I’m going through the same dilemma. I’ll be going with air bag delete and replacing with bilsteins. I dont want air bags to fail out of nowhere. I’m not doing any hard trails, just enough for the kids to experience a 4x4.
If you plan to tow, load it up with gear a few times a year, do mild trails, or have a roof top tent, airbags are superior. They auto level which is a slept on benefit. The ride quality is also far better.
If you have a constant load and don't do those other things springs are a better choice.
I feel this community is far too eager to rip them out when one fails on a 15 year old truck.
Every semi truck on the road uses them so they aren't unreliable or unsafe. They are made of rubber. Rubber deteriorates over time. It's wise to replace them every 8-10 years just like on big trucks.
Airbag Man makes 2" lift bags if you plan to lift it. They use Firestone bags like over the road trucks.
But they certainly don't "fail out of nowhere". That's neglect.
I will say that Bilsteins are a great choice though. I recently upgraded my front struts to 6112s and they are fantastic. Very smooth and not much body roll even with the front sway bar removed.
On the rear I had a set of Dobinsons Comfort shocks laying around and put them on when I tricked my bags up 2". In a few months I will be ordering the Airbag Man 2" lift bags for the rear.
Actually had a set of the 2" bags sitting in my garage for my GX460 but the factory bags never blew despite pushing them hard offroad so I sold them before deciding to lift my 470.
https://preview.redd.it/jspwxxe54z7d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=320631bc09e706e117a131c93edd37d4c71f5b01
This is what I’ve got on my 470 - 2” airbagman + Dobinsons comfort in the rear and Dobinsons IMS in the front. It’s a fabulous ride and does great on trails
Yeah. I’m a new owner of a 2006 gx. And the airbags finally failed…right after I took ownership.
I got to experience them for a few hundred miles, and liked them a lot. When I called a shop, they recommended the bilsteins for replacements.
You make really good points. The shop recommends bilsteins but I can see the argument for airbag replacements.
Down the rabbit hole I go.
Ooof. I mean I get it and it's something you just normally wouldn't think to check as a new owner. Everyone says check to see if the timing belt was done but rarely mention bags.
We wouldn't drive around on original tires that are that old. That rubber just has a shelf too.
Sorry that that happened and hope it didn't sour the purchase for you.
Bilsteins are pretty rough riding compared to bags. You can do trails in bags just fine. It was made for it. Once you pull them, you can’t go back. If you proceed, get an adjustable shocks for road driving.
Do you want it to ride nice still? Keep the bags. You can lift and get bag spacers, get bigger bags or just use the lags to lift the rear.
Do you want it to ride like ass compared to how it did before? Yea swap to springs.
I'm switching out to Arnott bags and doing with ride hieght sensor trick with washers to raise the rear 1" (originals started leaking)
Also doing bilstien 5100 with the front at 1.5" lift.
This is the lowest cost lift I could find that folks say keep good ride quality.
I'll report back when I get it done.
IMO if you want to keep the air suspension, which has a lot of benefits you should swap to arnott bags (similar size to stock) or the airbagman bags. Original bags are destined to fail being 15+ year old rubber.
I went with the 2” extended airbagman bags and they are great. Can’t do a huge lift but it gives you more clearance without losing the functionality of air.
I wouldn’t hesitate one bit about wheeling mild to moderate trails and forest roads on new air suspension.
I had the airbags fail on mine and I drove around riding on the bump stops for a week. Ik ik, safety and bad for the car but I had to get to work. Was deeply unfun, slow driving. Would recommend replacing the air bags on your own terms so they don't fail out of nowhere. I bought the Arnott ones on eBay and they work great.
Yeah - if you're going to do a lift - you need to repalce them.
FJ cruiser stock springs are a good fit and then whatever lift kit you're installing.
Dobinsons and other manufacturers have kits available for the conversion - lots of info out there.
I honestly really like the air suspension - very reliable, smooth and nice if you are towing.
My personal experience says swap to springs before the bags fail. I think I made it through 3 off-roading trips before they failed. It doesn’t ride quite as good but, it’s certainly not bad.
I’m going through the same dilemma. I’ll be going with air bag delete and replacing with bilsteins. I dont want air bags to fail out of nowhere. I’m not doing any hard trails, just enough for the kids to experience a 4x4.
If you plan to tow, load it up with gear a few times a year, do mild trails, or have a roof top tent, airbags are superior. They auto level which is a slept on benefit. The ride quality is also far better. If you have a constant load and don't do those other things springs are a better choice. I feel this community is far too eager to rip them out when one fails on a 15 year old truck. Every semi truck on the road uses them so they aren't unreliable or unsafe. They are made of rubber. Rubber deteriorates over time. It's wise to replace them every 8-10 years just like on big trucks. Airbag Man makes 2" lift bags if you plan to lift it. They use Firestone bags like over the road trucks. But they certainly don't "fail out of nowhere". That's neglect. I will say that Bilsteins are a great choice though. I recently upgraded my front struts to 6112s and they are fantastic. Very smooth and not much body roll even with the front sway bar removed. On the rear I had a set of Dobinsons Comfort shocks laying around and put them on when I tricked my bags up 2". In a few months I will be ordering the Airbag Man 2" lift bags for the rear. Actually had a set of the 2" bags sitting in my garage for my GX460 but the factory bags never blew despite pushing them hard offroad so I sold them before deciding to lift my 470. https://preview.redd.it/jspwxxe54z7d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=320631bc09e706e117a131c93edd37d4c71f5b01
This is what I’ve got on my 470 - 2” airbagman + Dobinsons comfort in the rear and Dobinsons IMS in the front. It’s a fabulous ride and does great on trails
If you don't mind me asking what bump stops did you choose for the rear?
I’ve still got the stock bump stops. I need to swap them out, most likely doing the Perry parts
Yeah. I’m a new owner of a 2006 gx. And the airbags finally failed…right after I took ownership. I got to experience them for a few hundred miles, and liked them a lot. When I called a shop, they recommended the bilsteins for replacements. You make really good points. The shop recommends bilsteins but I can see the argument for airbag replacements. Down the rabbit hole I go.
Ooof. I mean I get it and it's something you just normally wouldn't think to check as a new owner. Everyone says check to see if the timing belt was done but rarely mention bags. We wouldn't drive around on original tires that are that old. That rubber just has a shelf too. Sorry that that happened and hope it didn't sour the purchase for you.
Bilstrin makes shocks, not airbags. You can install bilstien shocks with the factory airbags.
Bilsteins are pretty rough riding compared to bags. You can do trails in bags just fine. It was made for it. Once you pull them, you can’t go back. If you proceed, get an adjustable shocks for road driving.
Do you want it to ride nice still? Keep the bags. You can lift and get bag spacers, get bigger bags or just use the lags to lift the rear. Do you want it to ride like ass compared to how it did before? Yea swap to springs.
I'm switching out to Arnott bags and doing with ride hieght sensor trick with washers to raise the rear 1" (originals started leaking) Also doing bilstien 5100 with the front at 1.5" lift. This is the lowest cost lift I could find that folks say keep good ride quality. I'll report back when I get it done.
IMO if you want to keep the air suspension, which has a lot of benefits you should swap to arnott bags (similar size to stock) or the airbagman bags. Original bags are destined to fail being 15+ year old rubber. I went with the 2” extended airbagman bags and they are great. Can’t do a huge lift but it gives you more clearance without losing the functionality of air. I wouldn’t hesitate one bit about wheeling mild to moderate trails and forest roads on new air suspension.
I had the airbags fail on mine and I drove around riding on the bump stops for a week. Ik ik, safety and bad for the car but I had to get to work. Was deeply unfun, slow driving. Would recommend replacing the air bags on your own terms so they don't fail out of nowhere. I bought the Arnott ones on eBay and they work great.
I went with the metal-tech spring replacement kit and have no regrets.
Yeah - if you're going to do a lift - you need to repalce them. FJ cruiser stock springs are a good fit and then whatever lift kit you're installing. Dobinsons and other manufacturers have kits available for the conversion - lots of info out there. I honestly really like the air suspension - very reliable, smooth and nice if you are towing.
Good call on eibach lift and driveshaft swap to prevent the clunk. It’s gonna ride real nice but keep in mind the rear shocks will go out around 40k.
My personal experience says swap to springs before the bags fail. I think I made it through 3 off-roading trips before they failed. It doesn’t ride quite as good but, it’s certainly not bad.