify the top mount using an angle grinder with a 100mm cutting disc and paint the cut surfaces.
It took about 0.5 hours on the 3rd evening to install the airbags.

The supplied instructions are pretty comprehensive with pictures. I found that there were a few minor errors with the instructions and these are highlighted below.

Step 1 - Prepare the vehicle
The instructions says that there is no need to raise the vehicle to fit the kit but this would be impossible to as there won't be enough room to remove the old airbags, get the angle grinder in there to mod the top mount, and to get the new airbags in.

Step 3 - Remove air springs
The instructions says the remaining air line tubing that is connected to the factory airbags is not re-used. However, they need to be re-used.

Step 5 - Fit air line tubing adaptors
The instructions says to select one black and green joiner and one nickel plated adaptor, join these together then push the adaptor onto the existing air line tubing.
There is no black and green joiner or nickel plated adaptor supplied in the kit. The kit has been updated to only include one beige and orange adaptor/joiner (1/4" x 3/16" PTC) which joins the new tubing (larger diameter) to the existing tubing (smaller diameter).

The instructions also says to uncoil the new air line tubing and cut it into 2 equal lengths.
The supplied tube was about 5m long. I used 1 foot for each side and that is still too long. 10cm would do.

Also included in the kit are 2 swaybar spacers. The instructions do not mention this and I haven't had a look at how the spacers are going to fit.

This is the factory airbag retracted compared to the Airbag Man airbag.


This is the top of the new airbags

Note that the air fitting is now centralised instead of being offset compared to the factory airbags. This requires modification to the top mount on the Prado.

The 3 circular mouldings is to locate the airbag into the top mount.

Unlike the factory airbag, the top of the new airbag is not retained.

As with the factory airbags, the new ones are handed. Below are photos of the passenger and driver's side top mounts. The large slot is inboard.


The top seat requires modification as per the instructions

The factory airbags in my 2003 Grande were due for replacement due to age. The driver's side had a 1cm tear which underwent some DIY repair prior to a trip to Robe. It subsequently failed on full articulation and we limped home on the bumpstops.

I decided that the Airbag Man OA6011 kit was the way to go. So I asked nicely for a discount and got 10% ($895 rrp) from the Adelaide reseller, Air Springs SA. I dealt with Stuart.

First up are some comparative pics of the new and old airbags. Note that the Airbag Man airbags were not fully extended in the photos. I didn't want to extend them as it was very hard to pull out and I was afraid to not be able to get it back to the retracted position as that is the length required to install it.


It doesn't seem to be much longer than the factory airbags.

The top and bottom of the new airbags is some kind of plastic.