Patent ID: 6837344

Claim:
A suspension damper comprising: a cylinder defining a cavity being substantially filled with a fluid; a piston slidably positioned in the cylinder separating the cavity into a compression chamber and an extension chamber; a rod coupled to the piston and extending through one of the chambers and exiting the cavity; a tapered interface between the rod and the piston to thereby align the rod relative to the piston; a passage through which the fluid moves between the extension chamber and the compression chamber during sliding of the piston in the cylinder; and an air pressure actuated control valve assembly responsive to an air pressure input for adjustment to and to maintain either an open position, a closed position, or at least one position intermediate the open and closed positions to control the movement of fluid in the passage between the extension and compression chambers; wherein a damping force of the suspension damper is a function of the air pressure input; wherein the tapered interface provides a fluid tight seal.