Changing Air Bag

[Lin]

I got my shiny, new air bag from Luke, so I may try to install it today.  Since I have the adapter plate blocking off the air beam, I had to get the longer bolts.  They cost three times as much as the regular bolts, but fortunately I was dealing with Luke so got the right ones.  The bellows looks to me like there is no top/bottom and can be installed either side up.  Am I missing something there?  Also, does anyone prime the seal area with silicone or something, or is that just unnecessary?  Thanks,

[thomasinnv]

the airbags are non-directional and can be installed either way.  When you pull the old one out, just be sure to clean the bead rings really good from any rust etc., unless you got new bead rings.  Clean the upper and lower mounting flanges on the bus as well.  A wire wheel on a hand drill works good.  Putting the bead rings on the new bag can be a bit of bear, so an extra set of hands make it a lot easier.  When you slip the new bag into place, you may need to compress the bead ring to the mounting flange just a bit in order to get the nuts started on the bolts.  Vise grips work good.  The bolt heads are contoured to match the shape of the bead ring, make sure they are in the right way or they will wear through the bag over time if the edges stick up/down.  Oh yeah, and you don't need to put anything on them, the compression of the bead rings will seal them just like a tire.

[Lin]

Thanks, seem very thorough.

[Lin]

Just wanted to pass this on.  I changed out the airbag with no real problems.  I found that bicycle tire tools worked well for it.  I guess it's sort of obvious they would.