Air ride suspension

[SCARECROW-SKO]

Dear Skoolies,
Has anyone air ride on their bus? Do you like or dislike the system. Where can I obtain a trouble shooting guide? Is there such a guide? I believe, I have a leak in one of the air springs, how can I determine this? Thank You every one for Your help. Sincerely, SCARECROW.

 

[kotflb]

I've got air ride and wouldn't have it any other way. I only feel the bumps when the front (steering) axle hits them and that's not nearly the jarring you get when a spring ride rear axle hits a bump.

As far as air leaks go, if you bus looses over 15 lbs of pressure after sitting with the engine off for one hour, you have a major air leak, and should be able to hear where its coming from while under the bus. If the air bag (spring) is leaking, your only option is to replace it. I've never heard of anyone patching an air bag.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Air ride is actually a very simple system not much to go wrong. The ride height control valve is connected to the frame on one end and to the axle housing on the other end. The RHCV is going to be the most common item to mess up in the system. It's the one piece that moves with every little bump. So from either wear or internal debris they fail, I would always suspect it first. If something is not so obvious spray soapy water on the air bags, rhcv and coupling's/connection's etc until you see bubbles.

As far as adjusting the Ride Height Control Valve, I would be very careful you have to consider the drive line angles, they are set at the factory. If you feel the need to adjust I would take measurements between the axle and frame before you do. If they are out of whack you will have very bad drive line vibration.

There are several ways they are setup but they are all basically the same.