I put air shocks on my 2012

As many of us know there are no air-shocks listed for recent Tacomas. I got a hold of the Monroe parts book and did some research. Monroe air shock model #

$71 MA777 Shock Absorber

MA777 ($55) has the same mounting and extension/ compression specs as a Tacoma rear shock with the exception that the center bushing on the Monroe's lower mount is 1/8" wider. 30 seconds with an angle grinder and a 40 grit disk on both ends of the bushings took care of the fit . 23psi of air gives the truck the correct ride height and best ride empty( better ride than the OEM shocks). With the 300# tongue weight of my boat trailer. 50 psi brings the truck up to level.

 

interesting. so you just pump them up with air, or nitrogen?

 

Specs for 2012 Tacoma rear shock is 12.5" compressed, 20.5" extended. 12mm x 32mm eye lower mount. 10mm stud upper mount.


Air shocks will hold air as long as the lines don't leak. I had them on my F150 for over 8 years and they never leaked.


BTW I put the air fill valve in the passenger side storage box of the bed

 

I found this post the other day while looking for a solution to my sag problem while hauling a load or towing my boat. I take it that the OP has a 5-lug Taco? I have a 2012 Double Cab Prerunner with 2" leveling spacers in the front and a 1/2" block in the back. My OE shock length is considerably longer than what he posted. I did some research myself and found the Monroe MA793 is a pretty close match for my truck. They measure 14.25 compressed and 23.75 extended. The center bushing does need to be ground down, just like the OP mentioned, not that big of deal. I mounted the valve inside the fuel door and insulated the airlines with 1/4" tubing to prevent chafing. I finished the install tonight and inflated them to 25 psi with no load and took her for a drive. It gave me about an inch of lift, and more importantly, a better ride than the stock shocks, which were pretty much toast at just 37K miles. I can't wait to haul the boat and see how well they perform with a load. It'll be great not to have everyone flash me at night anymore too. Props to Mudfly for the inspiration, at just $64, it was a lot cheaper than air bags or even an AAL which would be a bit overkill for my application anyway.

Edit - I'll post pics tomorrow, if anyone is interested.

 

I'm shocked to hear they ride well. The only time I looked into air shocks was many years ago. They had no compression damping and a crapload of rebound damp. I assumed they'd ride poorly so I didn't buy them. Maybe they've changed, I looked at a bad one, or they just work fine that way.

Good job finding something that worked for you guys and thanks for passing along the useful info.

 

Yep 5 lug , I should have listed the full specs for my truck, 2012 base Tacoma reg cab, 2wd, 4 cylinder, auto

I towed my 2800 lb loader and trailer 1600 miles round trip 2 weeks ago and having the truck at a level ride height made all the difference in the world for handling and comfort

 

I had the Monroe air shocks on my F150 , While they didn't improve the ride but they didn't make it worse. On my Tacoma they made it ride better, I'm guessing the airshocks affect the compression and that may be where the OEM Toyota shock is lacking.

 

good idea, and thanks for posting the info.

my solution for hauling and towing was

$85 For 1995-2014 Toyota Tacoma 2wd 4wd Add-a-Leaf Spring 2" Rear Leveling Lift Kit

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1995-2011-Toyota-Tacoma-Add-a-Leaf-Spring-2-Rear-Leveling-Lift-Kit-/250958042967?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ATacoma&hash=item3a6e43d757&vxp=mtr

they are the best for the money i have found so far, and i am happy with them.

 

Anyone know the specs for the stock rear bilsteins on a TRD OR (collapsed and extended lengths)?

 

should be same as post #5 ?

 

Negative....the OP's truck is a 5-lug so it sits lower.

 

im retarded. good news is i wore my helmet to school today and only drooled on my desk yes, i made the joke... no need for anyone to be offended, it is only a joke.

in that case i shall measure the lengths of the ones in my driveway for you! if i could figure out how to read..

 

haha, nice. I'm sure the measurements are on this forum somewhere...probably 100 different times. Good luck finding them though.

 

I hadn't thought of that! That would make more sense as to why the ride improved.

 

Im not saying your wrong, i had a set of these on an old work truck and they were great.. (monroe air shocks)

but dollar for dollar i think I preffer these add-a-leaf

$85 For 1995-2014 Toyota Tacoma 2wd 4wd Add-a-Leaf Spring 2" Rear Leveling Lift Kit

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1995-2011-T...fits=Model:Tacoma&hash=item3a6e43d757&vxp=mtr

I had an air fitting blow out years ago on a long drive pulling a trailer in my dad's 4runner. It sucked because all of the added benifit was immediately gone.

That being said, i have also broken add-a-leafs soo im not going to say either way, i like the simplicity of extra spring and the linear relationship it has. vs the adjustable air shocks.. This is just my prefference and to anyone else it may be the same or the opposite.

I am curious to see how these perform for you long term so i will stay sub'd

 

Subed

 

Will these work on the front? If so, is it the same shock or would it be different items?

 

So any updates on longevity of these bad boys? I just picked some up. Not installed yet. Got qa1s but need more of a boost for hauling heavy bikes and what not with my little 5 lug.

 

I got mine of ebay. Mo roe

$71 ma777 shock absorber

ma777. They shipped free to oahu. It was lije 68.00 or somthing. Super cheap. Brendoballs said alm his x runner friends run em and they work good. Ill let u know too when Install and test em out. But yah ebay is the way to go for us

 

Anyone else out there who thinks something like this, run as an extra set rather than OEM replacement would have more benifit when needed?

I mean before they made better shocks for offroad guys, it was started for performance reason to double them up, etc to get the ammount of dampening needed. Then as we all know it went to the crazy, 324 shocks on my ride phase..

But i think, running a set of thes in tandem with you OEM or upgraded shocks may be a good solution.. Would it not help with loading etc, and provide some additional dampening to compensate for the air vs air bag as helpers that add spring without dampening..

I dont know, it was a random idea i may be way off..