2022 Limited Air Suspension Failure – Need Advice on Coil Conversion

[jujua]

Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out from France and could use some technical advice regarding my 2022 RAM 1500 Limited.

The truck currently has about 23,000 miles (37,000 kms) on the clock. A few days ago, while it was parked, I heard a loud "bang." I immediately suspected the air suspension, and unfortunately, I was right. One of the rear air bags completely blew out.

I had the truck towed to the shop where I imported it (American Car City they are the biggest US car importer here in France).
After the inspection, they told me the repair isn't covered under warranty. They offered a "goodwill" gesture to cover 50% of the cost, but that still leaves me with a bill of about $1,160 (€1,100) just to replace the one rear bag.

Given that the truck is still relatively low mileage, I’m seriously losing DIY confidence in the air ride system. I’m considering deleting the air suspension entirely and swapping it for a traditional coil-spring setup to avoid future headaches.

A few questions for the experts here:

I’ve heard that the air suspension can be replaced with standard RAM 1500 coil springs and shocks without modifications. Is it truly a "bolt-on" swap?
Once the hardware is swapped, I Can do this via AlfaOBD?
Since I have a good level of mechanical experience and will be doing the work myself, what brands/kits would you recommend for a Limited trim to gain a better ride quality ?

I really want to get this sorted properly. Being in France, parts take a while to get here, so I want to make sure I order the right setup the first time.

Thanks in advance for your tips!

 

[ram h.o.]

The factory front struts are a direct bolt in. Very simple. The rear has no bolts. You just lift high enough to remove air spring and replace with a rubber isolator and coil spring. I’d see if you could find a used set on facebook marketplace.

I’m not sure about disabling but you could pull the fuse for the air ride.

 

[Beech33]

I was faced with leaking air springs on my 2015 1500 after about 8 years. I purchased a set of rear air springs on Amazon for $120. Used two jacks, one for the axle and one for the truck frame to unload the air springs one side at a time. Easy to slip in the new ones. I purchased a set of AC charging quick connects and used that to get the air tank pressure up to about 125psi. The onboard pump took over and leveled out the truck. It looks like the Amazon one for the 5th Gen Rams is $270 a pair. Once my system started leaking I was disappointed I swore that I would never own another air suspension turck -Once I decided to fix it myself and saw how easy it is, I went and got a 2023 Limited.

The air suspension is fantastic when it is not leaking and it is very simple to fix. No need to charge the system with Ni as it is vented to the atmosphere. Lots of people spend $$$ to have a dealer service the system with their $1200 each air bags.

My advice is not to delete the air suspension. Sounds like you had a defective one bag.

 

[jujua]

The factory front struts are a direct bolt in. Very simple. The rear has no bolts. You just lift high enough to remove air spring and replace with a rubber isolator and coil spring. I’d see if you could find a used set on facebook marketplace.

I’m not sure about disabling but you could pull the fuse for the air ride.

Thanks for the confirmation!

I’ve actually been digging into this with Gemini (Google's AI), and it’s been a game-changer. It’s crazy how it knows pretty much every spec and characteristic of the Ram DT platform!

Based on that, I’ve decided to turn this failure into an upgrade. I’m planning to go with a Fox 2.5 Factory Race Series setup (with reservoirs) to really improve the ride. The only headache right now is sourcing them... finding high-end US suspension parts in stock here in France is a real challenge, so I'm currently emailing King Shocks and Fox to see about shipping.

Thanks again for the tips!

 

[jujua]

I was faced with leaking air springs on my 2015 1500 after about 8 years. I purchased a set of rear air springs on Amazon for $120. Used two jacks, one for the axle and one for the truck frame to unload the air springs one side at a time. Easy to slip in the new ones. I purchased a set of AC charging quick connects and used that to get the air tank pressure up to about 125psi. The onboard pump took over and leveled out the truck. It looks like the Amazon one for the 5th Gen Rams is $270 a pair. Once my system started leaking I was disappointed I swore that I would never own another air suspension turck -Once I decided to fix it myself and saw how easy it is, I went and got a 2023 Limited.

The air suspension is fantastic when it is not leaking and it is very simple to fix. No need to charge the system with Ni as it is vented to the atmosphere. Lots of people spend $$$ to have a dealer service the system with their $1200 each air bags.

My advice is not to delete the air suspension. Sounds like you had a defective one bag.

Thanks for the feedback!
The mechanical side of things doesn't really worry me, I'm comfortable doing the work myself.
The issue here in France is availability and price. I actually managed to find a supplier on Amazon that ships here, but it comes out to about 450 Euros (approx. $475 USD). It’s expensive compared to US prices, but it’s literally the only one I could find online that delivers to my location.
That said, since I'm already looking at spending that kind of money just for parts, I'm still leaning towards the full coil conversion with King shocks or Fox to just be done with the air system for good.
Thanks again for the heads up on the repair process!

 

[jujua]

I was faced with leaking air springs on my 2015 1500 after about 8 years. I purchased a set of rear air springs on Amazon for $120. Used two jacks, one for the axle and one for the truck frame to unload the air springs one side at a time. Easy to slip in the new ones. I purchased a set of AC charging quick connects and used that to get the air tank pressure up to about 125psi. The onboard pump took over and leveled out the truck. It looks like the Amazon one for the 5th Gen Rams is $270 a pair. Once my system started leaking I was disappointed I swore that I would never own another air suspension turck -Once I decided to fix it myself and saw how easy it is, I went and got a 2023 Limited.

The air suspension is fantastic when it is not leaking and it is very simple to fix. No need to charge the system with Ni as it is vented to the atmosphere. Lots of people spend $$$ to have a dealer service the system with their $1200 each air bags.

My advice is not to delete the air suspension. Sounds like you had a defective one bag.

Thanks for the feedback!
The mechanical side of things doesn't really worry me, I'm comfortable doing the work myself.
The issue here in France is availability and price. I actually managed to find a supplier on Amazon that ships here, but it comes out to about 450 Euros (approx. $475 USD). It’s expensive compared to US prices, but it’s literally the only one I could find online that delivers to my location.
That said, since I'm already looking at spending that kind of money just for parts, I'm still leaning towards the full coil conversion with King shocks or fox to just be done with the air system for good.
Thanks again for the heads up on the repair process!

 

[Aziz]

Thanks for the confirmation!

I’ve actually been digging into this with Gemini (Google's AI), and it’s been a game-changer. It’s crazy how it knows pretty much every spec and characteristic of the Ram DT platform!

Based on that, I’ve decided to turn this failure into an upgrade. I’m planning to go with a Fox 2.5 Factory Race Series setup (with reservoirs) to really improve the ride. The only headache right now is sourcing them... finding high-end US suspension parts in stock here in France is a real challenge, so I'm currently emailing King Shocks and Fox to see about shipping.

Thanks again for the tips!

Hey man — curious what happened after this.
Did you end up getting the Fox 2.5 Factory Race setup or going with King?
Also how did the air-ride delete work out in the end?
Would love to hear how it rides now compared to stock.