Larry,
Would a shorter piece for just one side work as well?

dsmithy wrote on Sat, 19 December 2020 22:52

Larry,
Would a shorter piece for just one side work as well?

Hey Doug,
I can't imagine that it would. If you are lifting the coach by the bogie, you are in effect lifting both wheels at once, so you need to keep both wheels from dropping. As soon as you raise the bottle jack to make contact with the bogie, you need to slide the iron bar in place, then let the air out of the bag. Then raise the coach with the jack until the wheels are off of the ground. The iron bar will keep the bogie arms from dropping past the full extension of the shock absorbers...both front and rear arms. JWIT

Karma:

Larry wrote on Sat, 19 December 2020 23:04

dsmithy wrote on Sat, 19 December 2020 22:52

Larry,
Would a shorter piece for just one side work as well?

Hey Doug,
I can't imagine that it would. If you are lifting the coach by the bogie, you are in effect lifting both wheels at once, so you need to keep both wheels from dropping. As soon as you raise the bottle jack to make contact with the bogie, you need to slide the iron bar in place, then let the air out of the bag. Then raise the coach with the jack until the wheels are off of the ground. The iron bar will keep the bogie arms from dropping past the full extension of the shock absorbers...both front and rear arms. JWIT

Oh, and BTW, you need to install the iron bar while the coach is at normal or lower height. Raise it above normal height and it is hard to get the bar in because the arms have dropped....something the bar is intended to prevent.

They do not all break. The Bilsteins are the most prone to breakage. The
KYB's are physically stronger, and they rarely break but they do
hyperextend and the results are a failure of the seals, a subsequent loss
of the gasses they are filled with, and sometimes fluid as well. What
lowering the air pressure does is to prevent or lessen the effects of
hyperextension. The addition of a short piece of leaf spring between the
bogie box and bogie arm before you jack the coach is all that is needed,
usually.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Oregon

On Sat, Dec 19, 2020, 6:19 PM twlldeen--- via Gmclist <
gmclist@list.gmcnet.org> wrote:

> So why do the shocks break if you don't let out the air one way or another?
>
> Larry
> --
> Larry - Victoria BC -
>
> 1977 Palm Beach - 39,000 original miles so far
>
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Ken Burton wrote on Sat, 19 December 2020 19:21

That is what I do. 9/16" open end

There is are two simple reasons that I don't do that.

I don't have to get out a wrench.
And....
My ride height control works.
So, the system is usually set to travel unless I have a reason to change that. That be the case, if I disconnect at the airspring, I will loose the pressure in the entire system. I am still running the second generation Dana pump and it takes a while (~2.5min) to get the system back up when it is down.

Matt

Ok let's just say I sourced 7 new 16.5's and take them with me when I go to pick up the GMC.

I drive to the nearest fairly big town and pull into a reputable tire shop to get them mounted on my coach. In your experience, would a tire fitter at a typical tire shop be able to jack up the coach to change the tires without destroying the shocks or popping the windshield?

Larry

I would not have a huge chain type place work on my GMC unless I was in a
pinch. If you are I would at least pre spray the studs with silicone spray
or wd40 to prevent gaul seizure when the schwabbie spins the nuts off at
150 psi.

Sully

If I want to only change a tire, I jack up that wheel to be changed under the A-frame / ball joint for that side. You only go up an inch or two to get the tire off. The front torsion bar (spring)take most of the lift and does not raise the frame of the coach. If I want both sides up at the same time then I jack it in the middle.

My ride height works great and I have never had the opposite side go down by disconnecting one hose. They are controlled by different solenoids and ride height is not even eon when the key is off. I have no idea how a power level works but on Electrolevel I and II what I am saying works great.

I loosen the lug nuts, put a jack under the bogie support or air up the air bag, go up a bit and put some cribbing under the center support. (usually the on a stack of 4x4s and 2x4's) drop the jack or air, remove the air bag hose. Now the only weight left on the tire is the tire that is still resting on the ground and a little from the bogie arm. It is easy now to remove the tire. It bothers you, you can put the jack under the bogie arm and lift it slightly or install the steel pieces that you made.

[color=seagreen]
Steel Rims - How tight do the bolts have to be? My torque wrench quits at 150 ...so go a bit more -then guess?