Troubleshooting big air brake leak

[chessie4905]

Glad they worked. My nephew replaced his on his 4104 and that style wouldn't clear. Maybe he tried to use a larger chamber. Dont recall the details now.

[Nova Eona]

Good call on the hump, but fortunately they do fit - I checked it out before cutting the rods down just to play it safe.


I figured for a key service item like this, updating to something I can source on the road would be beneficial; now if I ever blow one again, I know it and the lines will be plug-and-play from the nearest Napa.

[luvrbus]

LOL made in China has to be good

[DoubleEagle]

At least remove the label. 

[luvrbus]

A 5 dollar diaphragm in his old one would have better I cannot believe NAPA sells a made in China chamber for 50 bucks   

[dtcerrato]

Ditto...

[luvrbus]

He did the best he could though to get him going,but you don't want that Chinese crap on your break system I have saw those thing blow the can off the anchoring bolts before 

[chessie4905]

Most of them come from China anymore. Like tires, people don't want to spend anymore than they have to, like the previous tire thread. Of course their their new tires ride great. Full tread and new softer rubber than their older tires with less tread and drier, harder rubber. Not worth screwing with that old can. Maybe on a newer coach it would make sense just replacing the pancake.

[Nova Eona]

Not everything with a "China" sticker on it is garbage - these chambers seem solid and well made, and I'm sure I trust them more than I do the 60 year old American-made chambers.  It's a Euclid made by Meritor, a reputable company by all accounts.  If I don't get a full 60 years out of these ones, I'll forgive them.

[richard5933]

Goods made in China are as good or bad as the specs and the QC provided by the company placing the order.

High-end and high-quality companies in the US have a reputation to protect, so they generally inspect the incoming products. Not always, but usually.

If this has a name brand on it I wouldn't be as concerned as I would if it were more of a generic product.

[luvrbus]

Those chambers are made by ECO in Xiamen China they are sold as different brands here peel and stick a label on for the buyer ,had my NAPA guy check for me

[richard5933]

I've seen that happen before, where one factory produced goods for multiple companies in the US.

When searching for parts online, I'll often see 3 or 4 brands with identical parts with nothing different except the label. But when looking further see that there are different specs, different item weight, etc.

Without breaking down the cans to examine the components inside, there is no way to determine if they are identical through and through or if there are variations inside.

Likely they are the same, and it's often difficult to determine which one is better (if any).

Back in the 60s and 70s my grandmother was the accountant for a top-tier handbag company in New York. I remember her telling me that they sold only first-quality goods - no seconds or other lessor goods. But, she said, the first-quality goods they sold to Neiman Marcus were substantially better than the first-quality goods sold to Macy's. On the outside they may look identical, but she said there were many differences that could not be seen. Since she was their bean counter, I'm pretty sure she knew all the details of the differences.

Ever since that talk/lecture from her, I've always inspected the quality of goods beyond the surface & labels.

[Jim Eh.]

Looks like a wrap. One thing nobody mentioned was to check that the angle between the pushrod and the center line of the slack adjuster should be as close to 90 degrees as possible when fully applied with the correct brake adjustment. If you don't have a helper. jamb a stick onto the brake pedal then go under and check. As always when working with pressure, wear safety googles.
Some PO or mechanic may have cut a replacement rod to the incorrect length sometime in the buses lifetime.

Good call on the hump, but fortunately they do fit - I checked it out before cutting the rods down just to play it safe.


I figured for a key service item like this, updating to something I can source on the road would be beneficial; now if I ever blow one again, I know it and the lines will be plug-and-play from the nearest Napa.

[dtcerrato]

Unless an original equipment bus part is in total failure we strive to rebuild or recondition. Up grade to a newer part is low on our list. I'm proud to say we run most of the original brake blocks, all the cans, some of the bellows, etc. etc. That were on the bus when purchased 40 years ago. The bus is totally safe as it was including the drive shaft parking brake and conventional brake system, no dd3 or spring brakes. But I must admit we had to replace unobtainium parts like charging system, fan hub, brake application valve & so on. Just part of the madness of owning, operating, & maintaining an antique bus I guess. In post war times things were manufactured to last much longer than their design life (just like us humans! lol). Today we live in a throw away world & it shows around every corner...

[DoubleEagle]

It's ironic that it was GM that started the concept of planned obsolescence, which helped our migration to a disposable part world.