used air ride

topher5150

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I have been thinking about replacing the front shocks for a while and was wondering if used parts would be a good alternative, and what to look for as far as wear on the shocks/ air bag.
 
Wellllll...I'll just say that when my first set of Arnott front air shocks went out, I bought a set of used ones off ebay because they were super cheap. They were in pretty bad shape. The springs held air but the shocks were shot to heck. They knocked like crazy going over bumps. From my experience, try to get low mileage used shocks and if possible, check the springs for dryrot and check the shocks for rebound. The shocks should return to the original extension when compressed. Also they shouldn't be "easy" to compress. There should be some tension. With cars as old as these, when you buy a "used" set of air shocks, it's hard to tell if you're getting a set that was replaced a few years ago, or a set that was on the car when it was new, and thus over a decade old. Personally, I'll never buy a used set again. I've had good luck with Arnott with the last couple of sets I've bought. So I'll stick with that. But that's just my personal opinion on the matter.
 
Used as in pulling from junkyard? I thinking about doing the same, however I have no idea what to look for as far as the quality.

Is there a way to tell if the airbags are good without hooking them up? Also will gen 1 airbags work on a gen 2?
 
Used as in pulling from junkyard? I thinking about doing the same, however I have no idea what to look for as far as the quality.

Is there a way to tell if the airbags are good without hooking them up? Also will gen 1 airbags work on a gen 2?

Yes. Gen1 and 2 are interchangeable. Look for dryrot cracks around the fold at the bottom of the spring. If there's any sign at all of any cracking, then spring will most likely leak.
 

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