Foretravel Owners' Forum

Foretravel Motorhome Forums => Foretravel Tech Talk => Topic started by: Sven and Kristi on April 24, 2025, 02:35:57 pm

Title: "Six pack" torque for nut attaching the coil to the solenoid body?
Post by: Sven and Kristi on April 24, 2025, 02:35:57 pm
I've had a problem with my left rear air bags not raising as they should.  The problem is not with the height adjusters so I moved on to the "six pack" air solenoids.  I'm in the process of replacing the "O" rings and reassembling but have no idea how much torque is required for the nut attaching the coil to the solenoid body.  I hate to guess on this one since these solenoids are pretty costly.
Thanks.
Title: Re: "Six pack" torque for nut attaching the coil to the solenoid body?
Post by: red tractor on April 24, 2025, 06:41:54 pm
I just put them on until they are tight. There is no stress on them so they only have to be tight enough that they don't vibrate loose.
Title: Re: "Six pack" torque for nut attaching the coil to the solenoid body?
Post by: Sven and Kristi on April 25, 2025, 02:00:24 am
If that is the case, I would use some Lock Tite (blue).
Title: Re: "Six pack" torque for nut attaching the coil to the solenoid body?
Post by: red tractor on April 25, 2025, 08:34:36 pm
I would not use loc tite. You might want to remove them some time in the future. I just rebuilt the 6 packs on our coach. The nuts are steel and the shaft is stainless steel. The nuts were rusted tight so that when trying to remove the nut it was turn the shaft that screws into the solenoid body. I used blaster, still wouldn't come loose. I was able to take a punch and hammer and tap the nut a few times and then they came off. I wouldn't worry about the nut backing off. I run the nut down until it touches the coil then turn a little bit more and have never had any come off. I have been working on these for over 40 years.
Title: Re: "Six pack" torque for nut attaching the coil to the solenoid body?
Post by: wolfe10 on April 25, 2025, 09:08:25 pm
The nuts are steel and the shaft is stainless steel.

Ron,
Your thoughts on using stainless steel nuts on the stainless steel shafts? May be worth the $1 or 2.
Title: Re: "Six pack" torque for nut attaching the coil to the solenoid body?
Post by: mkc1962 on April 27, 2025, 10:01:20 am
I have used a few MUCH less costly coils since my 6 pack rebuild. 2 years now and no issues. Coils are nothing but simple wire wound around a metal core to produce an electromagnet, why the OE are so pricey is ridiculous.
Amazon.com: 10238-66 Solenoid Coil 12VDC 16W 1/2" Hole Dual Wire Leads... (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1BR3GX9?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title)



 However these are about 1/8" taller than the OE therefore the metal bracket around the OE will not fit. That bracket, (as I see it) is sort of springy in a sense providing an outward force to keep that nut snug. As the bracket wont fit, on these new ones I wound a few wraps of teflon tape around the shaft threads, this makes the nut fit lots more snugly. As for the torque, the coil is only held in place so as to reside over the shaft, not need for incredible tightness.