Air Lift Air Bags, Compressor & Tank Install on a Ford Transit

Pull down on the jounce bumper to pop it off:

Unscrew the bolt with a 13mm socket and remove the cup:

First, insert the two 3/8″ x 1.25″ carriage bolts through the upper frame bracket:

Push the flange against the frame and torque the button head screw with a 6mm hex to 30 ft-lbs. Driver side:

Put a roll plate over a bellow, then add the a swivel fitting (finger-tight plus 1-1/2 turn with a 11mm wrench):

Set a bellow bracket over the roll plate and fasten with two 3/8″ x 7/8″ flat head screws with a 7/32 hex (20 ft-lbs):

Turn the assembly upside-down and install the lower roll plate, the lower bracket, and the carriages bolts. The lower bracket should be installed so that the bolts are opposite side of the fitting:

Install the two 3/8″ x 7/8″ hex cap screws, lock washers and flat washers (leave loose for now):

Set the air bag like so to start with. The carriage bolt goes in between the brake/ABS line and the axle:

Compress the air spring and install:

On the back carriage bolts only, install P clamps, 3/8″ washers and 3/8″ nyloc nut (leave loose for now):

Also install a 3/8″ washer and 3/8″ nyloc nut over the front carriage bolt (no P clamp).

No photo, sorry!

Install the axle clamp bar with two 3/8″ washers and 3/8″ nyloc nuts (leave loose):

Move the bellows assembly so that they are parallel to the upper and lower bracket. Torque upper hardware with 9/16″ socket to 15 ft-lbs:

Make sure the lower bracket is parallel to the upper bracket, then torque with 9/16″ socket to 10 ft-lbs:

Torque lower bracket hardware with 14mm wrench:

On the driver side, the ABS line is too close to the lower bracket and may rub:

Pull the line out of the holder:

Rotate 180° and push the ABS line back into its holder. This adds clearance between the line and the lower bracket:

Install the heat shield on the exhaust using two worm-type clamps and the provided heat shield:

We chose to install the inflation valves under the plastic trim, roughly 6″ behind the rear wheels. Drill a 5/16″ hole to install the valve:

Install the 5/16″ hex nut and star washer on the inflation valve. Install the valve in the hole, then add the rubber washer, flat washer, and 5/16″ hex nut:

Route the air line from the inflation valve to the air bag. For the moment, we are taking a few detours in order to keep the extra length. We will come back later to trim it (Pneumatic section)!

Make sure to route the air line through the P clamp, then push into the swivel fitting:

At this point, you can add air to the air bags (max 100 PSI) and check for leaks:

Inflation valve with the cap installed:

We are installing the compressor (and other components) in the bay just behind the driver-side front wheel:

Here is how it looks before starting our task:

The compressor will be bolted through the floor. I’m holding it and using a 1/4″ drill bit to mark to location of the holes:

Using the marks done at previous step, pilot the holes with a 1/8” drill bit (wear safety glasses!), then go inside the van open the holes to their final size with a 1/4″ drill bit:

Perform the usual rust prevention task on the edges (smooth, clean, prime, paint) and insert the M6 bolts and M6 washers (these washers are not provided -use stainless steel-):

Go back under the van and install, in this order, on each feet of the compressor: washer -> compressor -> washer -> nut.

The compressor’s air filter is remotely installed in the cabin to minimize dust congestion (per manufacturer recommendation). We route it through a access hole that we previously drilled (for now the filter is left loose, we will arrange it neatly later):

Connect the air filter and compressor with the 1/4″ air line:

Use the tank’s drilling template provided in the owner’s manual and drill holes with a 1/4″ drill bit:

The upper-right hole is recessed and does not provide any support… we installed a 5/16″ x 2″ bolt from the back (with a washer under the head) to create a stud:

The compressor is then fastened to the van with three 5/16″ self-tapping screws and the 5/16″ stud:

Connect the compressor to the tank:

Connect the air filter to the tank with the drain pointing down:

Without the compressor mounted in it, we find that the bracket is bulky and not as useful. We could still mount it as-is, but our OCD side wants to do something about that… So we disassembled the manifold and solenoid from the bracket, and rearranged them like so:

We reused the same fittings (swapped their location), except we had to buy a 1/4″ x 1/8″ NPT adapter.

Then mounted them on a bracket we 3D-printed. The bracket supports the solenoid and relieves some load (vibration) to the 1/4″ x 1/8″ adapter (that may be unnecessary, but hey we feel better about it):

Make sure to leave enough space on either side of the assembly, for subsequent connection of the air lines and the wiring harness!

Trim the existing air line (inflation valve <-> air bag), insert a Tee fitting and connect the air lines (inflation valve <-> air bag <-> manifold):

Same for the passenger side:

Connect the left air spring (driver side) into the port #1 and the right air spring (passenger side) into the port #2 of the manifold:

Don’t forget to add an air line between the air filter (tank) and the pressure switch (manifold):

First, we install an inflation valve on the driver side between the rear and front wheel (so that we can air the front & rear tires):

Connect 1/4″ air line to the barbed inflation valve (provided with the kit). The inflation valve is mounted in this existing hole, with washers and nuts on both side:

Connect a Tee fitting to split the high-pressure air line into three routes: to the tank, to the driver side inflation valve, and to the back of the van:

At the very back of the van, driver side, we add a Tee fitting and route an air line through the grommet (factory installed) to the interior of the van:

This is where we installed the mountain bike air fill port. We may relocate it eventually as the conversion progress, but that will do it for now:

From the Tee fitting that was just installed, go across to the passenger side and then toward the front:

Go past the passenger side wheel:

Crimp a yellow eyelet connector to one of the pressure switch wire (any wire -there is no polarity-) and ground to the frame using a self-tapping screw:

Prepare the electrical harness by crimping butt connectors: pink onto the solenoid valve wires, blue onto the pressure switch wire, yellow onto the compressor wires. Do not heat shrink yet:

Route the electrical harness into the pass-through hole behind the driver seat (compressor wires, solenoid wires, pressure switch wire):

Grab the harness from under the van:

Connect the main harness connector into the manifold (push until you hear a click:)

Crimp and heat shrink the pink butt connectors to the solenoid valve (there is no polarity) and the blue butt connector to the pressure switch (no polarity as well):

Crimp and heat shrink the yellow butt connectors to the compressor (red with red, black with black):
Note: the compressor comes with an eyelet connector and a wire disconnect, trim them off!

Protect the wires and harness with split loom tubing, use cable ties to secure it and to prevent chafing/abrasion from vibration:

Photo coming soon!
(we have more split loom tubing on order…)

Pull up on the plastic cover between the passenger and driver seat to remove it:

Prepare the wiring harness by adding 3/8″ split loom tubing around it. Route the wiring harness behind the driver seat, between the seats (temporarily remove the two nuts with a M8 socket and pull up to make some room), then inside the passenger seat pedestal (no need to remove the seat):

We routed the harness like so:

Press inward on the glove box (on both sides) to disengage the retaining tabs, then lower the door all the way. We used wrenches to pry the sides:

You can route the wiring harness into the glove box compartment at the very back:

Connect the positive (with 30A inline fuse holder -don’t install fuse yet-) and ignition wire (with 3A inline fuse holder -don’t install fuse yet-) to the Auxiliary #2 switch positive wire (blue/red). Connect the negative to the Auxiliary #2 ground wire (black/yellow):

Insert the 30A fuse into the red inline fuse holder and the 3A fuse into the black inline fuse holder. Turn ON the power source you chose (we chose the Upfitter switch #2):

• The compressor will start to run and fill the tank until max pressure is obtained.
• The manifold will enter pairing mode for five minutes after powering on.

Pair and setup your remote (ref OEM User Guide PDF):

• Insert the battery into the remote.
• Press any button to wake the remote.
• If should automatically go into pairing menu (if not, hold center button until the menu shows up, then go into “Pairing”).
• In “Settings”, select compressor duty cycle (“Tank” or “Air Bags”).
• In “Settings”, select Air Bag Type (in our case it’s “LoadLifter 5000”).
• Hold “Preset” button to save a preset (TIP: “Left: 5 , Right: 100” is a preset we use all the time, because the streets are all inclined toward the passenger side for water drainage!)
• You can also control your Air Lift system with your phone using the “Wireless Air App” (Android | iOS).