Grande shock absorber replacement

[dudders Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close dudders]

Hi, I am looking at changing out my rear shock absorbers due to buying an offroad TrackTrailer Tvan recently. The Grande has the air suspension with the airbags and shocks. I believe the shock absorbers are shot, as my mechanic said they had a slight oil leak and there is a noise coming from the rear whenever I go over bumps or speed humps.

My question is; Should I replace the shocks with the original air suspension type shockies, or go for the regular type of shock.
If I do go with the regular type of shock, does anyone have any suggestions as to what type?
With fitting of regular shocks, will I still be able to use the function, where at the push of the button on the console, I can raise or lower the rear a little bit?

I am not really worried about that feature the air shocks provide where you can set the ride softness on the dial on the console, as I hardly ever use it anyway.

Any advise or suggestions would be great. At the moment - sometimes it feels like I am driving on corrugated roads even on the freeway! and I am getting really jack of it.

Cheers
Tony

[Guest Close Guest]

Have a read of this sticky http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...n-Prado-Grande

[topic97 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close topic97]

Holy Mother, that's a lot of info to digest! ha ha.
Starting to think perhaps I should have got a GXL to make a 2 inch lift a tad easier! ;D

Soooo.....and im sure the answer is in there somewhere, but I cant yet find it.....if I upgrade the shockers to non TEMS items, is it going to throw error codes on the dash, or just remove the ride comfort functionality without fanfare?

Im not really fussed about retaining the TEMS, just the airbags - which are going to get replaced anyhow.

[Guest Close Guest]

There are no codes thrown if the TEMS shocks are removed. It will just remove the ride comfort settings.

[topic97 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close topic97]

Sweet. Looks like the way to go with a 2 inch lift then!

So am I right in understanding the rear airbags in a grande are there in place of springs?
I.e - they aren't springs containing airbags?

Thanks a lot for your help too!

[Guest Close Guest]

Yes the airbags are in place of springs.

[dudders Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close dudders]

That is a lot of info, thanks for the links. What if I don't want to go for the lift? Will Bilstein shocks be able to provide the standard lift that I have in the Grande now? Will I need to replace the front shocks? I don't believe there is anything wrong with them, but if I disconnect the rears for regular shocks will this impact on the front shocks?
Kind of thought this would be a simple fix for my problem - perhaps not.
I am glad to see that I can still raise and lower the rear using the airbags, so that's one benefit.
I don't do any real heavy duty offroad stuff, so don't believe I will pop out an airbag.
Thanks heaps for your help "Amts" I really appreciate it.
Tony

[Guest Close Guest]

There will be no impact if just replacing the rear shocks and leaving the front ones as is. The Bilsteins will be fine.
The grande is not a hard vehicle to work with. You just get this impression from suspension shops, even from the big boys who don't want to touch the suspension as soon as you mention 'Grande'.

[topic97 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close topic97]

The grande is not a hard vehicle to work with. You just get this impression from suspension shops, even from the big boys who don't want to touch the suspension as soon as you mention 'Grande'.

That's good to know. I was going to have a crack at doing the suspension myself but was thinking it may be a bit daunting.
But from what I can read, the airbags are fairly simple to swap out, and suspension is suspension - granted you take the TEMS out of the equation!
Your suspension tutorial makes it a lot easier too!

So airbag wise, have people found the durability of the airbagman bags good, or am I better off going to a spring setup?
Wouldn't mind keeping the levelling system, but not fussed if its better off getting rid of it - im not intending on doing any heavy towing.

Sorry, im hijacking a thread here a bit....

[dudders Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close dudders]

Sorry, im hijacking a thread here a bit....

No worries mate - you are voicing the same concerns and asking the same questions I have - so you are saving me a job (thanks).
I will just go with the Bilsteins in the rear end for now and see how she feels on the road. I have the factory fitted alloy bar - with Fyrlyt driving lights so the added weight to the front is negligible, cant imagine the front end drooping with that on it. The tow ball weight is around 100kg + or -, so the rear end should be fine (fingers crossed). I will get this done next time home and let you all know.
Again, many thanks to AMTS for all your great assistance. Very knowledgable bloke to have around.
Cheers
Tony