[whatsnewell]

Does it leak down when underway, or only when you shut it down?

[BusNit]

Only when shut down.

[whatsnewell]

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it until after your trip. It doesn't sound like a catestrophic leak, but that's just me.

[BusNit]

Overdue update:

After our trip ended and we returned home mid October, I took the coach to Leo. He ordered and replaced the 4 tag axle airbags and tightened down some other fittings under the coach. He also replaced a leaking pan gasket which now sealed up the engine. The coach will stay floating on the rear however the front right wheel will begin to lose air around the 10-12 hour mark and by 40 hours, the front is down for the count. Today I opened the generator slide to check out why the gen was not firing up. (Other thread will be started for that) While in there, I sprayed several fittings and found two that were bubbling up a decent click. I have those disassembled for now. (Before taking anything apart, the 120v compressor kept the bus up on all corners with no issues aside from it cycling every 22 minutes)  So, with the generator airbags and fittings depressurized, I am trying to locate a possible leaking check valve. I don't know where it would be. I believe progress is being done. I will use Christmas week to really dig into this since we are closing our little shop for the week to give my guys a nice break with their families. Where should I search for this elusive check valve that separates the generator slide and airbags from the front half of the suspension? Thanks!

[Richard]

Post a pic of the piping coming out of your 120 compressor. It should have a check valve close by. I am not aware of a check valve as you described it.

[BusNit]

I do have a check valve at the compressor. I guess since the front airbags leak down slowly and yet hold air, there is no air once the genset airbags have depressurized and the air line has no pressure. I can't follow that line since it is buried behind the compartment insulation. I just assumed there is another check valve somewhere near the front air tank. I will put a shut off valve for the generator air supply as an isolation method. Leo believes he still may need to tighten one of the airbags. Says it still has a teeeeeny leak but I can't see that being the cause of this deflating in 12 hours. Either way, it's much better than 12 minutes! The rear hasn't sagged an inch yet. Trying to keep this 120v compressor from running every 20 min.

[Kreavet]

I had taken my coach to a shop to have the air bag hoses replaced. At first, the coach would air down from left to right. First shop could not get hoses tight enough and charged me for other work not completed. I took the coach to Leo at All Aboard America and he, another guy and myself were under the coach shoving a 24" long wrench enough to tighten all the airbag hoses. We sprayed and checked every fitting related to that. I am super confident that we got the air hose leaks from previous shop. When I got home, I notice the coach now airs down from right to left. We are leaving for a cross country trip on Sunday and wondering if it will be ok. There were micro air bubbles in the tag bags but the rubber is not damaged. Leo felt they are ok for the run. Seems this coach degraded itself in the year I have had it regarding the suspension. Any words of encouragement? (Simon, stop worrying, air it down when you park and enjoy your trip!)?

This is yesterday at AAA in Mesa. Leo is an outstanding guy. At first it was like "hold the flashlight for me" and then it turned out to "can you lend an arm to push?!"

The last pic is the obligatory "Holding up the bus with one hand"!

Acetone and ATF is a great mixture that does an amazing job as a penetrating liquid  in a short time. 

[Richard]

I guess since the front airbags leak down slowly and yet hold air, there is no air once the genset airbags have depressurized and the air line has no pressure

This statement confounds me to no end. How is it the airbags leak down slowly and yet hold air?

And there is no air once the genset airbags have depressurized and the air line has no pressure, also confounds me.



First, the six pack isolates the air bags from everything when parked, UNLESS you leave the coach in autolevel mode. Are you leaving the coach in autolevel mode?

Are you leaving the 120V on?

To noodle this out, we must draw an obligatory line at the front six pack. All leaks downstream from the six pack to the front airbags will cause the coach to drop over time. We draw this line to emphasize the six pack ISOLATES the suspension airbags when parked.

All leaks upstream from the six pack will result in the systems losing pressure and cause the 120V pump to run.

[Wardworks]

Spray the 2 low pressure switches on the back of the front six pack. Mine were coming apart in the middle and leaking air, which made the front go down over time.

[BusNit]

I guess since the front airbags leak down slowly and yet hold air, there is no air once the genset airbags have depressurized and the air line has no pressure

This statement confounds me to no end. How is it the airbags leak down slowly and yet hold air?

And there is no air once the genset airbags have depressurized and the air line has no pressure, also confounds me.



First, the six pack isolates the air bags from everything when parked, UNLESS you leave the coach in autolevel mode. Are you leaving the coach in autolevel mode?

Are you leaving the 120V on?

To noodle this out, we must draw an obligatory line at the front six pack. All leaks downstream from the six pack to the front airbags will cause the coach to drop over time. We draw this line to emphasize the six pack ISOLATES the suspension airbags when parked.

All leaks upstream from the six pack will result in the systems losing pressure and cause the 120V pump to run.

Hi Richard, sorry for the delay. Ok, maybe I am not saying this right. I am still a newbie to this    So in speaking with Leo he did tell me that one front airbag fitting has a slight leak that creates teeny bubbles and thinks that is the issue for the front going limp after about 12-16 hours. He didn't have a specific wrench to get in there and has since ordered one. It teeters towards the passenger side. I was thinking the front airbags were somehow interconnected to the same air storage tank up front that supplies the generator airbags. I was under the impression the 120v compressor fills that same tank and has a check valve near that tank? I know there is a check valve at the  front 120v compressor. Over the weekend, I installed new airbags, pressure regulator and air lines for the genset. I also put a shut off valve to isolate the genset. It has not lost an ounce of pressure over the 26 hours I had it cut off from the "wherever" the source of air comes from. By the way, the rear stays up on it's own without the compressor's help. That was resolved with new tag bags.

I guess before this gets too deep, I will be taking the coach back to Leo in January to look at replacing the fuel lines as they are hardened. He will address the front wheel airbag leak again.

In answering your questions, if I leave the 120v compressor on full time, Coach stays up and happy. Compressor cycles every 22-25 minutes. it was on a 20 min cycle before the genset airbag replacement. (I did find leaks at regulator and two fittings prior)

If I leave the compressor off, front end will sag to the core of the earth. Genset will stay floating if I leave the cut off valve shut. If I leave it open, it too, will deflate.

So before I waste anyones time, let me see if Leo's repair helps. He says the bubbles are really tiny which in my mind should not be enough to lose that much air but what do I know? Leave it to me to clean up an interior and engine bay. That's my specialty!

As far as auto level goes. I am not sure how to tell if it is set to auto level. When I push the "air" button on the pad, I can manipulate the coach to what height I want and before Leo did any work, the coach would sag on all fours to Mother Earth regardless if 120v compressor was running. Now it stays put even after the keypad turns the red "air" light off. Please go easy on me, This part of the deal is foreign to me!

At the end of the day, I do feel major progress has been accomplished since I became the caretaker of this coach. I had no idea how fongoliated this thing was. Previous owners were in their mid 80's and just paid whatever shop could work on this. Much of that previous work, I cleaned up. Electric tape, zip ties, silicone caulk for glue, an abundance of air leaks, plumbing patches... It was a mess. I do not blame the owners but rather feel they were ignorant on writing checks and never actually seen what was done while they scooted off to their next destination. I guess I can understand in a way. They did love this coach from all the notes we found.

Pictures for posterity

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Spray the 2 low pressure switches on the back of the front six pack. Mine were coming apart in the middle and leaking air, which made the front go down over time.

Thanks Ron. I did go through those as did Leo. He is adamant there are no leaks on the underside aside from a tiny micro bubbling action of one front airbag where he could not get a fitting tightened down enough. (Needed a specific wrench that he had ordered and will use when I return in Jan for other work)