Front Air Struts / Mistakes were made...

[evergreenram]

Long story short, I messed up and ended up with what I've realized are 4th gen front struts for my 5th gen limited (and am past the return window). Aside from probably not being able to get into OR1 or OR2 due to the shorter strut body length would putting them on mess anything else up? I'm assuming the ride would be a little different as there would be more air in the bag at the lower settings to hit the correct height vs the longer gen 5 version.

 

[mikeru82]

I wasn't aware that the 4th gen air struts would fit 5th gens. At this point the only thing you have to lose is your time if you plan to install them yourself. So put them on and report back what your experiences are with them.

 

[evergreenram]

From the freeway they look identical. Same air fitting, top stud pattern and nut size is the same and and bottom mount is the right size/shape. Only real difference seems to be the 4th gen strut body is a bit shorter. Suppose I'll give it a go and see what happens.

 

[evergreenram]

So, got them on the truck. The assembly is right about 1" shorter but everything still bolted right back up in the correct spots. For now it seems to be 'workable' from a driving perspective. She won't quite get into OR1 and in Normal feels a bit harsh/firm, sort of like OR1 did back when I first got this truck used with 40k on the clock, aero feels fantastic. Either way I'm not feeling every little crack and bump in the pavement anymore, and potholes aren't causing the front end to bob back and forth like before. Ideally I'll get my hands on a set of the 68323489ADs and swap those in as I've seen other do here on the forum. So yes, you can physically put a 4th gen air strut assembly on a 5th gen, but it's far from an ideal setup. Have to drive from Charlotte to Atlanta tomorrow, so I'll get a better feel for how everything does on the freeway.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Why didn't you just buy the correct struts and sell the 4th gen ones?

 

[evergreenram]

Frankly because of the crazy delta in price one I realized my 'good deal' was a complete error. And the stock struts were washed... I was originally looking at a site that sells rebuilt units and they had separate listings for the 4th gen and 5th gen but the part numbers interchanged for both. So I found a set that matched the numbers I was seeing which got to to where I am. The crazy thing is the 4th gens are available everywhere aftermarket for pretty cheap (of course there are a ton of trucks on the road with that unit) and I can only find the 5th gens from Mopar and the price is 3x despite the only difference appearing to be the shock body. Long term I'll set aside some cash and swap out the damper to the correct unit, the air spring portion should be fine. That way I'm only in for about $6-700 more instead of $1,200.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Frankly because of the crazy delta in price one I realized my 'good deal' was a complete error. And the stock struts were washed... I was originally looking at a site that sells rebuilt units and they had separate listings for the 4th gen and 5th gen but the part numbers interchanged for both. So I found a set that matched the numbers I was seeing which got to to where I am. The crazy thing is the 4th gens are available everywhere aftermarket for pretty cheap (of course there are a ton of trucks on the road with that unit) and I can only find the 5th gens from Mopar and the price is 3x despite the only difference appearing to be the shock body. Long term I'll set aside some cash and swap out the damper to the correct unit, the air spring portion should be fine. That way I'm only in for about $6-700 more instead of $1,200.

Since it works off the level links to control arm, would adding a 1" tophat spacer, take it back to normal? Or using an adjustable link for the level sensor to give you back all your modes, just 1" lower than original

 

[evergreenram]

I've actually been wondering if links or a spacer would work. I'm thinking a spacer might make more sense as it would pick up the physical difference in height. As it sits now I believe the system is adding more air to get to 'normal' and links would maybe make that worse since they use air to get the extra height. But I could be totally wrong as well, would be par for the course on this project. At least changing out the CVs and intermediate shafts went as planned, ha!

 

[HSKR R/T]

I've actually been wondering if links or a spacer would work. I'm thinking a spacer might make more sense as it would pick up the physical difference in height. As it sits now I believe the system is adding more air to get to 'normal' and links would maybe make that worse since they use air to get the extra height. But I could be totally wrong as well, would be par for the course on this project. At least changing out the CVs and intermediate shafts went as planned, ha!

Well the adjustable links wouldn't make up for the height difference, but would give you back all height settings. Each one would just be 1" lower than factory

 

[evergreenram]

Quick update for what it's worth.. Yesterday I added a set of 2" leveling top spacers (actual spacer thickness 1.25") and it has restored my ability to get into OR1 and OR2. The ride is much better in normal now as well since the air springs aren't over inflated to compensate for the shorter gen 4 assembly. Not sure if the ride is back to 'factory' since the truck already had 40k miles on it when I got it. But everything now is much better than driving around with the old factory units with the totally worn out shocks. Not the perfect solution by any stretch, but if you have a gen5 with bad front air struts you can get a set of aftermarket gen4 air struts and add spacers for roughly half the cost of one OEM gen5 strut assembly.