Fiting Air Bag Helper Springs - practical help needed
Submitted: Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 20:37
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Member - Norm C (QLD)
I've decided to fit airbags on the leaf springs of my new 70 Series Cab Chassis. Despite the GVM upgrade (which included replacement of all springs and shocks), I 've come to the conclusion I will need a bit more support when fully loaded and towing the van.
Today I picked up an airbag kit from Bos Suspensions. Their warehouse is only 10 mins from home.
The installation seems pretty simple. Pull off the bump stop and replace it with the top airbag bracket. Loosen the bottom U Bolts and slip the bottom airbag bracket in place and re-tighten U Bolts. Slip the airbags in place and screw in with the many screws provided. Attach the hoses and nipples to pump the bags up.
Now to the point of my post. I'm figuring I can do all this without jacking the vehicle up and without the need for stands. Just leave vehicle in gear and chock wheels firmly. I should be able to compress the bags enough to get them in with the vehicle in it's normal position. And with what I am doing, there is no chance the vehicle will fall on me while I'm under it.
Does that sound right? Anyone done this or familiar enough with this process to give me some reassurance (or warn me off).
Norm C
Reply By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 22:19
Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 22:19
Not sure Norm, but I would have imagined it would be easier if you jacked-up one side at a time ...BY THE CHASSIS, not the axle. That would get a maximum of droop on the side you're doing first and would surely make it easier to fit the bag to that side. Then repeat for the other side.
Or, am I missing something?
Cheers
Roachie
AnswerID:
332759
Reply By: Member - extfilm (NSW) - Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 22:21
Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 22:21
As long as u don't undo the u bolts all the way, u should be fine...... I would rest a jack under the chassis if it makes u feel safer.
Peter
AnswerID:
332760
Reply By: Member - Norm C (QLD) - Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 22:38
Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 22:38
Fair point. If there is any difficulty getting them in, I'll jack up the chassis a bit on the side I'm working on. What I was most concerned about was the safety aspect.
By my estimate, it is a safe operation if I don't do anything sillly (like pull the U Bolts completly off both sides). But I've never done this before.
Thanks for your input Roachie and Peter.
Norm C
AnswerID:
332761
Reply By: Harry - Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 22:51
Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 22:51
G'day,
I've fitted my air bags from my 78series Troopy to my new troopy and I don't need to jack up anything. My kit came with it's own u bolts positioning on the side of existing. yours is a slightly different kit obviously, but I still don't see any need to jack anything up so long as you are parked on level ground and yes they will compress down easily to slide into position.
Whatever you do, you'll wish you had them on years ago as the handling is much better as you've eliminated a lot of body roll.
you wont bottom out in the rear end as there will be a bag of air to stop that. The airbags and leaf springs compliment each other sharing the load.
Don't over inflate as the ride will get harder and they are not a lift kit. I never go over 35psi just to get the vehicle level again and that's with the 900kg camper on tow.
Try measuring the towball height unladen and pump the airbags up until you reach that height when the van is on. you might need more psi than
mine to get the desired effect.
Around town 25psi is ok.
Make sure brake line hoses are clear of bags as rubbing can occur.
AnswerID:
332765
Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 22:58
Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 at 22:58
Gday Norm,
Sorry, you'll have to jack it up and support under the chassis.
I've fitted a couple of pairs of these to 79series, and on each side have found it necessary to remove one U-bolt and loosen the other. On the drivers side, I also had to cut about an inch off the lower bracket so it would be clear of teh breather. I also assembled the bag in a bench before installing it, and sealed with a smear of silicone (my idea, not theirs).
The instructions they now supply are better than previous efforts - found each time that to stop all leaks on teh hose connectors, you need to pull on the hoses pretty hard to
seat the connector.
Its a satisfying job - have fun!
Cheers
phil
AnswerID:
332768
Reply By: Dave B (NSW) - Friday, Oct 31, 2008 at 00:04
Friday, Oct 31, 2008 at 00:04
G'day Norm, I fitted Boss air bags to my 60, and didn't have to jack it up, but I did to give me more room to manoeuvre.
I haven't got a pit or big ramps, so I though that jacking it up and putting stands under the chassis would just save me squirming around underneath.
I had a problem getting enough clearance between the exhaust and the airbags, so after a chat with the local exhaust guy, he said just cut off the exhaust before where the airbags mount, fit the bags and come up here and we will sort out the new shape of the exhaust to make sure they don't touch.
Very happy with the end result, they are great.
I was also worried about my headlights blinding someone at night with the R send down a bit with the CT on the back.
Dave
AnswerID:
332782
Reply By: Member -Pinko (NSW) - Friday, Oct 31, 2008 at 09:23
Friday, Oct 31, 2008 at 09:23
Hello Norm
I have fitted Air bags (Firestone ride-rite RR4503) from the Air Bag Man. There was no need to to loosen 'U' bolts they come with their own and the fitting instructions were very good. My kit suits RV GX and GXL models only. The difference is a web that strenghtens the axle housing and requires and offset 'U' bolt to be supplied in the kit. Photos and diagrams in the instructions clearly explain this. Of course routing the very easy to fit and good quality air fitting depend on where the individual wishes the valves to be placed.
Mine are at the rear tucked in below the tray combing.
There is also a heat shield supplied with the kit where the bag is in close proximity to the exhaust pipe.
Make sure the diff breather clip faces away from the bag on that side.
The Air Bag Man has an 1800247224 number and are willing to assist with Q&A's technical advice.
They are an excellent product.
Regards
Stan
AnswerID:
332815
Reply By: Member - Norm C (QLD) - Saturday, Nov 01, 2008 at 18:49
Saturday, Nov 01, 2008 at 18:49
Well I successfully fitted the air bags today.
The only thing I needed to support was under
the springs so they would not sag when I loosened the U Bolts.
The kit was complete and went together very easily. I assembled each bag before installation and gave them a quick pressure
test to
check for obvious leaks. There were none.
All a fairly simple process.
On my previous vehicle ('05 Hilux) I paid just under $1,000 for Firestone airbags including fitting. This time I paid $550 for the kit, so I made a bit of a saving and learnt a bit about my vehicle on the way.
Although the mounting system is a bit different between the Firestone and Boss kits, they both seem to be of similar high quality.
I'll
check the air pressure in the morning to see if there are any slow leaks, but otherwise, the job is done.
Norm C
AnswerID:
333044
Follow Up By: Member - John (Vic) - Monday, Nov 03, 2008 at 02:26
Monday, Nov 03, 2008 at 02:26
A few photos Norm would be handy if you could manage it.
I'm interested to see the different set up between the Boss and the Firestone's in particular the bottom mounting bracket.
Cheers
FollowupID:
601153
Follow Up By: Member - Norm C (QLD) - Monday, Nov 03, 2008 at 14:43
Monday, Nov 03, 2008 at 14:43
Just for you
John.
Image Could Not Be Found
After 2 days, the 60 PSI I initially put in them is still holding, so it looks like there are no leaks.
Norm C
FollowupID:
601238
Follow Up By: Member - John (Vic) - Monday, Nov 03, 2008 at 15:09
Monday, Nov 03, 2008 at 15:09
Thanks Norm.
The original Firestone's I fitted (Airbag man) used their own U Bolts which I always thought as being a bit light for the service intended.
I had one rotate the lower mount to the rear when on a desert trip which ruptured the bag.
They have made a change the the lower bracket now to try and stop this from occurring but was not the best fix in my view.
I made new brackets which I am still trialling at the moment so was interested in what others did also.
Those look to be a very good mounting set up, better than the U Bolt mounts anyway.
Cheers
FollowupID:
601245