Month: June 2023

The original bags were of a different manufacturer and design. The bellows would expand outwards and rub the upper control arm when the air was fully deflated. This could cause an issue after repetitive rubbing motions occurred throughout use.

I used the plasma cutter to cut a section of the upper control arm. This was necessary to allow the bag bellows to expand outwards and not rub against the surrounding metal. I should note that it said that the Slam Specialities E series (I’m using E7’s) are designed to expand vertically and less horizontally (outwards). This also means that bags do not take as much air volume to have the same height settings a standard conventional air bag.

After using a large 5″ flapper wheel I then used a small grinding wheel for the final area smoothing. I sprayed the exposed cut area with spray paint for cosmetic as well as protection against rust.

Part of the air ride upgrade will require trimming the upper control arm. This will provide additional clearance for the bag bellows to expand outwards when the laid out completely.

As it turns out the Slam Specialties E6 Series doesn’t expand outwards as much others manufacturers. These bags are designed to expand vertically and more efficiently using less air volume to travel the full height.

Back to the MatCo Plasma Cutter, it run off of 120VAC as well as 220VAC. The difference between the two is night and day so I ended up having another 220VAC circuit pulled from the breaker panel.

The MatCo 48 LCD is a small unit that can cut metal like butter. The reason I purchased was to be able to make cuts that were not always straight with 90 degree corners. I needed to get into an area that was a tight fit and not much room for myself to maneuver.

Another note to mention, there is no onboard compressor. You will need to provide a capable compressor with the required CFM ratings. I have a large 80 gallon compressor so that is not an issue.

The torch uses a variety of consumables for the element, tip, diffuser ring etc. I need to find a source other than a MatCo distributor.

One downside is the lack of information for this particular model. There are online manuals covering the non LCD version but that means you don’t get the functionality of the color screen capabilities.

Prepping the front bags installations. To provide more room for the air bag, upper and lower cup it was necessary to drop the lower control arm as furthest as it would go. The outer tie rod end was preventing full decent of the lower A-arm.

I needed a way to mount the AccuAir manifold underneath the bed. I found a nice stand on eBay that would normally be used for a on top configuration.

This will have to be mounted upside down to work with my setup. The nice design of the stand won’t be seen at all.

One thing to mention if you plan on purchasing this stand. There are two options, one is welded together and the other comes in 4 pieces that you can weld yourself. The price difference between the two is $10 bucks. I went with the pre-welded version to keep it simple.

The original solenoid setup is working fine but I’ll be replacing it all with a new parts. The Viair 485C Revision 2 dual compressor kit came with a solenoid (active relay).

I will still use a manual toggle switch under the dash to activate the solenoid which in turn will provide +24vdc to both compressors. One of the tanks will be fitted with a pressure switch that will send a signal to the solenoid to disengage the compressors voltages when the maximum amount of air pressure has been achieved.

I don’t understand the reasoning for the original owners logic to install the upper cup bolts the way it was done. The upper cup bolt would normally come up through the center shock tower larger hole. This is the part where the shock would be bolted from the top side.

The photo below is showing the hydraulic hose (used as an air line) coming straight out of the center hold that is commonly used for the upper cup bolt. I think the hole was used because the heavy large diameter hydraulic line required a lot of wiggle room. One characteristic that is common for hydraulic lines, is the amount of movement when hydraulic fluid or “juice” is used to transfer energy.

I plan to use the smaller hole for the air line hose. It may have to be drilled to a larger diameter but it should work out nicely after installing a protective grommet.

The only part of the original air ride system I plan to use is the lower bag cups. The cups I have now are not as tall as the model that is currently available at the local air ride shop. The difference is not much, approximately 3/4″ but that’s significant when you’re trying to lay frame.

Using a 5/8″ bolt instead of the 1/2″ is another plus for upper bag setup. Also, the having the centered in the middle of the cup will allow a cleaner installation.

Another regarding the upper cups is the material used. The original setup seemed to use 3/8″ tubes while the new cups are 1/4″ tubes. There is obviously a different in overall strength but I don’t think it will matter for the application use.