Replacing Front Strut Assemblies

TrinidadLR4 · May 29, 2020

This weekend, I am going to attempt to replace my front air spring/strut assemblies with Arnott 2809s. My fronts are super soft and floaty, which is starting to get a bit scary. Looking at the videos, is it as simple as it seems? Disconnect battery, remove wheel, disconnect some harness from behind wheel well, undo bottom nut, undo three top nuts, disconnect air line, replace with new in reverse order? I remember reading somewhere that some of the top nuts are hard to get to, possibly? Thanks!

avslash · May 29, 2020

It is not a technically difficult job, but can be a PIA.

Difficulty comes from accessing the inboard top bolt. Consider going at it from under the hood, or using a stubby, ratcheting head wrench.

Other PIA for me was getting the lower control arm lined up to run the bottom strut bolt through. Not terrible, just a bit of finessing with a floor jack.

Figure 45-60 minutes per corner once you have the truck in the air if it is your first time.

TrinidadLR4 · May 31, 2020

Just did these yesterday. Everything was right on point. About an hour per side. Nothing too complicated. The air line connector was not what was pictured in the instructions and was the old type, so the plastic tube thingie was not needed. And wow, what a difference. The old ones were shot. Drives like a brand new truck now. Now have to decide on whether to go Arnott for the rears(they're much more expensive than the fronts) or try a cheaper brand. Truck had 90.5k miles.

georound · Jun 1, 2020

Interesting that you noticed a difference immediately on the ride. I also have a 2013 that is at 112k miles. I've been thinking of replacing with Arnotts and adding the SYA lift while they're out. The front seems to take a lot more abuse (considering the replacement of control arm frequency), so the rears might be ok. Would love to hear from someone that did replace the rears also.

georound · Jun 1, 2020

Double post

DaytonaRS7 · Jun 1, 2020

I am going to tackle the rears within the next 2 weeks.
The EAS is working fine, which makes me not want to do it, but i feel the rebound on the shocks is not what it should be. Any rough roads cause the back end to loose traction and bounce around.

With that said, the rear shocks were not previously replaced in pairs and the the drivers side has had a worthy life of 9 years/140k miles. From what i can tell the left rear is original (date on sticker is 6/2011), and the right rear has a sticker dated in 2016.

avslash · Jun 1, 2020

Anyone tried the Bilstein replacements for the fronts?

mbw · Jun 2, 2020

avslash said:
Anyone tried the Bilstein replacements for the fronts?

I am curious about this also. Are Bilsteins any kind of an upgrade?

TrinidadLR4 · Jun 2, 2020

Another note - it is unclear who the manufacturer of the bottom(non spring) strut part is as there are no labels. I know earlier versions used bilsteins but now, they're apparently using a variety of sources. Whoever makes em, the ride is nice and firm.

howardduff · Jun 3, 2020

Since you are changing the front shocks you may want to remove the inner wheel liner. It will give you better access to the three bolts on the shocks. The last time I changed my front brake sensor I had to remove the inner fender and noticed that it was much easier to get to the bolts. I replaced the shocks on my LR3 and those three bolts are not fun, especially if you live in an area that uses salt in the winter.
Also you if you have a bottle jack use it to get the lower mounting lined up. I made a v-block that fit over the jack head and it made the job easier.

Replacing Front Strut Assemblies

TrinidadLR4

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avslash

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TrinidadLR4

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georound

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georound

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DaytonaRS7

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avslash

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mbw

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