V730 Air Bag

[travlinman]

OK, so while I was checking out my new oil leak I discovered that I have an air bag that supports the v730 in my 4106. I did a little clean up on the regulator valve and gauge and it looks like it works and holds air. Any one else have one of these on their 4106 or other GM? If you do what kind of air pressure are you running? The gauge on mine reads up to 60 psi.

Cheers,

TM

[luvrbus]

TM, never saw one on a 4106 I haven't been around  the V730 in a 4106 but Bill's 4905 has a air bag under his V730 and it was set at 30 lbs

good luck

[technomadia]

Hi TM -

We actually just had a support arm and airbag installed under our v730 at Choo Choo Express, after having that modification suggested by several other 4106 owners we've encountered these past couple months. They engineered a system for us, and Joel at Choo Choo told us to aim to keep our particular air bag set at about 60-80 PSI (the particular one he installed is rated to 100+ PSI).

- Cherie

[travlinman]

Hey Cherie,

Thanks for the info on your new set up. Have you guys noticed any change in the operation of your transmission since the bag was installed? Did Joel set yours up with a way to regulate the pressure in the bag? Care to share a couple of photos?

Thanks

TM

[Kajun_Taz]

Does anyone have a pic of these airbags on the V730 Trans? Haven't really looked that good to see if ours has it or not, but would be of help to determin where and what I awould be looking for... 

[luvrbus]

Open the back door at the engine if you have one it will be at the rear of the transmission underneath it some are tied into the air system with a regulator some just air up with air chuck what good they do ask a GM guy

I don't see the purpose myself the way the engine cradle is designed in a GM

[Geoff]

The RTS with the V730 just uses a rubber transmission mount for the transmission support.  In 75k miles of driving it seems to work just fine for me plus the original 575,000 miles that was on the bus when I bought it. 

On another note, a lot of people (shops) used to put the V730 in a 4106 with no support at all, and said it would be fine.  I never heard of one of these units having problems, but then, as was mentioned, how many miles have the owners put on their V730 4106 buses?

--Geoff

[sdc53]

I just redid mine. Had a weld break on the forward corner of the support bar. No airbag, just a rubber mount.  I would not run without the extra support due to reports of cracked bell housings from the extra weight hanging off the engine there.

[luvrbus]

That transmission shouldn't crack a bell housing because of weight the  Allison 750 weighs 100 lbs more and are hung on the back with no extra support.

A GM guy told me it was used because of the spacer between the bell housing and transmission the long 3/8 bolts were not strong or large enough and would break making the transmission leak that is why GM came up with extra mount he said

[Kajun_Taz]

Now I know what I'm looking for... Looks like mine doesn't have the airbag, but just a regular rubber mount...

[Barn Owl]

My 4106 does not have one and my father's does. So far so good for mine, not sure if it is something to justify or worry about with the few miles a conversion sees. No immediate plans to install one, fence sitting at the moment while I study it.

[chessie4905]

   It does cut stress on other areas of engine, mounts, frame, bulkheads. Will it be ok without it?probably. There is a lot of weight hanging off the engine trying to twist off the mounting bolts because of the way it is configured. I took one off a Flxible short city bus, which I'll install on mine. It has a preset pressure regulator at 60 lbs.OR you could consider it bling.