Air Lift Universal modification

[Svenska94Aero]

Experts! I am trying to build a set of custom strut mounts/camber plates to replace the 'bearing' included with the Air Lift strut kits. Anything I can mock up ends up adding about an inch or more to the height of the assembly--exactly what I don't want--so I'm looking a little deeper.

My first question is if the piece at the top of the bellows, that the stock bearing/mount slips down over, can be cut, ground, or removed in any way? There are two metal parts, the wider outer sleeve, then some rubber bushing material, and an inner sleeve that slips over the strut tube. Are both of those safe to trim down, say, flush with the (red) top surface of the bag? Or one or the other only? Neither? If I'm not mistaken, this would reveal more of the strut tube, so that I can slip my pillow-ball bearing further down the shaft. But is that piece integral to the bag holding air?

Second question: can the strut tube below the threads be machined further, again allowing the upper assembly to sit further down on the strut tube?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[Brian@AirLift]

Experts! I am trying to build a set of custom strut mounts/camber plates to replace the 'bearing' included with the Air Lift strut kits. Anything I can mock up ends up adding about an inch or more to the height of the assembly--exactly what I don't want--so I'm looking a little deeper.

My first question is if the piece at the top of the bellows, that the stock bearing/mount slips down over, can be cut, ground, or removed in any way?Nope. The air spring is sealed with this bushing assembly. Any modification will render the air spring useless, which I assume you do not want. There are two metal parts, the wider outer sleeve, then some rubber bushing material, and an inner sleeve that slips over the strut tube. Are both of those safe to trim down, say, flush with the (red) top surface of the bag? Or one or the other only? Neither? If I'm not mistaken, this would reveal more of the strut tube, so that I can slip my pillow-ball bearing further down the shaft. But is that piece integral to the bag holding air?

Second question: can the strut tube below the threads be machined further, again allowing the upper assembly to sit further down on the strut tube? [You will have a massively hard time machining the strut rod. It is heat treated and chrome plated. You would need to spin the entire strut in a lathe to even try this. I doubt you will have any success.

Here is my suggestion:

Call and order bag number 58480. You can replace the ones you have with this one and have a better chance of accommodating a camber plate. It doesn't use the upper mount design like the kit you have. We use it in the MK2 VW front kit.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Thanks for using our kit! Please post some pics of the car when you get it figured out!

[TheNeek]

I modified a set of camber plates I had for my car to accommodate the the front universal air struts:





I obviously turned down the top washer / bushing to accept the original nylok nut. These are mock up photos.

[Svenska94Aero]

Exactly the info I was looking for, Brian. Thanks a ton for the reply!

[Svenska94Aero]

I modified a set of camber plates I had for my car to accommodate the the front universal air struts:





I obviously turned down the top washer / bushing to accept the original nylok nut. These are mock up photos.

Huhh! I'm kind of confused as to what kind of bushing/bearing is being used here? I was really hoping to use a pillow-ball, but this is definitely helpful as an alternative. Thanks!

[TheNeek]

Huhh! I'm kind of confused as to what kind of bushing/bearing is being used here? I was really hoping to use a pillow-ball, but this is definitely helpful as an alternative. Thanks!

I'm using the original airlift plastic bushings. They are slipped into the carrier for the camber plate and then held down with the original clip.

[Svenska94Aero]

I'm using the original airlift plastic bushings. They are slipped into the carrier for the camber plate and then held down with the original clip.

Ahhh gotcha. Does the camber plate sit any higher than the plate would sit if it were mounted as originally intended?

[Brian@AirLift]

Very interesting and creative work there TheNeek! I like your ideas. However, I foresee one issue that may not have been addressed: the articulation of the upper mounting point of the strut.

Again, I may be missing something..so correct me if I'm wrong. The way I see it there is no way for the strut rod to articulate in the camber plate. Especially if you think of the case of hitting a bump that moves the knuckle rearward in vehicle while moving the wheel upwards. With no free movement like you would have with a spherical ball or rubber mount like the original set-up, then the movement tries to bend the strut rod. This will fail the struts in short order and provide a less than stellar ride!

I see the upper retaining 'washer" touching the metal plate and causing noise and bending load. Am I not seeing it correctly?

[TheNeek]

Very interesting and creative work there TheNeek! I like your ideas. However, I foresee one issue that may not have been addressed: the articulation of the upper mounting point of the strut.

Again, I may be missing something..so correct me if I'm wrong. The way I see it there is no way for the strut rod to articulate in the camber plate. Especially if you think of the case of hitting a bump that moves the knuckle rearward in vehicle while moving the wheel upwards. With no free movement like you would have with a spherical ball or rubber mount like the original set-up, then the movement tries to bend the strut rod. This will fail the struts in short order and provide a less than stellar ride!

I see the upper retaining 'washer" touching the metal plate and causing noise and bending load. Am I not seeing it correctly?

The original plastic thrust washers are in tact along with the rubber backed top washer, and the lower one is mounted as instructed in the manual. I simply replaced the metal plate provided in the kit with the carrier from the camber plate. It does articulate in the camber plate as the original design was intended. I had to machine down the carrier on the camber plate to become the thickness of the metal strut top provided in the kit, and make that top washer that fits into the camber adjustment slot of the camber plate itself. Granted these are "racing camber plates" from my old coilover setup, so there wasn't much give in the system to begin with and I know this is WAY outside the bounds of what airlift would recommend or even suggest, but I'm a mechanical engineer with access to a machine shop, things always get tweaked, cut, machined, welded, etc.