Air Lift Installed!!! Lift Pic Added

I installed the Air Lift coil spring air bags this weekend. These are great. I can get up to 3” of lift over the rubber coil spring inserts I was using before (with the same load in vehicle). The ride is softer than with the inserts and the airbags must be acting much as an aftermarket rear swaybar – because the handing has very much improved.

I like to use a split airline system instead of a “T” for airbag and air-shock installations. I had to remove the rear fender liners for the installation and the fuel filler location turned out to be the best spot to locate the air valves. Finally did the Ventectomy while everything was apart.



With approximately 250lbs added to the rear of the Golf – hitch, cargo box and contents, and cooler with other stuff in rear hatch area. The Air Lifts are each filled to 50psi(max). There is a little over 4” from the top of the tire to the fender lip – P205/65 R15 tires about 40% tread left.



I don’t have a picture with the load and stock suspension. Prior to the air bags I had rubber coil spring inserts. If I let all the air out to take a picture, then I have to empty the vehicle (or jack the weight off the springs), air up the bags, and then reload afterward (air up to max, load, then level is the process for use). You can load 250lbs into the rear of your car and compare the difference. I am guessing about 3”.


Air Lift Post 1

Air Lift Post 2

Thanks Dan for the info!

Re: Air Lift Installed!!!

got any pics of the range of lift?

Re: Air Lift Installed!!!

got any pics of the range of lift?

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I took pictures. However, the black tire against the black fender liner (both of which were cleaned) totally washed out everything between the rim and the fender edge. You can see a lift and change in angle of the car but it is really hard to tell how much. I am going to have to figure out some back lighting of the tire or perhaps place some white paper behind it.

Raining heavy today so it probably won’t happen until the weather changes.

Re: Air Lift Installed!!!

we can wait, for a little while..

Re: Air Lift Installed!!!

Interesting, I wonder if I could install this with my shine springs to help out when I'm carrying all my tools in the back.

Re: Air Lift Installed!!!

Interesting, I wonder if I could install this with my shine springs to help out when I'm carrying all my tools in the back.

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I often have the cargo box on the back loaded with a few tools, the Golf’s rear seat bottoms, and fuel additive. I also like to carry the yard care gas can there when I take it to town to fill. The Golf’s rear seats are mostly left down for 320lbs in the form of 2 Giant Alaskan Malamutes to ride in, along with a Coleman 40quart 12v electric cooler that I always carry. I also frequently tow my utility trailer.

I had put on rubber coil spring spacers (4 each side). While it helped level the Golf, they made the ride very stiff and harsh, and even they have their limit on how much they help before the springs are just fully compressed.

I don’t know what the difference between the Shine springs and stock are. However, if the interior height of the spring is within +/- .5” (under standard load) and the interior diameter was no more than about +/-.125”), then I believe these would work. Also, the hole at either end of the spring probably cannot be any smaller. The airbags were very tight slipping them through the stock hole. I heated them in hot water to make them more pliable and they were still a bit of a pain to get in.

That said, I do highly recommend them for anyone that tows or hauls any loads. They get the car back up level and greatly improve handling/cornering (even with no load). The ride is also very smooth compared to the spacers or just riding on load compressed springs.

Re: Air Lift Installed!!!

Absolutely awesome. Time to read the other 2 threads but I will pick up a set for sure.

Re: Air Lift Installed!!!

I'll pass your success on to my father later today when they get in from Ontario towing the trailer with their Air Lift on!

Here's some pics of my dad's car as of this afternnon (btw) he says your setup looks nice!

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Added Pic Bump

Re: Air Lift Installed!!!

I found the various posts in the Forum Re: Air Lift, and think this would help me. My 2002 TDI Jetta Sedan is a working vehicle; I'm an Architectural Photographer and I routinely carry about 350-400 pounds of gear, much of it in the trunk (some in the back seat). As the springs age, I'm getting more sag than I would like, and I think the Air Lift would be a great help.

I'm also going to be installing a Hidden Hitch for the occasional trailer pull and my receiver hitch bike rack (though not in combination with all the working gear). Hitch use would also benefit from some air assist in the rear suspension.

I'm just double checking the Kit # found in other posts: Is Air Lift Kit # 80753 the correct one for Jettas? And, in general, do you think this is good solution for me? On a previous generation Jetta III, I installed Shine street shocks, but I did not appreciate the lowering, especially with a hitch (scrape, scrape), and the ride, while not extreme, was a bit too "sharp" for my needs. You got to feel every crack and ripple of the pavement. Handled great, though.

I saw Don's installation in his post above with the split air lines and nice placement of the inflation nibs inside the fuel door. Can I get away with the joined "T" system for inflation? How hard was it to get access to the fuel door mounting location? What other location would you "normally" consider for the inflation nib? Is installation of the kit very complicated?

I'd appreciate any guidance you can give.

Re: Air Lift Installed!!!

I recently installed a hidden hitch and added a platform to it to hold more gear. With 100-150lbs of gear I definatly scraped the platform with slower driving around town. I am planning on doing the air lift as well. I'm guessing the improved handling came into play when you routed seperate lines for the bags. Maybe that and some front vr6 springs will keep me from wanting to buy a rear sway bar. Thanks for the info.

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Were do you get the air bags and do they work with lowering springs ?

Re: Air Lift Installed!!!

Were do you get the air bags and do they work with lowering springs ?

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Check out the “Air Lift Post 1 & 2” links in the first post of this thread.

As for fitting a lowering spring – I believe that this part# will fit in a spring that is up to an inch shorter than stock. You could call the manufacturer and they could make you a shorter bag using this part# number as a template to start from. I spoke with them when I was checking out the bags and they do make custom ones.

Re: Air Lift Installed!!!

How did you route the fill lines so the bump stop doesn't crimp off the lines?

i installed mine last night. great product - i only wish i'd done this mod sooner - as i tow and use a hitch-mount bike rack frequently. i'll post pics monday.

cheers!

I saw Justin's car loaded up before he headed out to Oregon, and it looked pretty level, considering all the tools and crap in there

Want to revisit this as I just installed bags in my Jetta (finally). What air pressure are you running when not towing or hauling? Are you using a special air gauge, like a go-kart gauge for lower 0 to 15 psi readings? I noted that even with just a very small amount of air, it seems that the rear of the car is elevated enough to throw my headlights off. Might have to order motors and a switch for my e-codes.

I was concerned about handling when driving home after I installed them. This was mainly a 4 lane with tar strips and concrete. Think I had to much air in them. I dropped the pressure down to under 10 psi. Had a chance to run one of the local back roads this evening and I was really impressed with what I thought was better handling and ride. She seems to handle the curves better, when I was expecting the opposite.

As a note, Justin (Oldpoopie), myself, Brian (Jetpuf) and a few others have noted that these airbags leak down awfully quick--in my case as quickly as one hour. I haven't yet re-installed mine from my former 2002 Tdi to my current 99.5 Tdi, so haven't had much opportunity to chase down the leaks...could be in the lines, but not sure. However, I did find when preparing to uninstall them from the previously owned 2002 Tdi that the lines pinch easily. This could be the source of the problem alone, but I just don't know for sure.

The price was great, but the leaking drives me nuts.

Shouldn't leak, Nick. As you say tho, it's easy to pinch the hose...

Just above where the valve comes out of the bag and hooks to the hose is a very easy place for it to pinch.

Mine have not leaked off enough to allow vehicle to return to it normal height. My headlights are still low on the roadway as compared to pre-bag.

Between the metal fitting and the bag itself is leaking for me. Should be easy to seal up though.

Danix, do you sell the air lift kit?

dmtdi said:

Were do you get the air bags and do they work with lowering springs ?

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Maybe I'm missing something here. Isn't that like Steven Wright's great line about how he like to buy a humidifier and a dehumidifier and put them in the same room, just to watch them them fight it out?

I do know I missed the details on who makes this product and how to buy it. Does it only fit on the rear? Does it fit other cars? I don't tow with my Golf, but I havea Forester that needs a littel help handling the 200lb tongue weight of my travel trailer.

John McMillin said:

I do know I missed the details on who makes this product and how to buy it. Does it only fit on the rear? Does it fit other cars? I don't tow with my Golf, but I havea Forester that needs a littel help handling the 200lb tongue weight of my travel trailer.

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Check out the links in the first post of this thread.

As for leaking, I had one that leaked about 5psi a day. It turned out to be where the air line and the air bag fitting meets. The clamp didn't get tight enough. I applied sealer to each fitting and have had no leaks for the last year - even with max air pressure and load.

I run at 10psi empty because I like the better handling they give. I believe the manufacturer calls for 5psi min to keep them full enough for the springs not to pinch the bags when compressing.

Don, what kind of sealer did you use?
Also, you said you drilled holes at the top for the air lines, what exactly did you have to drill? The coil spring holder?
How did you prevent the hose from rubbing so that it didn't wear a hole in itself? I was thinking about running the air hose inside a small piece of rubber hose at the drill point just as a protection, but don't know yet how much material there is where I need to drill, so as not to weaken it.
I purchased the onboard airpump also, just like the option of controllong it from the cockpit.

Giles...
I used silicone to seal the line ends.

Check out my post/rendering in this link. Addresses the hole which is drilled into sheet metal. I used a liquid rubber on the hole after painting with a rust inhibitor.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=119020&highlight=air+lift

Inside a hose is a good idea! I used what I had on hand at the time of install. When it comes time to do a new set of shocks, I may do same (gluing outside tube to sheet metal with the liquid rubber.

I always carry a portable air compressor and small air tank in my cargo box - which is handy for all sorts of things. So I couldn't justify the added expense of the on-board. But it sounds convenient.

I noticed that dave333 had troubles installing these bags valve-end up. A quick inspection of my car shows that the bottom end of my rear spring assembly has an opening of at least 2 inches in diameter.

Any disadvantage (other than ground clearance) to installing the airbags valve-end down and letting the hoses come out those holes at the bottom of the spring assembly? It seems that just enough slack in the hoses and some stay ties should keep everything in place and accessible.

I can't even begin to think of jimmy-rigging the top side of the springs...

My compliments to dieselprogrammer's whole set up.

BTW... the silicone sealant. Is that applied to the threads of the hoses before they are screwed into the bags?

Thanks.

Before DP posted the direction that he routed his, I installed mine with the airline routing out the bottom. They do hang down slightly which worries me. Surprisingly I haven't had one problem with them catching, and I do a bit of dirt road/deep snow driving. Definitely not the best solution, but no problems so far....

somepunk22 said:

Before DP posted the direction that he routed his, I installed mine with the airline routing out the bottom. They do hang down slightly which worries me. Surprisingly I haven't had one problem with them catching, and I do a bit of dirt road/deep snow driving. Definitely not the best solution, but no problems so far....

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Thanks for your help..'

Any photos?

I won't be in snow and will stay clear of road debris...

Mine are down, so are my dad's. He's driven further than I with no issues. I have them ziptied up tight against everything so they aren't just dangling around and it seems to work well. I'd also like to say that the spring clamps are all I've used and I don't have to add air to mine, however I don't run more than 15psi at the most and if I were goign to do it over again the silicone would be used.