Texasoil Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 The accumulators on the suspension are what provides the 'give' when you go over a bump, and are what provides the 'push' to move the wheel down into a hole. When they lose their nitrogen charge (slowly leaks through the 'rubber' diaphragm into the oil) . they fill up with oil, and can no longer absorb any bumps or force to follow holes. :( I can recharge them for a small fraction of new parts prices. Send me an email Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6442 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Thank you both so much! I will look at that over the weekend and pray that is all I have to do because $535 ea is not an option in my book. But I appreciate your help. Just got the news from Lexus dealer that the bouncy ride in the LX470 was caused by contamination in the hydraulic fluid in the automatic height control. The contamination ruined the seals in the accumulators and hydraulic oil went into the struts where the nitrogen gas is supposed to be. Dealer recommendation: New accumulators $2,200, hydraulic fluid $100 and labor about $900. Total cost $3,200. This same dealer flushed the hydraulic system 2 years ago. He said the oil that they flushed out must have been contaminated. The did not offer to do an oil test to see if the current oil was contaminated. Our LX470 is a '99 with 120,000 miles on it. This solution is too pricey. I think we will replace the suspension with a non automatic height control suspension for a toyota land cruiser. I am guessing the cost will be around $1,600 to $2,000. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texasoil Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Thank you both so much! I will look at that over the weekend and pray that is all I have to do because $535 ea is not an option in my book. But I appreciate your help. Just got the news from Lexus dealer that the bouncy ride in the LX470 was caused by contamination in the hydraulic fluid in the automatic height control. The contamination ruined the seals in the accumulators and hydraulic oil went into the struts where the nitrogen gas is supposed to be. Dealer recommendation: New accumulators $2,200, hydraulic fluid $100 and labor about $900. Total cost $3,200. This same dealer flushed the hydraulic system 2 years ago. He said the oil that they flushed out must have been contaminated. The did not offer to do an oil test to see if the current oil was contaminated. Our LX470 is a '99 with 120,000 miles on it. This solution is too pricey. I think we will replace the suspension with a non automatic height control suspension for a toyota land cruiser. I am guessing the cost will be around $1,600 to $2,000. Hope that helps. go to my site (activesuspensionsystems.com) and read all about the AHC system and repair alternatives before junking the AHC system. If you DO decide to remove it, I would like to acquire all the parts (pump, height sensors control valves, struts--all for my research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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