Ok did it.

The kit from Arnott is pretty cool. Even comes with a new line connector. Pretty easy to swap out. Pull out the compression ring with a pick, and pull off the tip.

Few things to make is easier. CNC did his youtube vid with removing the two 22mm shock bolts, but that makes it so that the assembly hangs off the top 3 while you try to the the line disconnected. When I did the pass side, i took off the top 3 13mm, and that dropped the whole unit, letting me disconnect the air line much easier. Also nothing has a chance of falling. It took 45 min for the pass side, a bit over an hour for the drivers. Car went from floor with popped air bags to back down on the floor in about 2:20 min. Air tools deff make this job stupid easy, and I am very glad I have them.

And I got the air out of the second working spring, by just loosening the line. It really is not dramatic at all.

So yup, X back in action.

Quick update, job is all good. I am now a pro suspension fixer. Car height did not change at all since swap.

Awesome to hear Denis, I'm sure you feel better mentally as well, knowing your X has new rubber on the corners (and I don't mean the tires) :thumbup:

Made me feel better when mine were replaced, nothing more I hate than aged rubber, be it bushings, tires, etc!


Enjoy the fresh ride, and the lifetime warranty from Arnott!

So you didn't remove the two 22mm bolts at all, just the top three 13MM and that dropped the unit low enough to remove the air line & bag? I bought just the bag as my car has semi-low miles...was gonna do mine tomorrow am. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks, Mark

No i purchased the whole unit. With shock. Price from Arnott is not much more over just the bag. I didnt have to remove the 22 in the middle.

Yea put a jack under the rotor of the one you will remove and lower the whole unit. That way you will be able to remove airline without worrying about anything falling.

Make sure you get both wheels in the air, as you will need to remove the sway bar links. And you will need a thin bicycle 18mm to hold sway bar nut without tearing the boot. I used an impact and didnt have to hold shit, so that was a plus. And i grinded a regular 18mm wrench down to propper thickness last time, so I still had that just in case.

When ordering my new air shock, my parts source said the X WILL need another alignment (had this done 2 months ago with a front-end control arm replacement (all 4).

IF I drop the entire assembly from the top then I won't be effecting the alignment..this is good!

Mark

No thats where the problem is. You might need a new allignment. My replacement 13mm studs didnt line up exactly as the original no matter what i did. I plan on another alignment anyway, after I check my height calibrations.

Also, once you remove the air line, you will still need to take it out. I hear its a pain in the ass swapping the bag alone. Don't worry, the bottom two bolts are non aligning, so removing the unit wont throw it off alingment.

I would think any alignment adjustment would be the top 3 13mm bolts on the shock tower, as opposed to the bottom 22mm bolts on the spindle.

I think its good practice to get an alignment after changing the struts out regardless.

So I decided to whip out the tape measure last night. Crap, 720mm up front. Dropped it in 3 min with INPA. Now gotta do the rear. I didn't have time yesterday, and now driving a racked truck lol. Don't know who messed with my car before, but this is definitely too high.

I found that my car was sitting 1.5" too high (40 mm or so) earlier this year, and I had my front Arnotts replaced January of 2012, im guessing with any air strut/bag work that you need to recalibrate the ride heights to be proper. Not bad though you were only a 1/2" high or so.