Replacing air line help. <brake lines>

[abdabbs]

Hello all,

Been a while since I have been on. What happened to the main page??

Anyway, I did some quick searching and didnt see anything so far on air line replacement.

Anyone gone thru these motions before? Any knowledge on this matter?

Being that my bus is a 1984, and especially on Ragbrai and Buffett weekends in Alpine Valley when I am hauling upwards of 40 peeps and more than fully loaded, I think its time that I go thru and replace my air lines. I also know that I will need to look at the brakes this year as well.

With the brakes themselves, is it a task that can be done ourselves. I pretty much have all the tools and sizes of tools that would be needed.

Please, if any of you have any wisdom and knowledge you can share. I would greatly appreciate it !!!

Thanks

[paul iossi]

air brake lines on your bus should all be plastic, as long as they are not rubbing or chaffing they should last at least 100 years. if you think that you want to change the lines just because, go to your md truck supplier and buy a bulk roll of brakeline and what ever fitting parts you need. make sure to fasten the air lines so that they are protected from abrasion and foriegn object damage.

[Elliot Naess]

Perhaps Abdabbs is thinking of the flexible lines between the frame and the axles. These are indeed prone to failing. Take them to the truck shop for exact replacements. Very important that these do not rub on anything. (And I believe it is illegal to repair them -- they must be replaced with new ones whenever they fail.)

[abdabbs]

to clarify: I know I need to replace at least one of the air line that runs fore and aft. A heat shield moved and allowed it to be damaged.

No one has done their brake pads ???

Plus check the air dryer out to see if its ok.

[Elliot Naess]

You are fortunate to have an air drier. It spits out a puff of air, moisture (and a trace of oil) each time the compressor-governor cycles. Don't put your face near it while the engine is running. Just listen, and watch for a spot on the ground below it.

When you buy the replacement air line, be sure they show you how all the little brass pieces go. With modern equipment, the hose may just push into a fitting. But you may have the old style where you have to assemble three parts on the end of the tube.

[paul iossi]

you should be able to remove the dust covers on the back side of the wheels to inspect the brake linings for wear. if you need to replace the linings, it's usually a good time to replace the S cam bushings clean and inspect the slack adjusters and have the diaphragms in the brake chambers changed.
CAUTION, get experienced professional help to teach you how to safely cage and remove the brake chambers.
the rest of the brakejob is pretty straight forward, jack the bus up and support it securly remove the tires and brake drum assemblies, use an appropriate tool to carefully remove the return spring, remove the anchor pin clean everything up, replace all worn parts, reassemble S cams,brake shoes, return springs hubs and drums,tires etc, adjust the mwheel bearings and then adjust the brakes. finally install the dust/inspection covers and lower the bus back to the ground.
fyi if it needs relined brakeshoes, it probably wants new brake drums.
don't forget to replace the wheel brg seals when you take it part

[abdabbs]

thanks for you input !!!

and what do you mean by 'cage' when you are talking about the brake chambers.

if they only would sell a chilton or something dang it, i can basically do anything but its always nice to have something like a chilton on hand.

its just about getting to the point where the weather is consistent enough to bring ol betsy home from storage and start messing with her.

other things i need to do is exchange my exhaust manifolds that i saved from my old engine over to the 429. when i swapped the 429 i didnt pay attention to those and found out the ones that came on the 429 where slightly different. where they meet the downpipes, the ones on it now are flat at the connection and the old ones had a slight angle. its not a huge deal, but i get a little exhaust leakage there and want to tighten it up. im just not sure i want to risk getting in to more than i can chew and having some bolts break on me or something when swapping them.

[paul iossi]

brake chambers have a pretty healthy coil spring inside to apply the brakes, to (cage) the brakes refers to installing the t-bolt to contain the spring.

their should be a t-bolt and nut in the main chamber body casting, 1/2" dia x 4 or 5 " long, it is not holding anything together, it's just stored there, take it out, remove the plastic/rubber dust cover/plug fron the end of the air chamber to eveal a slotted hole, insert the T into the slot, fish arround until you engage the slotted hole in the spring plate, install the washer and nut and tighten it up until you compress the spring enough to release the brakes, their should be slack in the rod/clevis at the slack adjuster. you have now successfully caged the brake chamber, you can safely remove the clevis pin, air lines and 2 bolts holding the chamber to its bracket and take it to have it professionally rebuilt or just exchange it.

check at the parts house or muffler shop, you should be able to find an exhaust donut/gasket that is flat on 1 side and tapered on the other side so that you don't have to change your exhaust manifolds.

modern exhaust manifolds have an almost unbelievable ability to move once they are installed on an engine and heated up to operating temperatures, they will often times be almost impossible to reinstall.

[adamanderr]

the local yard let me cut simplex line off wrecked rigs....buy new fitting for older style as the inserts and compression collars are rarely worth the time and hassle trying to get them off to reuse them. 5/8 line fittings cost me 6 a piece from a truck parts dealers, if reusing compression fitting bodies napa sell the inserts and collars for 50 cents approx.


ive been told to steer clear of the push in fitting and to use the 3pc compression fittings. ive always seen cooper line between the compressor and wet tank for heat dispersion...

thats about all ive heard

[Elliot Naess]

I mentioned the push-in fittings, but I do agree they are less reliable. I have had several leak and one come completely loose on Millicent -- very bad indeed. But they can be a solution for someone who feels clueless on assembly of "real" ones. And Millicent has 200.000 miles on her.

When assembling a real one, NEVER leave out the insert inside the tubing -- it is vital.

[adamanderr]

good call.. thats what i was hinting at about reusing junkard fittings. get the nut and body of the fitting but go to napa and get the crush collar and the insert new. im thinking about adding an air dryer to my system as my wet supply tank is going to be higher than my primary/ secondary tanks. any suggestions...ebay maybe... fuse it at the fuse board?

[paul iossi]

ebay or try a truck salvage yard for a used one.