Air ride for my 95 (not a 96) Astro

[violent b]

so one of the first things i want to do to my 95 Astro is bag it. being new to the Astro scene I'm going to need some help from you air ride veterans.
does anyone have a list of suspension components I will need to get this Astro to the ground? I know about the tank(s), compressors, lines, valves, ect...
but what I need to know is about the spindles up front and the 4-link in the rear. I was checking out some of the air ride sites online but when it came to the rear of the van I was getting confused. there are a couple different 4 link bag setups and I didn't know what I needed.

so if anyone of you guru's out there can point me in a direction to look that would be great.

[suicide86]

I take it the van is a 2wd right?I certainly hope so. Anyways,to have a good air ride system you need...front-airbags and mounts and dropped spindles prefferably, also shock relocators.In the rear you will need a link style setup of some sort.Nobody makes a bolt in I believe,so you will need to weld it in.Alongside of that you need mounts and bags and most likely a frame notch.For the heart of the system you need valves and a tank and some way of compressing air unless you want to fill at a gas station.If you are serious about doing this phone a reputable outfit like suicidedoors.com or ifcustom.com .If you have any questions ask me as well,Ive been through a number of suspension setups in my van, air and static.I am currenlty modding it for 22's and 24's while laying body

[zook94]

Air bags and dropped spindles = too low, theres not enough height to get the front frame head off the ground. Thats how I got my dropped spindles, I traded a guy a set for a pair of stockers so he could drive his bagged van without scraping.

[suicide86]

no offense pal,but that is totally innacurate.Even with a small bag and a crappy set of mounts you can get 6 to 8 inches of lift.This is without bodydropping of course.The guy you are taliking about must have had a junk kit and been running very low psi.Also the bigger the tire combo,the higher up you would already be,and being able to drag the front crossmember may not even be possible with some tires and wheels anyways.It would be the tire hitting the wheelwell that would be the problem.I know guys running big whels and are fine.I ran 18's with a set of junk mounts and I ran only 145 psi and I had alot of room,and I had a bumper fascia that was hanging down lower than stock,and I never rubbed

[violent b]

well I found out that the van is a '95 not a '96, 2wd sooo.....

will that make a difference in parts needed? I've been looking at a couple of air ride places online (Gauge store, Suicidedoors.com, Air ride technoligys, ect...), that's why i was asking about the 4 link set up.

I planned on doing the drop spindles with bags cause I want the van in the weeds.

[zook94]

no offense pal,but that is totally innacurate.Even with a small bag and a crappy set of mounts you can get 6 to 8 inches of lift.This is without bodydropping of course.The guy you are taliking about must have had a junk kit and been running very low psi.Also the bigger the tire combo,the higher up you would already be,and being able to drag the front crossmember may not even be possible with some tires and wheels anyways.It would be the tire hitting the wheelwell that would be the problem.I know guys running big whels and are fine.I ran 18's with a set of junk mounts and I ran only 145 psi and I had alot of room,and I had a bumper fascia that was hanging down lower than stock,and I never rubbed

None taken, but thats how I came across my lowered spindles for the cost of shipping. I believe they are DJM spindles, and I really didn't care why he wanted to swap, but it worked out for me. His post is still over on AstroSafari.com if you didn't like the story.

[suicide86]

voilent b- are you gonna weld this in yourself?you say you want the van in the weeds,what size wheels are you going with?The amount of work that needs to be done is dependant on how low you wanna go and what size wheels you run.For instance if you just wanna run 17 or 18 inch wheels on say a 40 series tire and just go down until the axle hits the frame then its not much work.Ive been there.And obviously the larger the tire combo you go with the higher the van will naturally sit,so it takes more work to lay it out.If you want to go real low you need a notch and not just a small c section and the lower you go and the bigger the wheels the bigger the notch you need.And if you want to go lower than where the van sits on the front crossmember and the gas tank starts to bind up on the pavement then a bodydrop is the final step,and thats alot of work,but worth it in my opinion.then sacrifices have to be made ,like leg room and fuctionality of some of the items in the van.For instance my van has no ebrake,heater ,air conditioning,hardly any footroom,have to make a gas tank,have to make a new doghouse,have to move the battery,custom exhaust,and so much other stuff I havnt even tackled or learnt yet.Decide exactly what you wanna do with the van before you buy ANY airride stuff.Suicidedoors is one of the better shops

[suicide86]

well I found out that the van is a '95 not a '96, 2wd sooo.....

will that make a difference in parts needed? I've been looking at a couple of air ride places online (Gauge store, Suicidedoors.com, Air ride technoligys, ect...), that's why i was asking about the 4 link set up.

I planned on doing the drop spindles with bags cause I want the van in the weeds.

Oh the year doesnt matter,the 2wd astros are almost identical among the years until the switched to 6 bolt wheels.The only difference is that your van is longer after the axle than a shorty.The 4 link will be custom made or universal anyways most likely.

[violent b]

voilent b- are you gonna weld this in yourself?you say you want the van in the weeds,what size wheels are you going with?The amount of work that needs to be done is dependant on how low you wanna go and what size wheels you run.For instance if you just wanna run 17 or 18 inch wheels on say a 40 series tire and just go down until the axle hits the frame then its not much work.Ive been there.And obviously the larger the tire combo you go with the higher the van will naturally sit,so it takes more work to lay it out.If you want to go real low you need a notch and not just a small c section and the lower you go and the bigger the wheels the bigger the notch you need.And if you want to go lower than where the van sits on the front crossmember and the gas tank starts to bind up on the pavement then a bodydrop is the final step,and thats alot of work,but worth it in my opinion.then sacrifices have to be made ,like leg room and fuctionality of some of the items in the van.For instance my van has no ebrake,heater ,air conditioning,hardly any footroom,have to make a gas tank,have to make a new doghouse,have to move the battery,custom exhaust,and so much other stuff I havnt even tackled or learnt yet.Decide exactly what you wanna do with the van before you buy ANY airride stuff.Suicidedoors is one of the better shops

I see...
well I was thinking of 18-20" rims (I'm not a big fan of really large rims) not 100% sure of the tire size. I've just started looking around at other Astros and seeing what they are running wheel/tire combos to get me an idea how I want mine to look.

how low can i get without crazy modifications, still running air ride? I don't want to get into too much welding if I can help it, my friend does welding but I don't like to bug him too much.

[suicide86]

you can most likely lay the front bumper on the ground with dropped spindles and airbags on 20 inch rims with say a 40 series tire.It will hit on the inner fenders when you lay the van out,no big deal.Without a notch in th rear you can only go down until the axle hits the frame.I highly doubt youll be able to do much without welding,but you never know.Phone suicidedoors and see what they say.Do alot of research and dont rush into this!

[violent b]

Phone suicidedoors and see what they say.Do alot of research and dont rush into this!

I always do a ton of research before I get into anything that will cost alot of money. I don't want to screw it up and have to shell out more cash to fix things. the old lady yells enough at me about spending money on my projects.