Airbag replacement

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

I'm not trying to be difficult but out of curiosity is there a reason you can't just use a bolt of the proper length on the bottom? It just seems like less hassle then studs and sleeves and double nuts and such.

Cheers, Dan

Yeah, you would think, but the stud actually screws in a thread of the upper portion of the airbag assembly and the sleeve and nut holds the lower and upper together.
See post #60

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by PeterH-87MH

Yeah, you would think, but the stud actually screws in a thread of the upper portion of the airbag assembly and the sleeve and nut holds the lower and upper together.
See post #60

I guess I must be dense because I'm having a hard time seeing it. Not a big deal. If I have to replace my bags someday hopefully I will be able to figure it out.

Cheers. Dan

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

I guess I must be dense because I'm having a hard time seeing it. Not a big deal. If I have to replace my bags someday hopefully I will be able to figure it out.

Cheers. Dan

That makes two of us, I didn't get it until I took them apart..
That's the reason for my signature

[ViewRVs]

Here are some pictures of rear air bags that came out of Jim's 1990 Airstream 300.

They looked good on the outside and showed no signs of leakage, but they sure weren't going to make it across the country.

I guess the old phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover" applies here!

[Keyair]

Yup...
These are mine...

[bkahler]

Steve, I noticed in your pictures that your rear levelers seem to be awful close to the air ride suspension. Can you get a better picture of the mounting frame the levelers are bolted to? I'd like to see if it is different than the one I took of the 86 345. If my memory is correct the levelers were mounted forward of the differential on mine.

Brad

[Keyair]

Yes Brad, they are between the tag and drive axle...

[bkahler]

Here are a couple of pictures of the the underside of the 345. Not the best pictures but it should give you an idea of where they are located. I believe mounting in front of the differential is the better location as it would help prevent flexing of the frame. Especially if you relocate the front mounts.



I'll take a picture or two of the rear mount assembly that I have. If it's different or better than what you have I'm sure we can work something out of you're interested.

Brad

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Here are a couple of pictures of the the underside of the 345. Not the best pictures but it should give you an idea of where they are located. I believe mounting in front of the differential is the better location as it would help prevent flexing of the frame. Especially if you relocate the front mounts.

Attachment 177657Attachment 177658

I'll take a picture or two of the rear mount assembly that I have. If it's different or better than what you have I'm sure we can work something out of you're interested.

Brad

Brad and Steve if you go to this HWH file http://www.hwhcorp.com/ml10049.pdf look at pages 16 through 21. It shows the brackets and mounting location for rear jacks for several P-30 Chevy variations. They all show the jacks behind the rear axle.

It looks like your 345 had some kind of cross member set up to mount the jacks. That might make a difference. I jacked my coach up one time and placed jack stands ahead of the axle and it bound the door so bad I couldn't get it open. Last time I did that.

I bought my brackets from HWH and they were actually reasonably priced, and fit well. I think they were around $35 to $40 a bracket. The only problem is the older chassis don't have all the pre drilled holes. Lots of fun drilling those holes.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

Brad and Steve if you go to this HWH file http://www.hwhcorp.com/ml10049.pdf look at pages 16 through 21. It shows the brackets and mounting location for rear jacks for several P-30 Chevy variations. They all show the jacks behind the rear axle.

Which would explain why it's so easy to bind the door on the 310. The levelers are forward of the rear axle and in front of the front axle.

Brad

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Which would explain why it's so easy to bind the door on the 310. The levelers are forward of the rear axle and in front of the front axle.

Brad

Brad I agree the rear of the frame seems to have the most flex. HWH does mount the front jacks behind the front suspension but I was talking to the owner of a good sized tow truck company and he said one of the strongest points on a P-30 frame was the Y's at the front of the frame rails. They have special fixtures to lift the P-30 at that point when they tow. Maybe it's because of the heavy cross members that mount the engine and suspension. Another possibility might be that a trucks payload is carried on a bed or in a box that has it's own structure so that the rear of the frame is designed to work with that extra structure. I'm not an engineer, just thinking out loud.

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

... I'm not an engineer, just thinking out loud.

You should have said "I'm not an engineer, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night"

Brad

[Smartstream]

Originally Posted by bkahler

You should have said "I'm not an engineer, but I did sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night"

Brad

Why would I sleep at Holiday Inn when I have an Airstream?

[bkahler]

Originally Posted by Smartstream

Why would I sleep at Holiday Inn when I have an Airstream?

[92landyacht]

I know that this is an old thread, but would like to know just how you were able to get to the top bolts on those air bags. Seems like not much room to get to those.

[bkahler]

Yep, not much room at all. From what I can remember the air fittings have to be removed first which means removing the airlines as well. I don't remember the wrench size used for the airlines but I know it was real slow going due to only being able to turn the fittings 1 flat at a time.

As far as the two bolts that hold the air bag to the top frame I'm pretty sure I used a 9/16" Craftsman combination wrench and again it was really slow going one. I think breaking the bolts loose was probably the hardest part due to no real leverage point available.

Sorry I can't give you any better advice other than it's slow awkward work

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by bkahler

Yep, not much room at all. From what I can remember the air fittings have to be removed first .....

I swear, in some of these Motorhomes the airbags were installed prior to dropping the body on the frame.
In the case of the 87 345, I was not able to remove the air fittings, since they had "T" fittings with no access to the lines from above. Instead, after slooowly removing the top bolts, I dropped the bag down enough to put a wrench on the T fitting and then rotated the bag to unscrew the air lines. Installation was the reverse procedure.
I suppose that's why some people cut access holes in the floor above the air bags...

[92landyacht]

Thanks for the help guys... Seems like just another typical motorhome repair nightmare.

[Roquefort]

Originally Posted by PeterH-Airstreamer

The center stud should be installed on the bench using locktide. After its tightened a sleeve and another nut needs to be tightened down. Then we held the airfitting with some good pliers and carefully turned the new bag onto the thread as tight as it would go while lining up the upper 2 bolt holes with the airbag threads at the same time. Make sure you use a fair amount of white plumbers/air fitting tape on your air supply thread.
My good friend Joe, who helped me with this just told me to mention: make sure you have someone that is very agile, has small hand with a lot of strength and doesn't mind to get dirty and use a damn power washer next time to wash off some dirt prior to the party...

Hi Peter,
First of all, happy bew year!!!!
Weisst du, wo ich die hinteren Aurbags MIT Anschluss für das instrument im Dashboard bekomme?
Wo bekomme ich neue Radlager für die tagaxle vom 1986 345?
Wo bekomme ich neue Motormounts für P30 Cgevy gas engine 454?
Grüsse aus old Germany!!!!

[WayneG]

I know this is an old thread, but as soon as the snow melts and I can get under my 84 Excella 270, I want to check the bags, bushings and the control valve.
I have a strange problem with my compressed air supply. When the temps are above freezing, I am not loosing air pressure. When they go below freezing, I think something in the rear suspension is draining the air.
My suspicion is the control valve has a problem, but it could be the bags also.
Has anyone had any recent experience with this system? Mine is the Superide 8015 model.