Went out to work on getting the Foretravel ready for the road this season and was greeted by a few problems.
Biggest problem is that I have a hole in my right rear front airbag.
The coach is sitting on the tire.
Question; If I remove the airline to that bad bag and cap it will the other bag be able to lift that position so I can get a block between the frames to remove the bad bag?
Question; It looks like the forward top bolt on the airbag is going to be a bear to get at, Is there a access to this bolt that I did not see? Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Lon,
You may or may not be able to lift it with the one bag. I made an adjustable tool to fit in and raise it far enough to be able to get the old bag out.
Buy a combination wrench and then heat it and bend it about 90 degrees so it is like a long crow's foot. Flashlight and a mirror on a stalk help getting it into place. Use the new custom wrench with an adjustable to break the nut loose. Slow going with the hidden nut. I think it was a 3/4"/19mm but check it against the other two the same size. You may also need to make a short box end wrench to get the big nut off where the hollow stud for the air fitting is. Mine was on pretty hard so I sacrificed an old wrench by cutting it in half so it would fit into the space and then used it with another to get the right angle and leverage to break it loose. Was easy after that.
To put the new bag in place, put a blanket or like on the ground, put your knee on the new bag and compress it until it is as flat as possible, push the vinyl protective cap the bag was shipped with on the hollow stud and just put the bag into place. Only takes a few seconds and you will have plenty of time before air leaks past the vinyl cap back into the new bag.
Have someone working with you and plan all your moves ahead of time as you are in an exposed position under the rig while it is jacked up. PM with questions or photo of my shade tree tools.
Forgot to say that I left the wheel/tire in place when I changed mine but still can be a bit dangerous if safety comes out.
Pierce
Thanks Pierce!
Search "air bags" or "air springs" for several detailed threads
Replacing Air Bags (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=15680.msg96755#msg96755)
Good luck,
Rick
In Quartzsite this year Wyatt showed us a modification he did cutting an access hole to get at the airbag air line connection.
And then there's the option of removing the fiberglass fenders too.
FOT replaced all the air springs on our coach in January. They removed no wheels nor any body panels. I didn't check to see what kind of wrenches they used. I think they charged 20 minutes per bag.
Thanks for that,
Twenty minutes per bag, Thats what I want to hear, That tells me how easy it is to do it, I have four bags that are perished,
I will buy new ones and install them Myself,
New ones are $300-00 each here,
Remember that they have done this job a few times before. If I ever have to change any bags I'll allow myself a couple of hours per bag. I'm guessing that bag #8 will go a lot faster than bag #1.
The first bag might take me a while, But the rest will be easy, Jacking the bus up high enough to get under it, and setting it on blocks so that it wont fall down, will take most of the time, Making it safe to work under,
Nearly three years ago I had a leak in the passenger side front, front bag. I remember blocking off that line and drove several miles with the one bag holding that corner. I took the fender off to get at the work that needing doing.... So add some good silicone to your supplies. And spray painted the wheel area since it was open. The bag change is not a tough job. Andy1
I do that any way, Paint what ever is there, It will be a few years till I have to touch it again,
I have spent too much time under it now, But it will be reliable when I do get it finished,
Lon,
When FOT replaced my air bags they showed me that they had to cut a hole by the entrance steps to access the air bag. In my case they removed the carpet and drilled a small pilot hole to confirm where they needed to drill the three inch hole. It was a very bad design to place the air line feeding the air bag on the front side of the support. They should have placed it to the rear so you could access the air line at least. They sealed the hole and replaced my carpet. I know the newer coaches do not have carpet so I guess they remove the fiberglass skirt.
Thanks for all suggestions. I will acquire and make the suggested tools and have a go at it this weekend.
I will also install the air valve and fill valve at each bag.
I may explore the idea of cutting a access hole from the bay forward of the rear wheel well. My holding tanks occupy that area but there may be enough room in front to get to the bolt on the other side of the wall.
The penetrating oil was applied on Saturday.
Progress (or lack of) Report.
I got around to the the air bag replacement today. It turned out to be harder than I thought.
First, I plugged the air line to the leaking bag hoping the remaining bag could lift the right rear so I could place blocks under the frame rails, no dice.
I had to use my smallest bottle jack (2 ton)between the frame members and try and raise the frame enough to get the bag in and out. The jack strained but got me about 7" to work with and wood blocks between the frame rails.
I did find a way to get to the hated front top air bag nut. I used a 3/4"ratcheting wrench. The other end of the wrench was 5/8". The 1/2" drive on a long breaker bar was able to fit inside of the 5/8" end of the ratchet wrench. I was able to bring the handle of the breaker bar in to the wheel well where I could smack it with a hammer( it resembled a L). It only took a couple blows to break the nut loose. after that I was able to reach in and push the ratcheting wrench a click or two at a time with my hand. Too bad the threads are soooooo long, It took forever to crawl the nut off.
My next problem is there is not enough clearance to get the old bag out between the fender and the tire. I will attempt to collapse the old bag together tight tomorrow and try again, otherwise I will just cut it in half ( I wanted to examine it so I avoided butchering it).
Lon,
Good thinking with the ratchet wrench. I used a 20 ton on the ground to get bag clearance and then added a couple of adjustable safety tools in case it came off the jack. I lifted it as far as I could and got more than 7 inches. Don't think that is enough to R&R the bag. Not surprised the single bag would not lift the rig.
You could use something like JB Weld on the bag where it is leaking an then raise the rig all the way up with both bags as soon as it hardens. A safety could then be put in place and then the bad bag removed. Usually, the failure is pointing towards the tire so easy to make a very temporary repair.
Be careful.
Pierce
A while back I posted a picture of using a rachet strap to collapse the bag for installation.
Replacing Air Bags (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=15680.msg96764#msg96764)
You are correct, 7" wont do it for clearance.
I had to bring out my floor jack and run a doubled 2x4 from the floor jack to the top frame member. a lot of creaking and bad sounds , with a fair amount of nail biting, but I was able to raise the coach enough to get the old out and the new in.