stamar Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 my air bags have always been uneven. ride rite firestone. I spent the first few months at 100 both sides and cockeyed off balance. then over the months they settled down naturally ( a leak in both... they are seperate from eachother) to wher they were 50 45 and even. So in order to be even the drivers side needs to be at 70 and the passenger side 100. the guy at les scwaub said the passenger side is heavier which isnt true. I weigh more than the refrigerator. and for that matter the tanks are all on the drivers side it should weight like 400 more points or more. whats wrong? If you need a picture ill climb under there. is one or both bag bad? they also both have a slow leak obviously so Im going to get a can of tire slime to put in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 If you have access to a truck scale, weigh each side. You could have a broken spring or weak spring. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 so the passengers side which needs to be 100 might have a weak spring waiter? what am i looking for then? what does that look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 Let the air out of the bags (always leave 5-10 lbs in the bags so they wont fold or kink), if possible, weigh it on the sides (left side / right side). If the weights are close i.e. within 50 lbs, then you probably have a weak or broken spring. Climb under there and look, also look at the bushings, count the leafs to make sure they are the same on both sides. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 my air bags have always been uneven. ride rite firestone. I spent the first few months at 100 both sides and cockeyed off balance. then over the months they settled down naturally ( a leak in both... they are seperate from eachother) to wher they were 50 45 and even. So in order to be even the drivers side needs to be at 70 and the passenger side 100. the guy at les scwaub said the passenger side is heavier which isnt true. I weigh more than the refrigerator. and for that matter the tanks are all on the drivers side it should weight like 400 more points or more. whats wrong? If you need a picture ill climb under there. is one or both bag bad? they also both have a slow leak obviously so Im going to get a can of tire slime to put in there. Why worry about it? I've got three trucks with Firestone Riderights and none are perfectly even when I use equal pressure on each side. That's the benefit of installing bags with separate fills. You can even it out. All it takes is the springs on one side to be a bit more "tired" then the other, uneven weight, etc. In regard to slow leaks - I've never had a set that did not have a slow leak. I put 60 PSI into my truck whenever I put a camper on it. A week later it will be down to 40 PSI. Same with my Blazer-Chalet RV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 10, 2013 Author Share Posted January 10, 2013 Thanks good answer. So you have 30 pnds difference to make them even? Well in the event the bag itself is bad id just have another one pencilled in. But the guys in the tire shop saiid it was fine. Ill put some tire slime in it and say whether it removed the leak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 oooh oooh I got this one. number one to be "even" you must bring a nice level. the ground (length of all 4 tire points where they will touch the ground) must be verifiably level to start baseline. Once on level ground air up bags. Next take level readings of rig; from known level points on floor or roof. if level great if not check for spring leaf wear, missing spring leaf and air tire pressure to be legit. If level it may have leak. I fixed my leak using good old tire slime leak was at bottom when i sprayed soap looking for bubbles I was lucky.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I fixed my leak using good old tire slime leak was at bottom when i sprayed soap looking for bubbles I was lucky.) I'd suggest finding where the leak is before trying to fix it 'blind'. It could just as easily be the air lines or the Schraeder valves leaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 Im not sure that the rate my air is leaving is even considered leaking at all. But Im going to throw some slime in anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Im not sure that the rate my air is leaving is even considered leaking at all. But Im going to throw some slime in anyway. Not like a tire where the schraeder valve goes right into the tire. You have long air hoses and they will clog completely. You won't be able to let air in or out. Soapy water in a spray bottle and find out the real problem. No reason to destroy an expensive airbag system for nothing. Much less trouble to just check the air every few days. Not like it's in storage and too much trouble to get to. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 12, 2013 Author Share Posted January 12, 2013 That's a good ppoint but I'm sure there's someone here that did thhat no problem. Ill wait until I can remember who that is. I honestly think my airbags were installed wrong. But I have no idea it could be a weakened spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 Not like a tire where the schraeder valve goes right into the tire. You have long air hoses and they will clog completely. You won't be able to let air in or out. Soapy water in a spray bottle and find out the real problem. No reason to destroy an expensive airbag system for nothing. Much less trouble to just check the air every few days. Not like it's in storage and too much trouble to get to. Linda S I've got three trucks with Firestone Riderites. All were installed :"out of the box" new and all have slow leaks. All were tested and none had leaks in the air lines or schrader valves. If they did - that would of been an easy fix. The slight leaks are in the bags themselves and not something I worry about. They all seem to stabilize at 20 PSI and pretty much stop leaking when that low. If I fill them up to higher pressure - the worst one leaks around 1 PSI a day, if that. Out of the six Firestone bags - I have one that seems to not leak at all. All the others do very slowly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 12, 2013 Share Posted January 12, 2013 On some of the air hose fittings, there is a small o-ring. take the fitting apart and rub a small amount of Vaseline or silicone paste on the o-ring, just enough to make it damp. Same with the schrader valve, take the valve out and you'll see a a rubber seal, Vaseline or silicon paste. Mine hold air for months. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 Ya well because one is at 100 and one is at 70 the side that's at 100 now quickly is falling faster then the other side. I'm just trying to somehow keep the butt end even Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Lol at clogging my lines, or blind leaks. I soap sprayed the entire chain bud, it was leaking from the bottom of the bag where the rubber meats the perch. Folks get a grip, slime is safe. Takes a few fill ups to get it to the bag to be sure but it's easily flushed through. When you replace bags you'll get all new hardware anyway. Zero risk. I've been running slimed since I bought my rig. It airs and releases just peachy, stop by at a rally I will show you. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 13, 2013 Author Share Posted January 13, 2013 It takes a few cans? What is fjll ups? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted January 13, 2013 Share Posted January 13, 2013 Will further explain, by fill ups I mean air. Tire slime if you have never used it is a water soluable green suspension that has a ground substrate in it. You remove the valve from the stem at the fill up screw, which will release all pressure and you squeeze the goo in the valve stem. Then screw valve back in and air up. The goo makes its way to the leak and plugs it. Not meant for huge leaks and is a temp fix for sure but far better than fix a flat etc. I know I need new bags as mine are from the 90s, but hey after a slime in each bag, aired them and they leaked maybe 3 more times, kept airing they are per mantle pressured where I want them now. I also put some stainless steel valve air gauge caps on the valves that I had custom made online. To me it's a great solution to squeeze some more years; slime does not set or cast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 14, 2013 Author Share Posted January 14, 2013 I was thinking the slime branded fix a flat type cans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Stuff in a can sets and could lodge in the lines and is only rated for few hours use. Stick to regular green slime. Much longer drive time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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