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air ride suspension

drew21
Explorer
Explorer
has anyone ever used fix-a-flat to seal an airline leak for air ride suspension?
16 REPLIES 16

wildmanbaker
Explorer
Explorer
drew21 wrote:
yes this is my first motorhome i'v had campers its a ford E350 and its not a full air ride suspension its just at the rear axel i have cut the line and replaced with new parts and i belive that is where the leak is.
i havent had time to check it with soap/water i plan on doing that later today


Good for you, that is the correct way to fix the system. A lot of us were under the impression, that it was a DP with air brakes and suspension. Maybe including a description of your MH in your profile would help us help others. Thanks for getting back with the fix.
Wildmanbaker

drew21
Explorer
Explorer
yes this is my first motorhome i'v had campers its a ford E350 and its not a full air ride suspension its just at the rear axel i have cut the line and replaced with new parts and i belive that is where the leak is.
i havent had time to check it with soap/water i plan on doing that later today

Dutch_12078
Explorer II
Explorer II
drew21 wrote:
there is only a couple of feet of plastic air line from the air valve (like the valve steam on a tire) and the actual air bag its not as involved as one might think

Do you have a gas engined chassis? What you're describing seems more like that used for supplemental air springs used to add weight capacity to conventional leaf or coil springs, not the full-on air suspension systems used on diesel powered motorhomes. If that's the case, try using soapy water to find where the leak is coming from. You may be able to disconnect the hose at the air valve, cut an inch off and reconnect it if the hose itself is leaking at that point.
Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F53 chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
Bigfoot Automatic Leveling System
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate

drew21
Explorer
Explorer
there is only a couple of feet of plastic air line from the air valve (like the valve steam on a tire) and the actual air bag its not as involved as one might think

wildmanbaker
Explorer
Explorer
The OP is a newbe here, and is probably not very up to speed on his MH, that's why he asked the question about tire sealant in the air system.

Give him time to breath. If we don't run him off, he will learn.
Wildmanbaker

bluwtr49
Explorer II
Explorer II
How bad is the leak??
Dick

2002 43' DP Beaver Marquis Emerald Cat C-12 505 HP, 1600 Tq
2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland ---toad

LVJ58
Explorer
Explorer
Be helpful to know what chassis he has:h
Jim & Sherry Seward
Las Vegas, NV
2000 Residency 3790 V-10 w/tags & Banks System
2003 Suzuki XL/7 toad

JetAonly
Explorer
Explorer
Is it a pin hole leak? There are some, uh... techniques, to plug a pin hole leak in an air line. You might try looking for those on a trucking forum. These might get you off the road, for example, to a repair station.
2000 Monaco Dynasty
ISC350

rgatijnet1
Explorer III
Explorer III
Fix-a-flat only works in a tire after you inject it and you drive to circulate it around in the tire until it finds the leak. Circulating the sealant is not possible to do in an air suspension.

FIRE_UP
Explorer
Explorer
drew21 wrote:
Thanks to all for the advisei am sure the leak is at the inflated valve and the plastic hose


"Inflated Valve", may I ask, what in the world is that? And, there's a few miles of "plastic hose" under our rigs and, there's different colors for different applications and purposes. At this point, it seems that you're not really sure just where the EXACT point of an air leak is yet. So, to "blindly" apply a internal sealer for a flat tire is, as most have already stated, and most likely will be, CATASTROPHIC to the rest of the air system.

So, what should be done, even if you're not all that familiar with the air system and all its components is, get spray bottle with some dish soap, (small amount) and water and create a solution that can be sprayed on each and every fitting, component, air line, connection, valve, air tank etc. You're obviously looking for any bubbles emanating from anything. Then, when you find that leak, and it can take a long time to find a leak since there's miles of tubing and, lots and lots of valves, fittings and more, then you do what's needed to repair it.

But, if you're not familiar with air systems and, all that's involved, well then either get someone who is familiar to help you or, take the coach into an appropriate repair center for your issue. Goofing around with an air system that has even 1/2 of the standard working pressure, can cause some pretty substantial injury if you're not sure of what you're doing and un-do and airline or fitting.
Scott and Karla
SDFD RETIRED
2004 Itasca Horizon, 36GD Slate Blue 330 CAT
2011 GMC Sierra 1500 Ext Cab 4x4 Toad
2008 Caliente Red LVL II GL 1800 Goldwing
KI60ND

drew21
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks to all for the advisei am sure the leak is at the inflated valve and the plastic hose

wolfe10
Explorer
Explorer
Totally agree. You will clog any number of valves, including minor thing like your SUSPENSION and BRAKES!
Brett Wolfe
Ex: 2003 Alpine 38'FDDS
Ex: 1997 Safari 35'
Ex: 1993 Foretravel U240

Diesel RV Club:http://www.dieselrvclub.org/

wildmanbaker
Explorer
Explorer
Drew, welcome to the forum.
As others have stated, DO NOT use a stop leak to try to seal an air suspension leak. There are many valves in the system that must open and close for the suspension to operate correctly. If you are inexperienced with repairing air systems, take it to a truck repair shop. An air leak in the suspension system can affect the braking system.
Wildmanbaker

JimM68
Explorer
Explorer
no. not a good idea.
Jim M.
2008 Monaco Knight 40skq, moho #2
The "68"
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