were to find air brakes air tank?????????????????

batilzown · 12-29-2006, 11:14 AM

the bus is a 85 Thomas international with a 7.3 diesel. The air tank that you drain has a leak in it. Can someone point me in the right direction to find a replacement? thank you very much...Later in the day i will try to get a pic of the tank and dimensions.

a web site to order from would be very helpfull.

paul iossi · 12-29-2006, 08:35 PM

Any good big truck parts supply (aftermarket) should be able to get you a tank, or try a truck salvage yard. Good used tanks can be cleaned out with BB's and mineral spirits and just shake the tank with BB's & spirits until your arms fall off about 5 or 6 times then empty and flush with spirits until clean and then coat with ospho or zinc chromate primer and then use. the other option is the dealer parts dept.
air brake maintainence requires regular (daily) draining of the tanks to keep the brake system happy and healthy.

Elliot Naess · 12-31-2006, 11:24 PM

Here is a point that can easily cause confusion: Many air tanks are actually two
tanks in one -- there is a divider wall in the middle and each side operates as
a separate tank. My Blue Bird has four tanks in two "cylinders".

While I'm at it... The school district had a pull cord drain valve on only one of
my tanks, and it was on the wrong one. (Should be on the Primary -- "wet" -- tank.)
I just installed pull-cord drains on all four. End of problem.

the_experience03 · 01-03-2007, 10:20 PM

Where do you find these pull cords at? The drain valves on my two tanks are a source of one of my small leaks I think (very very slow). Either way, they're getting replaced so I can plumb in some air tool lines and so I can drain those tanks more easily. Both valves are on the inside wedged up next to this big transmission lookin' thing.

Elliot Naess · 01-03-2007, 10:49 PM

Any commercial truck parts store should have the pull cord drain valves.
They cost only a few bucks. You screw it into the bottom fitting on the tank and attach
the cord to a convenient place. Just tug on the cord to drain the tank. Only way to go.

... Except for an air dryer -- a clever machine that catches the moisture and spits it out
every time the compressor cycles.

the_experience03 · 01-03-2007, 11:22 PM

I have a heated air dryer that's very functional. I've never seen anything come from my tanks, but I sitll think it's good to drain them.

Elliot Naess · 01-03-2007, 11:45 PM

Yup. Yup.
In contrast, the school district that owned Millicent had torn off one of two pull cords
and FAILED TO REPLACE IT. So there was a huge amount of water in that tank.
This is the sort of things to watch for when you get a new-to-you bus home.

Elliot Naess · 01-06-2007, 12:28 AM

Pretty good air brake info site:

http://www.angelfire.com/biz/snwvlly.../airbrakes.htm

But you don't need to check brake adjustment every time you stop for lunch,
as he seems to suggest!

the_experience03 · 01-06-2007, 10:24 AM

But if people only check their brakes half as often as they should, maybe his suggestion isn't that bad.

the_experience03 · 01-06-2007, 10:42 AM

I wish the Minnesota CDL manual had nice pictures like that. I had to figure out what I was doing from a mechanic. Thank God it only cost me a case of beer. Maybe when they test drivers they should have someone come knock all the brakes out of adjustment and make the driver put them back in before they can move.

How about manually adjusting auto slack adjusters? Is that something the average Joe can do? I was noticing in my manual that my bus could have been optioned with them back in 1989, not that it was.

How does one go about figuring out what size replacement tank they need? Obviously it needs to be sized correctly for the compressor or you'll never be able to recover enough pressure in time (though you might not drop that much pressure with a large enough volume tank). Are there numbers a person could look for on their tanks? Mine are buried in snow a long ways away or I'd go look my self.

Elliot Naess · 01-06-2007, 11:43 AM

Regarding automatic slack adjusters:

First of all, they fail a lot. You CANNOT rely on them. So long as they
work, they save you the actual adjusting, but you must keep checking.

When they fail, you can adjust them manually, yes. Takes a different
wrench from the manual 9/16. Smaller, I think. The important thing is...

YOU CANNOT BACK THEM OFF WITHOUT
DISASSEMBLING THEM!

So you MUST sneak up on the adjustment very gradually and not
get it too tight.

Gotta run -- have an 18-wheeler to drive somewhere.

paul iossi · 01-06-2007, 01:59 PM

For some reason, 13 mm wrench comes to mind for slack adjusters, their is a spring loaded lock mechanism around the adjuster bolt that has to be depressed to turn the adjuster.
At some point you need to inspect for brake component wear, remove the dust/inspection covers from the axle (if they are still there) and check the brake linings, drums and S cam position, with excessive component wear, it is possible for the S cam to rollover past the end of the brakeshoes, resulting in no brakes. For wear guidelines/specs consult your friendly local parts house or truck dealer.

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