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self leveling suspension converison?


josh8966
02-04-2012, 10:28 AM
So it seems leaky rear struts are a very common symptom for PA's with the self leveling system. My 1992 PA is no exception and after the pump drained the battery several times I decided to shut the system down. This of course results in the typical hanging rear end (hey it happens to all of us after so many years...)

Can the air leveling struts be easily replaced with the non-leveling equivalents? Will there need to be any modifications to accommodate this change? Theoritically it's possible but I haven't heard of it being done and want as much info as I can get before I try to convert.

Frankly; I'm not a fan of the self leveling system and would prefer a more traditional strut.

Scrapper
02-04-2012, 12:19 PM
yes you can get kit to just make them struts only no air try struts.com first and it will need a 4 wheel alignment after you change over it would anyway even if you put the levelers back on.

good luck.......

HotZ28
02-05-2012, 11:07 PM
If you install "traditional struts" without replacing the original coil springs, the rear will continue to sag. The coil springs are different between the ALC system & non-ALC system and the ALC used air assist to maintain height. Of course you can get coil over struts, better known as "load levelers" but normally they raise the rear too high. It would be much better and cheaper to restore the ALC system as it was.

josh8966
02-06-2012, 09:58 PM
If you install "traditional struts" without replacing the original coil springs, the rear will continue to sag. The coil springs are different between the ALC system & non-ALC system and the ALC used air assist to maintain height. Of course you can get coil over struts, better known as "load levelers" but normally they raise the rear too high. It would be much better and cheaper to restore the ALC system as it was.

Thanks for the tip. I was beginning to suspect this was the case. I'm just going to replace the struts and hope the air pump is still good. Thanks for the advice this was the info I was looking for!

1plaiddanl
04-05-2012, 10:56 PM
Just checked on this today myself. Autozone sells Monroe air shocks designed for my 98 Park Ave for $75--for the pair. With hoses, fittings, etc. At that price, its a no-brainer.

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