Air Strut Question and Comment

[Houm_WA]

All the failures I've read about seem to be on the passenger side, front shock/strut.

Has anyone experienced a failure on any other of the 3 shocks? I'm curious why the front/psx unit seems to fail first or be the only place failures are occuring.

Comment: I was debating about changing the driver's side front shock, but it's performing just fine (knock on wood). Seems to me that I could just periodically put the vehicle on a lift or otherwise cause droop on that side (like drive one side up a ramp or jack up the driver's side) and look for contact between the upper control arm and the shock. Adequate clearance = good shock.

 

[PaulLR3]

Same thing has been happening on Audi allroads for years. The passenger front air spring is always the first to go. Happened on both my 2002 & 2004 allroads.

As for why, I bet the front right takes more abuse from potholes and recessed drainage grates.

The LR3 air springs seem to be far more durable than the Audi version. If an air spring fails, don't be afraid to get an Arnott replacement. Thousands of allroad drivers (including myself) are very happy with Arnott replacement air springs.

 

[Houm_WA]

Yeah...I was pretty worried about when my driver's side would go, and don't want it to die on a trail (like my passenger side one did) but per the procedure I describe above, I feel better about it. It can be checked periodically, like a brake pad.

As for its replacement, I'm glad there is an aftermarket product.

 

[MilehighLR3]

Houm .. . My front strut failure was front passenger side . . .weird coincidence? When I had the front end apart installing the replacements there isn't any noticeable differences. Geometries looked the same. I wonder if it has something to do with the sway bar when the suspension is in "droop"?

Maybe the sway bar in full droop draws the strut in-board making the canister come in contact with the upper control arm? ? ? Just a theory?

I did have the same gouging on the drivers side, but I also have the 2" spacers so can't honestly say my experience is typical.

 

[Houm_WA]

yeah...who knows? Just seems like they're all on the psx side front. I think the conclusion is that the contact between upper control arm and cannister happens only as a result of a failed (failing) strut.

 

[CMGRover]

Does anyone make custom upper control arms for these? I have a set on my lifted Jeep Liberty and they are designed to eliminate coil contact (didn't have any, but some people did and these arms worked). Houm, are you running the rods? Just wondering if some custom UCAs would be a solution.

 

[Houm_WA]

I don't think a solution is warranted. I think that the struts tell you when they've worn out by allowing contact. If everything is good, there is no contact.

I used to run the rods, now I just use the IIDTool at the trail head. I think for those running spacers (like the Toddco lift) maybe custom UCAs might be useful.

???

 

[MilehighLR3]

Houm, re: coil spacer, I think you're right. Because the angles change, ever so slightly, custom UCA's maybe a worthwhile experiment. Not sure I want to tackle that though. The OE UCA has some funky shapes and clearances, bought a spare to test grinding down the sharp fold over where it comes in contact with the canister.

Which by the way seems to work out okay, no evidence of grinding or cutting on the canister, but I also don't have the spacers installed right now either.

I bought brand new struts when I installed the spacer lift. . .can't honestly say if the new ones had more/less play than the old ones. I can say however that the Arnotts that I recently bought are night and day different in "play".

Seems to me that a combination of fatiguing parts contribute to the nightmare of ruptured struts. . . .i've not installed new bushing (my LR3 has less than 60k) but the hardware was replaced after my alignment.

Weird that the strut is such a "weak" point in an otherwise outstanding rig.

 

[Houm_WA]

I don't know that I'd call them a weak point...I got 107,000 miles out of mine, including plenty of trail time. I think that's fine. I think the bigger problem is knowing when it's time to change them...but I'm glad that I can see a way forward there. My rig is on the lift plenty (getting TLC) so checking the droop/clearance would be as easy as checking brake pad thickness periodically.

I've thought also about sanding the UCA "lip" or putting some sort of plastic lining over it so that it isn't so damn sharp.

 

[Trynian]

The OE UCA has some funky shapes and clearances, bought a spare to test grinding down the sharp fold over where it comes in contact with the canister.

My first failure was passenger as well.

Regarding grinding I tried that and it was not very effective without ginding out a lot.

What worked the best on my new upper arms was to actually hammer the areas that would contact the shock in so it did not flare out. When contact eventually is made it is on the soft side of the arm instead of the sharp edge.