Air Bag question

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
V

vectra

Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2009
Posts
16
I have a 96 Vectra 34RQ on the Chevy chassis.  When checking the air bags today, I found one out of air.  Put air in the bag and found it is leaking where the hose attaches to the air bag.  I wiggle the hose and the pressure holds.  Right now it is hard for me to tell how the hose connected to the air bag.  I do not see any clamp.  Any thoughts on how they are held on?
Thanks
Mike
 
Are these rear air bags? The standard Chevy P30 chassis does not have any hoses on its standard front air bags. They have a standard schrader air valve and are aired up from an external source.

Rear air bags would be a Winnebago add-on and may be a type that is adjustable from the driver seat via an onboard air pump? I think Firestone makes such an air bag.
 
They are front air bags, blue in color.  The have a blue hose that goes from the air bag to a manual fill valve located near the front of the vehicle.  Each air bag has its own hose and valve.  I have no paperwork to determine if they are original or aftermarket.  They do sit inside the coil springs.
 
vectra, maybe this will help. I installed new blue Firestone bags in my unit some time ago. Did not do it myself...too old.

  When I bought the new bags I also ordered the remote hoses and installed them at the front of the RV. I can post pix, if you want. But since you have the hoses already installed, that may not be necessary.

  After (professional) installation I did discover some leaks. The leaks may be very subtle due to the small volume of air in the bags. The hoses have a tricky way of having the connectors installed. That could be your problem. You may have a bad connector and leaking. I doubt it.

  What fixed my leak was to make sure the valve stem connector on the bag was more than 'fingertight'. I used a pair of pliers to exert a bit more force on the connection. The Schrader valve at the bag becomes irrelevant; it is being kept open by the hose.

  I did, however, change the valve stem at the far end with a good USA made valve and my problems were over. Now, mine were new bags; you may have a more serious problem due to age.

  By the way way, my airbags (coil spring assist) have a standard tire valve on the bottom of the bag.

That's about all I can advise..  If you have a rapid deflation, try some soapy/detergent solution to see where it is leaking.

  Good luck and let us know.

carson FL



 
 
OK, you have an add-on system that makes the air valve on the bag more accessible. As I said, the valve on the bag is a standard Schrader-type valve, like on a tire, so the hose probably just screws on, just like a valve cap. If tightening it doesn't help, remove it and use some teflon tape on the threads before re-installing.

Fixed a type - should have said "doesn't help"
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, I will try that.  I know the bag holds about 40 lbs, when I fill it to 80 then I hear the leak.  When I wiggle the hose where it goes into the bag it stops.  I will look at the good bag and see if the valve sticks out.  This one seems to be pushed up into the bag.
 
vectra said:
Thanks, I will try that.  I know the bag holds about 40 lbs, when I fill it to 80 then I hear the leak.  When I wiggle the hose where it goes into the bag it stops.  I will look at the good bag and see if the valve sticks out.  This one seems to be pushed up into the bag.
Click to expand...

If this is the newer Coil Rite spring that is blue in color it is most likely a push to connect at the bag. I replaced a set on a P-30 and the push to connect leaked after just a few days and would not hold over 10lbs of air. Had to replace the bag it was a warranty replacment but still had to remove the bag and replace myself. If I am understanding what Firestone was sayaing the replacment's now are  red  in color. They have a barbed connect or can be fitted with a regular tire valve at the bag. I opted to hook up remote so that I could air up from the fender well. You can order the bags from Suspension Connections. ( http://www.suspensionconnection.com/cgi-bin/suscon/index.html ) I would advise going ahead and getting the Air-Lift 1000. These were original to my MH which was a 1985 Vogue II on P30. When I replaced as stated above I went with the Coil Rite ( blue ) but the warranty replacment was the like the Air-Life 1000.
 
Adun015 is correct, the newer after market air springs use a push-to-connect fitting.  I just installed a pair and had difficulty establishing an air tight fit.  I believe the air hose (or tubing if you will) has to be very "square" where it is cut.  In other words, the tubing going in to the fitting must have been cut exactly perpendicular to the tube with a sharp instrument so there is an exact 90 degree cut. It is possible that this type of fitting will leak over time if the tube breaks down or is vibrated in its fitting a lot.

I am looking into a more sturdy alternative solution, i.e. one that can be tightened as opposed to just trusting a push fitting.
 
I put the Airlift Kit on My P30, 80 bucks, came with screw on angled brass extenders so you can either use these or put the valve in the bottom of the bag.  I used the extenders and haven't had a leak in more than a year.  They also sell the extenders  hoses seperately.
 
I definitely have the push in connector.  I need to get a jack stand to get some room under the suspension.  Then I will try to push in or remove the line.  If I can get it out I will try to cut the end and reinsert.  Beautiful day today, but working, tomorrow and Sunday rain.  What a surprise.  If neither works I will have to get a new set of bags.  I will go with the Air lift since it has a valve versus push in.  Next question then, is it okay to replace one bag only?
they would be different brands.

Thanks
Mike
 
You can get replacement front airbags for the P30 direct from Workhorse. They designed an improved  bag after the bought the RV chassis business from Chevrolet and it works with older Chevy chassis as well as the newer Workhorse P30.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 1,055 (members: 29, guests: 1,026)

Forum statistics

Threads
131,926
Posts
1,387,625
Members
137,675
Latest member
ozgal
Back
Top Bottom