Grande Suspension Convertion.

[tokhi Member Find all posts View Profile Close tokhi]

Hi Folks,

Have the Grande, want to change the shocks and "Stuff".
I'm looking at converting the rear to springs, don't really need the up/down feature, but...... the rear bags go down over a 24 - 48hr period, and I need to change this first.
My question is - Do I need to change the front rear together, or can I convert the rear to springs and normal shocks, and then when I have more funds do the front?
Will the TEMS system work just connected to the front?

Cheers

Tokhi

PS, I have a trip coming up in a couple of weeks, and only have funds to do rear at the moment.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

This has been asked quite a few times in the past and I believe the general view is to upgrade the rear bags to airbag man or equivalent. Huge amount of work to convert to coil springs given the differences in the suspension supports.

[MidLifeCrisis Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close MidLifeCrisis]

Make one cut just past the front passenger door and do the same on the host vehicle, then weld as appropriate, or sell and buy a gxl. Either will be easier, cheaper and more reliable than rebuilding the back end.

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

We have done several of these conversions in the past when we used to have our workshop.
Pretty straight forward to do. The Airbag support platforms are every bit as strong as the conventional spring platform is, but there is nothing to locate the coils.
We, in the past have mad up coil locating rings and welded them on to the airbag platforms to locate the springs in.
Pretty easy job as long as you have the tools, and takes around 4-5hrs from go to whoa.
Have had a few running around for 5 or 6 years with no problems since the conversion.

Regards, Jason.

[AJ120 Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close AJ120]

I did some work on a Grande that had a set of spring put in it for an emergency repair after an airbag blew. Without any modifications at all the spring fitted and worked, I think they ended up staying in for around 3 months including an outback run. It probably wasn't ideal but it worked. As Jason said, a bit of welding and fabrication to locate the springs and I couldn't see why you ditch the airbags for good.

Cheers Andrew