Builds Big Red Toy (14 Viewers)

[The Phoenician]

30 psi

60 psi

From the rear

will take better pictures today to show ride height and first impressions

 

[mcguirejohnson]

Looks good mike!

I'd be careful with that exhaust blowing right onto the bag... I had a dump pipe on for a few weeks after my swap and it pointed right at my traction bar crossmember and melted the bushings pretty quick.

 

[theron]

Ah, so you did mount them on top of the leaf packs. For some reason I thought you were gonna mount them on the axels like they show on their website. Def prob the best choice, for balance and strength wise.

How has articulation changed with that style bag and location?

 

[The Phoenician]

Looks good mike!

I'd be careful with that exhaust blowing right onto the bag... I had a dump pipe on for a few weeks after my swap and it pointed right at my traction bar crossmember and melted the bushings pretty quick.

Thinking about shortening the pipe until I get a new one in.

 

[The Phoenician]

Ah, so you did mount them on top of the leaf packs. For some reason I thought you were gonna mount them on the axels like they show on their website. Def prob the best choice, for balance and strength wise.

How has articulation changed with that style bag and location?

I'm about to do the right side then take it for a spin. Driving it to Dallas tonight so will post impressions this evening

 

[The Phoenician]

Just more proof that God hates me

 

[GLTHFJ60]

What happened?

 

[The Phoenician]

I broke a bolt. No worries got it fixed.

 

[SNLC]

I broke a bolt. No worries got it fixed.

At least that is all it was. I had cheapo Airlift bags on my Taco and they have a plastic cap on them. Busted the cap flexing the truck which created sharp edges in the plastic. Every time I flexed the truck after that or even just hit a speed bump fast and hard it put holes in the bag. By the time I got rid of the Al and put in Firestones I had a half dozen or more tire plugs in each bag.

Cheers

 

[The Phoenician]

At least that is all it was. I had cheapo Airlift bags on my Taco and they have a plastic cap on them. Busted the cap flexing the truck which created sharp edges in the plastic. Every time I flexed the truck after that or even just hit a speed bump fast and hard it put holes in the bag. By the time I got rid of the Al and put in Firestones I had a half dozen or more tire plugs in each bag.

Cheers

The ones I had were air lift. Same issue. Good Riddance

 

[SNLC]

I wonder if having airbags not at the same position as the leaf springs will make the truck teeter totter? Or possibly bend the axle housing?


I have airbags on my rig and one thing to keep an eye on is your pinion angle....I'm fairly confidant that for a time I was running too much air in mine and it caused the pinion seal to fail. Now I just use them at like....20psi since I added leaf beyond my OME heavies.

My build thread doesn't have my finial solution. In the end I added a hinge so the airbag flexes with the suspension. Lookin' forward to seeing this install!

Best way to utilize the air bags is to measure ride height without any air in them and no load or gear in the truck. Load up the truck with your gear, fill air bags until ride height comes back up to where it was before loaded.

Cheers

 

[The Phoenician]

Doing the right side.

Rear pic of both sides

How it stands now.

At 70 psi, the rear is noticeably higher. I have to jump a bit more to sit on the tailgate.

Shortened the exhaust so it doesn't dump on the air bag .

A more in depth review later this evening

 

[theron]

Nice! I'm def curious to see if how much the new airbags limit articulation, if at all.

Why did you have your old airbags on the backside of the leaf spring? I'm running mine on the front side. What was the reasoning for that? Just curious



And does having your exhaust dump into the middle of your truck create an issue for fumes if you're idling in town or on a trail?

 

[SNLC]

Yup, that looks like the same POS Airlift bags I had. Man those suck balls!! Didn't read if you upgraded to Firestones but they look like FS. When I upgraded to the FS on my Taco, all airbag dramas were gone for good and I had a ton of them with the ALs. I also was running 70spi in the ALs just to keep the truck level, the FS only took 30psi to keep it level.

My Taco didn't flex much but I suspect the airbags will limit you. Over on U-Joint Off-roads website I found an interesting airbag set up, one side floats so that when the suspension flexes the airbag can lift up off the spring. Very interesting set up and I am thinking of doing something similar on an truck I am building.

About 3/4s of the way down the page, check it out. No idea how it works but it looks sweet.
4x4 van conversion parts

Cheers

 

[SNLC]

Cheers

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I trust you're going to build a new tailpipe Mike?

 

[HoJo 61]

I trust you're going to build a new tailpipe Mike?

Side exit maybe..

 

[davegonz]

Big Red and her new fun bags.

 

[The Phoenician]

ok initial first impression.

It feels like I'm driving a lifted sports car. The suspension is stiff and doesn't sway on turns. I like the ride height and when you hit bumps it absorbs it pretty well. Of course I'd have to deflate the bags for the trail so the suspension can become softer. I drove it around town, didn't smell any exhaust fumes, even at red lights. I'm eventually going to rebuild the tail pipe, but my next priority at the moment is getting those lockers and chromoly axles installed.

I'll be driving to Dallas this evening and will be watching my EGT gauge, curious to see if shortening my tailpipe will lower the temp. More to come.

 

[davegonz]

I'm curious to see if you get any vibrations from the new pinion angle (if the pinion angle changed much). Are you running a double cardan rear driveshaft?