6.7L Cummins Forum

Howdy Team,

Got a bit tired of the sub par front suspension on my truck so decided to do something about it I was out for a specific goal ...

1. was a better ride, less harse feedback and more stable
2. fully adjustable front height

I looked at many different systems / setup from Link, Kelderman, and Talon. Some of the solutions was by sludge hammer approach and what I thought was a massive overkill ... I had to remember this is a work truck and do use the 4x4 ...

What did meet the goal and number one choice was a product from Firestone:
(swiped pic from the net)


Its a combination of two things:

• Bilstein gas shocks
• Air bag surround to control height

End result, at 75 psi, the truck is level (front to rear) and at 10 psi, normal factory height. 10 psi is the minimum required air to keep the bags safe. Ride is very comfortable (for me) by being a bit stiffer and softer at the same time (due to how the valving works). The setup was designed for trucks with front plows and other attachments to either lift, level or drop. So for our trucks, more than enough capacity to lift to level and keep it there.

They are huge and just barely fit the opening. Installation does require some skills and tools (metric and standard). Passenger side goes in with any issues, just a little patience. Driver side requires removal of the battery and tray due to power steering hoses and master cylinder. I found the tray takes about 30 minutes to remove and drop out from the wheel well and about the same amount of time to reinstall correctly. The old shocks (which where shot on my truck at 30K miles) come out with no fuss at all. I choose to install my setup as a common hose left to right. So I purchased a air hose tee (no supplied by Firestone) and more black DOT spec air line (for an OEM look) from the local semi shop.

Once everything was installed, I inflated the system to 25 psi to take the wrinkles out before dropping the truck. Dropped the truck and ran all the air lines for an OEM look and placed the temporary valve in the engine compartment next to the passenger headlight for now. I plan to install an onboard air system next (so I can handle the front and rear plus some other stuff).

So with the truck on its wheels, pressurized the system to 75 psi, truck went up to level (after many tries and measurements). Went for a 250 mile test drive, and worked like a charm ! Very happy !

Cost for the Firestone unit: $447.70 (discount applied)

Ordered from:

Level-Rite™ Air Helper Springs

Cost for misc hose and fittings: $28.00

Total install time: 4 hours .... (included several breaks, coffee, water and lunch ... ).

Sorry for no install pics, had little time available and if I started the job, had to finish asap. I will post pics later of what it all looks like installed. Hope this helps others.

Cheers.

Attached Thumbnails

 

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Sounds like a great mod!

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2008 Dodge 2500HD 6.7L 4X4 Laramie
Edge insight, Amp tailgate step, 4" Boss Bars, rear air bags with compressor, spray in bed liner

This is what I was wanting for my truck 87,000 miles ago but couldn't find it. Thanks. this will be installed on my 2011 Laramie..........oh yeah, don't foget to re-aim your headlights.

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2007.5 Dodge Ram 3500 HD,QC, 6.7L Cummins, 6speed Auto, 4X4, Bighorn Edition.
Click for installs: Carr Steps PML Diff Cover Edge Juice with Attitude Volant Intake Hankook ATM RF10

For those asking, here are a couple pics of the installed unit (passenger side):





One thing I should mention, the kit does replace the shock tree with a larger one. This means after market stuff that shock tower bracing (like Carli's stuff) will not work .... Not a problem in my case since it also requires a EGR / DPF delete .....

The picture was taken with 80 psi air pressure. The air bags are completely hidden and protected inside the sliver tubes which wrap the Bilstein shocks.

Cheers.

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would these fit a 2WD? It seems that both 4WD and 2WD use same front shock. My fronts are about gone this would be a nice upgrade I think.
Patrick

Patrick, If your 2WD is considered a 4x2 and the front assembly looks like the picture above, I would say yes according to what firestone has listed. But it would still be best to check with Firestone's website on their parts matrix (actually very good). Hope the helps.

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This is a very nice install. I do have a few questions. Why do you believe you needed the air shocks on the front? Wouldn't upgrading to the Bilstien's have been enough? I have the 2008 2500 QuadCab 4x4 Laramie; would upgrading the shocks provide a better ride than staying with the originals (I only have 40500 miles on the truck)?
I like your use of the 'sludge hammer'; I've used one a few times too, but it was always a stinking job.
Harried Harry

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2008 Dodge QuadCab LB 4x4 Laramie with 6.7 CTD, Airaid OEM air filter, tie downs on outside of bed.

Hello Harry,

This setup really has two parts, air height control and gas shock. The air portion of the shock that Firestone added controls height control. It has the ability of lifting the front end up 2 inches under heavy loads. The Bilstien shock portion operates like Bilstien normal gas shock.

So why did I do this ? I wanted truck level when empty but be able to return it to stock when fully loaded. Going with air lift in the front, when loaded, I drop the air pressure to 10 PSI and back to stock height which when loaded the truck is level. When empty I do 80 PSI and its level.

Yes, having upgraded to Bilstien alone would have been enough, however I started fixating on it sitting level and just could not drop it. I am kind crazy that way

I have Bilstien all the way around and love them, the stock shocks very bad (its like having nothing at all) and really enjoy a more firmer ride. However with 19.5 tires, the firmness went up .....

Hope that helps.

Cheers.

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Are you saying you had to do an EGR and DPF delete to install these shocks?

No, I said it replaces the stock shock tree with a new larger one. Doing so prevents you from using special racing braces made by Carli ..... 98 percent of the people out there will not care. But I wanted to make sure it was mentioned.

To install this shock / air lift unit, no deletes required, just time and patience

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