Firestone Air Bag Install

[artech]

I hadn't seen this kind of setup written up before so hopefully this will help some folks out. I wanted to put some air bags in my rear springs to help level the truck and be able to adjust when towing. I did a lot of reading on Mud about weather to connect the bags together or run them separately, and got a lot of opinions. It seems to me that sometimes you want them to be separated, basically running on the pavement, and sometimes they'd work better connected, like off road when flexing. So, I decided to do both.

I used an electric solenoid valve to connect the bags together. Normally the valve is closed and the bags are separated, since the majority of my miles are road miles. When I want more flex I can hit the switch and the bags are connected, so that the one wheel going up pushes the other wheel down.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00827FP26/?tag=ihco-20 was the valve I used for this setup, it was less than ten bucks. I also got a bunch of brass fittings and some air hose and went to it.

The instructions that came with the air bags were pretty starightforward. My install was into the factory springs, so I used the kit recommended by some others on Mud. My install required cutting off the factory bump stops, which I wasn't too keen on but it seems to be working well so far. The directions were nice and clear on how much to take off and so on.

 

[artech]

I was concerned about the fit of the bags in the springs becaasue they seemed quite small, but they do expand to fit well. The directions do say to always keep at least 5 psi in the bags so they don't get pinched. My truck likes about 10 psi to level out, and the ride is still good.

 

[artech]

I ran my air fill to the gas cap area, in the spot for the dual tank valve. It seems like a nice clean install and out of the way, but some air chucks give me clearance issues with it in that location.

 

[artech]

The valve sits on a little bracket I made from some angle iron, high and out of the way. I'll probably have to move it when I get my rear winch installed, but for right now here it sits. The switch is in the console, as is the guage to monitor the system. The valve has to be open when pressurizing or depressurizing the system, but so far

that hasn't been an issue. There are two tees in the system, one for the air fill and one for the guage in the dash. The guage only monitors one side, that may be a pain later on but otherwise I'd need two guages.

 

[artech]

And that's that! I messed up on the guage and got one that goes to 160 psi, but my bags only go to 35 psi so I really need a different gauge as 10 psi barely registers on this one. Everything else seems to be working well so far. I'm going to make a little guard for the valve and wiring to give it some protection and it should be all done. The install was pretty simple and the hardest part was tracking down an air leak in one of the hardware store fittings. Once that issue was resolved the system has been holding pressure and doing well on the road. I haven't had it out crawling yet so I can't report on that aspect, but when I do I'll get it posted up. Because of my initial air leak I had one side going flat, and when I'd open the valve you could really feel the truck shift as the air pressure in the bags equalized, so I think it should work out as planned.

Hope this helps some folks out!

 

[mjcraft]

Just digging up this old post, but just wanted to ask how this system was holding up? I'm considering doing something similar on my LX450.

 

[artech]

The bags are great and I really like having them because they are adjustable, so I can change the setup depending what I'm hauling/towing/pulling. My little system, on the other hand, I had some issues with. I fixed the initial air leak and replaced the gauge with one that went to 30psi, and that much went well. After a while though I developed another air leak and I was so sure it was the hardware again that I yanked the solenoid and all right out and just put a tee in. I did drill and tap the inside of the tee for a set screw, and then put a very small port through the screw. Can't recall the size exactly but it was between 1/16" and 1/8" Figured slowing down the air transfer from one side to the other would do kind of the same thing for highway roll stability without any moving parts that could fail.

Didn't fix the leak.

!!!

So, after much trial and error finally found a crack in the line going to the gauge. Cut that and plugged it, no more leak. No more gauge, either, but that repair's gonna have to wait for warmer weather. Using my high speed/low drag Wit's End tire gauge on the fill fitting, no leaks so far. Thought about reinstalling the solenoid and all, but honestly I like how it works right now. I don't notice any instability on the road, and it seems to keep both tires planted pretty well on the trail. Again, I am still running both factory sway bars so YMMV. Also running a 265 mud tire, a very moderate size but a very aggressive tread, and 30mm coil spacers over the factory coils. No negative handling issues with those and the bags.

Hope this helps.

 

[danthman114]

time to revive this thread. I bought the same bags and am going to try to do it this Saturday. that is if its not raining. if it is im going to play in the desert instead. I was wondering on how much line do you leave for articulation, or does it matter much.