What do you guys think about Air Shocks on a Jeep?
my leafs are still decent..(very little sag)
but my shocks are orig. and need replacement..

thinking of buying air shocks for the rear and having the ability to change the rear height to whatever I want..

thoughts!?

Thanks!

 

It would work, but air shocks tend to ride with a floaty feeling, that's been my experience. Maybe it was the shocks I had. But it would work. They cost about 2x as much and mine didn't last that long. I had some on my Jeep years ago. If you want to raise the height a little, drive on over to a leaf spring shop and ask them how much to re-arch the leaves just a touch and then go with a regular shock. That might be better money spent. These spring shops do most of their work on big rigs and trucks so doing something like a Jeep is like something they can do in their sleep. But if you tow or haul heavy items sometimes, air shocks would be good for that.

I had some brand new springs on a car de-arched many years ago (new springs rode TOO high). It was cheap and I was in and out in no time.

 

jordan96xj seems happy with them:
"If you plan on towing more than a few times a year I would put Gabriel HiJacker air adjustable shocks in the rear. They are cheap and adjustable, and have held up pretty well to the salt and road conditions here. They can easily compensate for 100-400lbs of tongue weight which is enough for most things towable by an XJ. The rear of the XJ is so light that to put stiffer springs in the rear for towing makes the rear far too harsh for daily driving. With the adjustable air shocks, I only lift the rear when I need to. The rest of the time is rides like factory basically."

I've never ran them on a 4x4 but have ran the Gabriel's on drag cars in the past. Never blew one out. They're tough.

 

The rear upper shock mounts arent designed to carry the load of a trailer. That's the leaf springs job.

Probably just my point of view

 

I have had Gabriel Hi-Jackers on my Jeep now for 5 years. Towed a 19' camper with a weight distribution hitch and the shocks gave me a more level ride. When I am not towing I let the shocks down some and the Jeep drives fine.

 

Alright...
I like what I hear.!

The only towing I will be doing is a small 5x9 trailer..

Thanks for your opinions👍🏻

 

Re: Gabriel Hi-Jackers ... EZEARL already quoted my best statement on them. They have worked out very well for me. Adding/Removing air does not change the shock damping, it simply adjusts the length of the shock. I don't find them getting stiffer or softer at different air levels.

TrailerTrash is correct though. The upper shock mounts are not designed to carry much of the load. So extended use of the shocks to compensate for very heavy loads could definitely lead to problems in that area. However, I think if they are used for occasional handling of -slighty- heavier loads (200-400lbs), they perform as advertised. I have about 3 years on mine in a harsh environment (water, salt, etc) and they are still going strong. I had to replace the air lines one time this year because I damaged them while doing some other work. They were very cheap and available on ebay and took all of about 30 minutes to replace.

If the ones I have on should wear out, I will definitely be putting another pair on. Even if I get rid of my popup camper, I'll keep them on. They come in handy even when I'm just camping with the vehicle (no camper) and have a lot of extra gear on board.

 

I recently replaced all 4 shocks with some cheap Monroe units. But the car feels very bouncy. I'd like a stiffer ride. Any suggestions on a stiffer shock without having to go to an air shock? Thanks.

 

No it's not just your point of view. It's fact. Air shocks are bad news. Period. The shock manufacturers know this, but suckers keep buying them, so they keep quiet about it and keep selling them.

Shocks are designed to dampen oscillations. Springs are designed to carry weight. They are two different functions and they should be kept separate.

 

I said my point of view because I expected to have to argue and convince a few people of the fact of the matter

This thread didnt take a hard turn though as I thought it would

 

It is a fact. You are correct.

The upper shock mount and lower shock bolt do experience very heavy loads (with normal shocks) but the load is relatively short lived (transient). Where as the air shock is going to put a sustained load on them, in addition to the transient loads (when damping is occurring). So if the upper shock mount or lower shock mount (bolt) are compromised, there is an increased risk of damaging them. I've ran mine for 4 years, and probably never compensate for more than about 2-300lbs. Which they do well, but if someone tried to compensate for 500+lbs, I could see it causing problems over time, especially if their shock mounts are already compromised in some way (rust primarily).

The other problem they WON'T fix has to do with towing. If tongue weight is high and causes the rear of the vehicle to squat and the front of the vehicle to point upwards this normally causes undesirable handling characteristics in the front suspension and steering. A sense of "floating", lack of steering control, and propensity to skid when using the brakes (because weight is being taken off the front end). Raising the rear via air-shocks will not solve this problem even if the vehicle looks more level. Many people are sold on solutions to lack of weight over the front end by products that lift the rear (air shocks, coil-over shocks, air bags, spring helpers, etc). None of these really address the issue. (see youtube to help explain the physics - search for explanations on how weight distributing hitch systems work).

So if the user knows the risks and limitations, I think they can use them with no problems. I intend to keep them on indefinitely.

 

Little story per my post above:
When I bought my XJ the guy had a full-sized 7 1/2' plow on the front, meant for something like a 'heavy-half' pick-up. WAY too heavy for my rig. The tail was wagging the dog so to speak. He had air shocks on the front towers for years to support the weight. The weight of the plow prematurely wore out the u-joints. I fixed all that and switched to a much lighter plow, heavier coils ...removed the air shocks. But with all the extra weight and air shock stress there was no damage at all on the shock towers. The shock towers are pretty stout as is the entire front end. Even the wheel bearings are still original. If you go to the snow-plow forums, you'll see that XJ's are somewhat a popular snow plow rig for some guys. Lot of guys run air shocks in the front and I've never read of anyone having problems with the towers coming apart. Now, if you're racing the Baja 500 all-out with air shocks pumped up hard, with a lot of 'hammering' sure it'll probably stress the towers out.

Air shocks don't seem to last very long in my experience. Maybe they would for you in your particular situation, or the way you drive. But if you tend to haul or trailer tow now and then, sure, air shocks could be a great solution. Usually it only takes a few lbs of air to make a difference in a vehicle as light as an XJ. We're talking 5 ..maybe 8 or 10 psi. That's a small amount for air shocks. Almost the minimum. I'd only put like 6 psi in my air shocks to level the front with a snow plow. So I doubt there will be any hammering away on your rig's suspension. We're talking air here ...not hydraulic fluid. I'm not anti-air shock. They have their place...

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Surely you want air springs like you find on big rigs (and Ranger Rovers) and whatever shocks will work with the damping range required.
I think you'd be looking at a rear coil conversion, but using bags instead.

Gotta say, the air suspension on my 01 Range Rover is pretty good. The XJ feels less boaty round corners but part of that has to be the huge difference in weight.

 

My Gabriel Hi-Jackers developed a leak after 6 years. I tried replacing the fittings, hoses and o-rings but still had to add air once a week.

I went with Monroe 58594 Load adjust shock absorber.
It has been a few weeks since the install and I feel the Jeep rides better and "sits" like it should.

just throwing my two cooper coins in for the heck of it...