Air Spring DIY

[canAudian]

I guess its time for me to give back to the forum.
Here is my documentation of remove and replace of the front passenger air spring on a 2002 ar with 6spd.

I started by putting the car in jack mode, removing the tire and loosening the air line to the air spring (10mm). I actually disconnected the battery too because I didnt want any power going to the suspension valves to alow air to the open air spring.



While the air was leaking out I removed the pinch bolt and the two upper control arms (16mm). I was lucky because it came out on the first try.



Next i removed the bolt at the bottom of the strut assembly (18mm).....



but in order to get the bolt all the way out i had to remove the lower ball joint (18mm)



Once the base of the air spring assembly was free i removed the air plenum cover.



With the cover removed i could access the upper air spring mounting bolts (3x16mm)



I found out the hard way but this little washer nut needs to be removed before the whole air spring assembly could be removed. I ended up cutting it off because it wouldnt thread off.



Here is the assembly removed



Next i marked the orientation of the air spring to the shock base to avoid having the new air spring bag being twisted once reinstalled.



I remove the six torx bolts which hold the uper mount to the air spring.....



then I loosened the nut which holds the shock into the air spring...



and removed the collar underneath the rubber mount.



To seperate the shock from the air spring i tapped the base of the air spring lightly with a hammer till it slid off the shock.Here is the shock separated from the air spring.



When installing the new air spring i started by having the new lower o-ring in this position on the shock and I just pushed the air spring down and the o-ring rolled down the shock until it seated at the bottom ridge.



Before i put the upper mount back on, i placed the new o-ring in the upper groove on the air spring (the manual says to coat the o-ring with lithium lubricant).....



i just made sure the mating surface on the upper mount was super clean and smooth. Also be sure the fitting for the air line is facing out.



At this point installation was the reverse of removal.
Once i got to the point of filling the air spring i lowered the vehicle to regualar height with the jack, but still had the jack holding the car up.
Then I reconnected the battery and let the computer do the rest. ie) fill the empty air spring. Once the air spring had some air in it i lowered the car down the rest of the way. I did this so the air spring wouldnt get all crumpled if i let it down all at once.

[happy allroader]

1. Thank you, thank you for an excellent article. I know in the future I will need this.

2. I don't know how but somehow you should get your post on the tech section under brakes/suspension: allroad. This way when folks need it in the future they will have an easy time finding it.

3. Take the .T out of all the photo properties so as they aren't so small in your article.

[mustbeaudi]

[want]

[paulroad]

[ryry]

Could simply replacing the o-rings possibly fix a leaking air spring? My front driver side is leaking and I am looking for a temporary fix until I can get my coilovers on.

[hockeypuck]

potential buyers. I replaced timing belts before on volkswagens as well as struts. This looks easier than that.

[no.radar]

[Press]

[glidar]

- My guess is that the spring nut that you cut off is a factory assembly aid, so it serves no purpose and can be discarded.

- How did you remove the shock-to-spring nut without having the bolt turn? Most people need to apply a socket to the nut and insert an allen wrench through the socket.

- As another poster mentioned, you didn't mention applying grease to the top O-ring. Dunno how much difference that makes in the real world, but I'd rather not skip it.