Can someone explain how my UCA managed to blow a hole through my air shock? I was on a moderately difficult trail yesterday, but nothing ridiculous and definitely nothing I hadn’t done before.

I looked under the truck to find a giant gash through the shock’s metal shield, indented by the very top of the UCA (near the joint). The torn metal ripped the airbag and, well, you know what happened next.

I can’t for the life of me figure out how this happened, and I really don’t understand how the truck’s geometry could allow it.

Any thoughts?

 

zero ideas but would love to understand how

 

...the theory is that the shock's internals are what limits travel and when said shock wears out, the UCA can strike the shock. HOWEVER....in every case that this has happened, IIRC, the swaybar link failed as well. So it's not clear if the failed swaybar causes the over-travel and contact, or if the worn shock causes the contact as well as the swaybar link failure.

This happened to me on a trail. I made it out....replaced the end link and the shock. Also check your sensor to make sure the bracket that houses it isn't bent out of place.

How is your swaybar and/or endlink?

 

That makes so much sense. I haven’t been able to get a good look under the truck yet but just a couple weeks ago I had to replace the link on the other side for being bent so it makes so much sense that this is what might have happened. In the photo I posted, it’s hard to tell, but it does look a little bent.

Are the height sensor failures im getting due to the shock failure? Those errors only occurred after the air was let out of the bad shock and the truck went down to it’s bump stops.

 

Could be the sensor bracket got tweaked as I mentioned above. Check the wires on the other side, too...when on bump stops your tire may have ruptured a connection. What are the characteristics of the fault? Amber? Red? Red above a certain speed? Does it put you at normal height?

Do you have a 4x4 display and if so, what's that look like? Sorry for all the questions, the answers do matter, though. You ought to consider an IIDTool.

 

I have a GAP tool and tried using it to force air into the good shocks but no luck. The front right shock is toast and doesn’t hold air. I can’t even get the compressor to fire up anymore.

The truck has the RED suspension fault light on the dash. The dash says Max speed is 30 mph, but I can drive over that even though it gets really bumpy.

Attached are the current faults I’ve got. The ride level control module fault happened after the shock blew so I can’t tell if it’s really a problem or not.

 

...sounds about right for your situation. I wouldn't even try driving on it if the airbag itself is ruptured and not holding air.

Here is what I would do:
1. Replace shock.
2. Replace swaybar end link.
3. Check wiring and sensors; replace as needed.
4. Recalibrate EAS.

 

Yea, that's the plan right now. I am heavily considering the coil spring conversion because I just don't want to deal with this kind of situation again. It wouldn't be so bad if I was close to home, but being 300+ miles away means massive towing bills (AAA only covered so much) or finding a hotel during a holiday and waiting it out several days while a random shop repairs the issue(s).

 

If you replace both shocks you've got another 100,000 miles before you have to think about them again. Swaybar endlinks are cheap as are sensors. Since you now know how to inspect (jack it up, look for contact) this is probably a one-off event. Not much else can take out the EAS completely...maybe a compressor spontaneously flat lining but that should not happen; they show signs of dying first.

I've always been a staunch EAS advocate. In fairness I've never driven a coiler and it may be a good route, I just wanted to make the case for the EAS first so that you can go in with eyes wide open.

 

I wonder how a coil would be impacted by a similar failure? Rub through also? Get bound up on the UCA in some way and snap the coil or UCA itself? I am just shocked it wore that much without making any noticeable noise.

Also that link does look rather bent to me, bend it right behind the brake line in the photo.