Plating Kit System Leaking at New Plates

brianzero · July 30, 2017, 04:05:04 PM

I installed a front air bag plating kit, and blocked off the two front air supply lines (seen in photo) to the left and right sides of the air beam. Air is leaking around all of the upper air bag mounting plates (where the plating kit bolts to the bus, see photo).

My question is this; where is the air beam getting its air from after removing the air supply lines? Is there another source of air that's supposed to blocked?

gumpy · July 30, 2017, 04:11:00 PM

Did you put the plate in upside down?

brianzero · July 30, 2017, 04:44:38 PM

Nope! Theyre facing in the right direction.

brianzero · July 30, 2017, 04:48:44 PM

And, when I used shop air to test everything, air was coming out of where I put those brass plugs (pictured) so a charge of air is still getting in the air beam, but where??

gumpy · July 30, 2017, 07:02:20 PM

Maybe one of the plates is cracked. That's not unknown.

I'm pretty sure there's only on opening on each beam. Both sides are fed from a single leveling valve.

Did you plate both sides or just one. I'm not aware of a connection between the two sides, other than the feed lines from the leveling valve.

Oonrahnjay · July 30, 2017, 07:08:17 PM

.

brianzero · July 30, 2017, 07:16:54 PM

I plated both sides, and I just got done inspecting the passenger side for obvious cracks, but didnt see anything. The driverside will have to wait until morning.

Grumpy, you got me really thinking that this is cracked plate forcing air back into the beam. But a crack on only one side of the plate and not through? I be damned if I didnt stupidly install a plate upside down. This has that symptom.

gumpy · July 31, 2017, 12:09:09 PM

Quote from: brianzero on July 30, 2017, 07:16:54 PM
I plated both sides, and I just got done inspecting the passenger side for obvious cracks, but didnt see anything. The driverside will have to wait until morning.

Grumpy, you got me really thinking that this is cracked plate forcing air back into the beam. But a crack on only one side of the plate and not through? I be damned if I didnt stupidly install a plate upside down. This has that symptom.

It's Gumpy. I get grumpy when people mess up my name! :-)

It's possible it's cracked above the air channel on only one side.

BTW, did you fill the bags with shop air after installation, and did they all inflate? If they all inflated, then the plates are in correctly and you probably have a crack.

My money is on an upside down plate. Of course it'll be the last one you take apart to check. (Hint, read the last sentence when looking for the one that's upside down.)

brianzero · July 31, 2017, 01:46:04 PM

Ill know tonight if I have an inverted plate. After all, it was 105 degrees outside, and delerium could have effected my judgement.