DIY Airbag Man OA6011 install in 120 Grande

[craigm Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close craigm]

And you know who you can call if you get stuck!

[macaroon1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close macaroon1]

Negotiating ruts and causing the rear to flex whilst airbags set to high with the tricked sensors was a recipe for disaster Charles. Peterpilot demonstrated this in this post (2nd image look familiar?) http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...l=1#post330755

Looks very familiar, infact the exact same thing!! I always thought about retaining them, now realise exactly other peeps did it, very interesting pics there from peterpilot. Other things (life) just got in the way...should have read the thread all the way thru!

Hey macaroon
Its not that big a job, it took me 3 hours taking my time on my own fitting extended Airbagman Bags
The thought is more daunting than the actual job.
Cheers

No drama....I can do the job it's just finding the time and making space in garage (only flat space) as I've a new car and a detailed 4 sale car!

And you know who you can call if you get stuck!

Thx for the offer Craig..very generous. Shd all be good...u can be plan c...d...
This mod should nicely complete the a/m suspension which was always 3/4 done!

[Prmiller Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Prmiller]

Airbag Man bag failure

Hi All

I had a 2" lift fitted to my 2004 Grande and raised the rear using the sensor spacers and the original airbags. Having planned a trip to Ningaloo towing my rather heavy camper trailer. After reading this thread I decided to play it safe and fit the Airbag Man kit, which I did a couple of days before our departure North. The kit I received was slightly different to that described in the thread, insomuch as the top end plates are no longer left or right handed, instead both have two countersunk holes that line up with existing holes in the top mount plate on the vehicle. The plates are now retained at the top end by an allen screw and nylock nut. Dependent on which side (driver or passenger) the screw goes into one or the other of the countersunk holes. This is a bit of a fiddly job, with not a lot of room to get the nut on the screw at the top of the mounting plate, but once done the whole base assembly is well retained at the top end.

Anyway, after about 3 hours the new bags (and sway bar spacers) were fitted and tested by manually raising and lowering to full high and low travel. It all looked good and I felt a lot more confident in the new bags with the weight of the trailer on the back. Strangely the auto height levelling didn't work any more but it did if I manually changed the height with the switch. I saw earlier in this thread that Way2Go has the same issue, so I'll keep that issue to another thread.

With that background I'll get to the point of this post. After travelling ~900Km from Perth to Carnarvon with trailer in tow, then another 150Km or so past Minilya the next day, on a straight flat run at 100Km per hour there was an almighty bang from my rear end. Initially I thought a tyre had gone but after pulling over I saw the driver's side rear end sitting on the bump stop. Using the trailer's jockey wheel as a jack (thank goodness for a well built trailer) I found that the airbag had not actually ruptured but had folded in half and the bag had dislocated from the bottom plastic bag end plate. I managed to pull the rubber bag right out, leaving the top and bottom end plates in situ, and the bag was not damaged at all. My mate (following with his trailer) and I managed to reassemble the airbag, which was not an easy task to roll it back over itself. Refitting it in somewhat uncomfortable conditions proved challenging (especially the top retaining screw) but after crossing fingers and restarting the vehicle the bag successfully reinflated and held the weight of the trailer.

I have since driven almost 2000Km without any problems, including dragging the camper trailer over some of the roughest corrugations and rutted roads and bouncing over rocks. Apart from having my teeth clenched each time we hit something bouncy, I have recovered my confidence in the Airbag Man kit. I'd just like to know why the bag failed as and when it did. I know there's tolerances with alignment of the bags when fitting but it's pretty hard to get it wrong when the top plate is retained by the screw and the bottom spigot simply sits in the bottom mounting plate hole and is free to rotate and self locate.

Interestingly the rubber bag is not glued or welded to the top or bottom plates at all, only held together by friction and air pressure.

Any ideas as to why the bag might have failed would be welcome.

Cheers
Paul

[macaroon1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close macaroon1]

Prmiller..this thread may cast some light on your problem:

http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...e-lift-warning

It appears the drivers side is always the first to go as the mounting configuration is different to the p/side. Also seems to happen when pulling campers/vans.
If it had been the OEM ones that had gone then I would not have been surprised however the weight of the van may have been the issue??

I've had my airbagman bags on for a few weeks, found some rough terrain to abuse them on and no dramas so far!

You may want to check the mounts like in the thread just to make sure all is OK. I'll post up some pics of my new bags to in order to clarify things with other future members!! Other more exp members may be able to shed more light on this issue??

[awd2.0t Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close awd2.0t]

This was taken from Grande Airbag Retaining after lift - as I was getting a bit off topic - Quick Summary is I'm looking at getting lift kit via Autocraft, with Airbag man extended bags

http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...-a-Lift/page20

Sean....amts Mk2 spacers if keeping OE bags. No need for the above the new OA6011 kit is now retained from the top housing holding it nicely all in place. A coutentersunk bolt goes through a pre-drilled hole in the top plastic spigot as is held in place by a Nylock nut. Sits right next to the chassis. PIta to get it all in but certainly doable. I'll post some pics. Would not bother with autocraft????

I thought the issue with the bags blowing out & possibly the one that failed on here was the bottom of the bag blew out of place. So wouldn't the R pins stop this and hold it in place? & Why not Autocraft? - in the interests of others that may need to be pm'd.

Cheers,
Sean

[macaroon1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close macaroon1]

So wouldn't the R pins stop this and hold it in place? & Why not Autocraft? -

Cheers,
Sean

Maydo, (only pointing they are retained from the top, trying to save you a job), as I won't be drilling my new airbags viz a viz structural integrity and warranty claims I can't help you with your questions. I heard autocraft were internally welded but I missed your scribe about you were going for the non welded option so all good there.

[Guest Close Guest]

How much is the ATS kit? when I enquired, they were close to the $2k mark.
Or you could get this kit http://store.pradopoint.com/wholesal...ein-kings-kit/ and ask Jason to delete the rear coils.

What you get may come down to your budget.

[awd2.0t Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close awd2.0t]

My Aim is to have the Prado as reliable as possible & get it right first time. The budget has a bit of room to move, as long as it will be reliable with good quality parts.
Here is what I have gathered so far, but happy to be educated.
My thoughts are:
- Autocraft kit or the like / from what I can tell the Blistein Shocks seem to be the way to go, so springs will be the next one to firm up. Doesn't have to be the Auto-craft kit, it's just their workshop came up the most when I searched & their kit was just over $2k, but I didn't firm up what type of airbag & fitting or it etc.
- Airbag man extended air bags -(Autocraft apparently weld their air bags in, but given Airbag man have a plastic base, there would be no welding) - (Preference for these bags are they are thicker & stronger than factory). So to offset the issue of the bag escaping, I came across a member's idea to drill a 4mm hole through the base pin and then fit a 3 mm "R" pin to hold it all in place.

See below: The drilling/securing from the bottom came from the following thread,
http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...ole#post330759
Post 81
[QUOTE=craigm;302190]OK. In the end it became all to hard to completely remove the Airbag. I couldn't see for the life of me how to get to the top of the bag to remove the top retaining clip and hose assembly (let alone reinstall it successfully) So we took Option 2 as per Marc's solution and used the "R" clip method. We deflated the airbags at the compressor (much easier to get to), using the $29 piece of plastic known as a special service tool (SST) and yes it does make it easier to remove the tubes...
Drilling a 4mm hole through the 18mm Dia pin


and then using a 3mm "R" pin from bunnings.

QUOTE]

Happy to take feedback on whether I'm on the right track or miles off.

[macaroon1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close macaroon1]

Unlike the OE airbag (above) the airbagman airbag has plastic bottom mounts. Guess you could drill through the plastic though??...Craig now has airbagman bags too, really unsure if he's retained them from the bottom like above as there is no metal!

[awd2.0t Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close awd2.0t]

Okay, is that Craigm? or a different Craig? Hopefully he will post in shortly with an update, as to what he did or whether there have been any issues.

I like the idea of securing the bags at the bottom, but this now sounds like it can/should only be done on the factory bags or those with a metal base. Although this could still put additional pressure on the sidewalls, if it's trying to pop out anyway. Maybe instead of fixing them at the bottom a bigger cradle can be made for the base?? (just thinking out loud...). Or is the popping out, more to do with the weak drivers side bracket?

Link - http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...e-lift-warning
Post 14 for photos
Maybe strengthening the bracket will reduce bag pop out issue & I don't need to secure at the bottom?

[Guest Close Guest]

I don't think currently anyone has retained the bottom of the Airbagman airbags.

[craigm Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close craigm]

Correct (to my knowledge anyway.)
We discussed the option of doing a similar retaining solution to the Airbag man kit but decided for now to leave as is. With the extra height of the extended airbags they are much less likely to dislodge and pop out. So they are basically kept in place by the pressure of inflation. You can see in amts image below how well the base is still planted on the Diff seat when flexed.



I have (heavily) tested the airbags on a couple of recent trips and they have performed well with no sign of popping out. My concern with retaining the airbags at the base with an R Clip like I did on the OEM ones is that the Airbag Man items are made of some form of plastic and I'd hate to see the locating pin damaged and void warranty.

[awd2.0t Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close awd2.0t]

Thanks Craig,
Have you re-enforced the base plate on the drivers-side mount or just slotted in the new air bags?
Cheers,
Sean.

[craigm Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close craigm]

No I haven't re-enforced the Base plate. You may have seen my posts where my base plate had collapsed due to the stress placed on them with amts' Ver 1 spacer/retainer, where the airbag was restricted from movement. I knocked it back into shape and have regularly been keeping an eye on them and there has been no further warping/collapsing of the base plate. So the bags are sitting in place as they would like the OEM airbag Sean. The version I have is the model without the retaining screw in the top plate of the airbag like Macaroons.

[macaroon1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close macaroon1]

And you know who you can call if you get stuck!

Well thanks to Craigm, he came up trumps, I'm now officially part of the airbagman 0A6011 group. Took me the course of the weekend as one has to allow for the paint to dry and we needed to cut away more of the D/S Prado top housing. Never the most confident under a car I could do it faster next time and very possibly alone. 3-5 hours I reckon sounds OK.

Too much flexing esp with the car on high articulation only leads to this.
;;

PP members on a trip tried valiantly with rescue tape to fix the gash in the rubber but to no avail. The bottom metal case on the airbag had a sharp metal edge..where it had bashed the top/bottom housing causing the gash. Ended up on bumpstops

On lifting the vehicle the divers side was not located in it's bottom housing either....possibly owing to it not been retained??


Went and bought the (new version) 0A6011 airbagman. Unlike Amts (1st poster) these are now retained by a bolt and nut which goes through the airbag top plastic housing, through a metal (car) housing hole, where the nut sits right next to the chassis rail (right pic).. .This is the hardest part of the job. Two pairs of hands are ideal here! No close up pics of these holes. The bags are handed so get this right (hence the chalk marks)! They are longer and more rigid and unlike the OE bags they are rubber and plastic.

;

Cutting the top metal housing to allow for the metal air hole...dont give it 90 degrees, allow for some angle like in pic...this is were I came unstuck as it had to be done again. have to paint and file these cuts. Tojo must build chassis from top of bags hence the need for this step.


Swaybars were done too. Make sure there are no kinks in the new hose and there are no leaks. Craig was great at all this. Zip tie excess air hose so its sits neat and tidy above the chassis rail, not hanging down.

Drop car cycle through all the heights, Low/N/High and hey presto:
;

I found for the first week my heights were all over the place..was even considering lifting it all up and pulling out spacer washers but a good bit of rough terrain sorted them out..now both at 825mm.

Again, many thanks to Craigm who came to my rescue (I was going to give up to take to a mechanic)!!! Nooooo. Car goes great now. Looking forward to the next trip to give em a real workout!!!