Ever since the leaf spring cracked on the freeway hitting that uneven slab I was experiencing a slow leak on the left front wheel.
I thought an object had punctured my tire causing the slow leak issue. This morning I took the rim to a local tire shop. The worker found a crack on the inner side of the rim. This crack would eventually get larger if not repaired.
The owner of the shop had a place in Sacramento that did these type of repairs. I left the wheel to be sent out. Hopefully it will be back Monday.
Sometime during our trip to San Luis Obispo’s C10 SLO Down event the front right air line was damaged. It’s possible that it was “kinked” during a hard jolt on the road.
During the troubleshoot stage it is heck of convenient to be able to control the Accuair VU4 manifold remotely. I can add air and to see if I have any leaks before I install in between the upper and lower control arms.
This is a normal weekday evening for me. Dismantling the upper control arm, ball joints, outer tie rods, brake caliper assembly and dropping the lower control arm to access the bag cups.
I’ve been looking for somebody to cut and buff the CaDually. I had a couple of prospects but most turned out to be inexperienced guys trying to do a side hustle. The guys that were reputable and known for their good work would not travel to Valley Springs to do the job. I’d have to leave CaDually at their location which most of the time was a home residence.
Not too many folks have a garage that can fit the length of a dually. That would mean the ride would be left outside if it was an overnight job.
I decided to learn how to perform the light cut and buff process. My goal was not be overly aggressive and take my time with the process.
I asked around to see what the “Pro’s” were using for equipment. I’d say the majority of guys buffing their rides are using something in the Harbor Freight realm. I was looking for a buffer/polisher that I could use long term and had an online following as well as hardware support.
The original paint had horrible water marks. I tried to wax it off but had no success. At the time I had never heard of “Corrective Compound” and what it was used for. It turned out to be the key of buffing and removing the hard water marks.
I decided to replace both upper cups due to the bolt that was welded at an offset inside the original cup. The air hose was actually 1/2″ hydraulic fluid lines that was rigid and difficult to move around. I’m guessing the installer back then decided to use the shock mount hole since it was very large in diameter.
The lower cup on the original setup had a “floating” configuration. That’s when the cup is seated on the lower control arm not bolted down or secured. I would have done the same again since the original setup had probably lasted over 20 years. After speaking with my Cuz’ I decided to take his advice and secure it down with a bolt that was welded in place.
There is a “horseshoe” hole on the lower control that can be used to allow a bolt go thru. The lower cup is then secured down using a strap. In this case I was out of steel material and used scrap aluminum I had laying around the shop. I will replace the temporary strap with a 1/4″ steel plate at a later date.
Using a transmission jack to hold the lower control arm and disc brake setup is the best thing ever! It is so much easier to maneuver around then screwing around floor jack that always seems to get in the way. This is really helpful when pressing in the upper control arm ball joint back into the upper spindle.
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.
