Rear air Bags

[stuart2]

Hello All! Can anyone give me some tips on my rear air bags? They no longer hold air so I climbed under her belly to see what's up (or in this case what's down) and found the rubber bags had dry rotted and cracked, probably beyond repair.
Will this be a major replacement project? Where can I find replacement bags? or any other questions I don't even know how to ask?.... Thanks and happy trails....Stuart

[thenewkid64]

Stuart,


The bags are easy to change. This is a DIY project as long as you are willing to get your hands dirty. If you do not have a bag part number I would start by checking with Airstream to see if they can get you the Firestone number of the bag used. They are all a little different. Then call Fleetpride and order the bags. I did mine, they ran $300.00 for the pair??

The MH must be lifted to allow the old bags to be removed. Use a proper set of jack stands to support the weight of the MH. You will need to jack it on the frame. Once you have enough clearance to fit the new deflated bags in you can stop jacking. They are normally held in with 2 bolts on the top and one on the bottom. I disconnected the bag air line form the leveling valve and removed them with the tube installed. It was much easier to swap the brass over this way.

If you need to move the MH to do this do it very slowly. The suspension is gone the bags do it all so you are riding on the frame or rubber bumpers if you have them. The rear end will drag really easy too.

[stuart2]

Thanks Brett, thanks twice, once for the answer and the other for making the answer sound easy!!

[thenewkid64]

You are welcome!

I studied the manual I had for days and I was dreading it. When I did mine it took longer to block the coach and jack it up and down that it took to actually change the bags.

[stuart2]

Hello All! I just replaced my rear air bags (w/the help of Brett) and thought I'd share the experience with yous.
First off, the hardest part was building up the courage, after that it was a cake walk. Start with jacking the rear end up so that you can get to the top of the air bag then simply unbolt the 2 top bolts and 1 bottom bolt located inside bell then slide the bag out!
Once they'er out you'll find the part number located on the top of the bag (unfortunately you won't be able to see the number when the bags is still mounted) and order it. The air bag my 310 Turbo Diesel uses is a W01-358-5412. One thing I discovered was a lot of the bags LOOK the same but aren't so make sure you get the replacement number correct. I bought mine from Fleet Pride for a total price of $280 (incl tax & delivery) for the pair.
The job was an easy one and I wish luck to anyone who needs to get theirs done.
I'm going to try and attach a few pictures with this but this is my first post with our new system and there might be a learning curve here.
Good luck f you're going to do your bags! Stuart

[ALANSD]

sure feels good to do it yourself ( with help of the forum members)

The ride will be that much sweeter.

[stuart2]

Yes Alan, the ride is better which is surprising beacuse the old bags still worked, I only replaced them because they were dry rotting and I knew it was just a matter of time before they popped. At first I though the bags had a leak but it turned out to be a leak in one of the connecters.
Ok, here's another try at the pictures....

[stuart2]

Darn, OK, how 'bout this...

[stuart2]

AH! success, sorta..As you can see this is the old bag. It's mounted on a bar parellel to the axle. Here's a try at the new bags...

[stuart2]

one last thing I forgot..the Fleet Pride phone number is 1-800-967-6206. This number will give your nearest Fleet Pride outlet.

[thenewkid64]

Originally Posted by stuart2

(we really need to get spell check added to this site!!)

Stuart,

Looks good! I too spent more time psyching myself up to do it than it actually took.

I use a add on app for web spell check. It is called IeSpell, is free and puts a spell check button in the IE bar. It is a local app and will let you build a dictionary of frequently used words.

www.iespell.com

[stuart2]

WOW! I are a good speller now!

[thenewkid64]

Originally Posted by stuart2

WOW! I are a good speller now!

I just wished it woULd maybe do some kind of grammar check , IF YOU know what I mean?

[stuart2]

yes, it wood bee nice to half the graham or checked to but its good to no we can sea the spieling miss takes aft or we make them.

[thenewkid64]

So to bring the thread back on topic..............

Have you taken test ride yet? Does it ride differently? I know mine did.

[stuart2]

Yes, only a short ride though but I did notice a difference. She "floated" over the bumps, rode more like a Caddy than a Ford. Now remember, I've replaced both front and rear bag so I'm new all around!
BTW, I learned something else thru all of this. I haven't been on any road trips for quite some time and my batteries were getting very weak, or so I thought. I was having to "jump" start her almost every time except this last time when she wouldn't turn over at all. Natch, I blamed it on bad batteries but they checked out fine. It was my starter, she'd given up the ghost, had to replace it with a new (rebuilt) one. After all of this work I'm going to have to get out on a real trip.
gotta split 4 now. Brett, that's for all of the tips! Stuart