When should brake diaphragms and air bags be replaced?

[pvcces]

Our rubber parts have over 10 years on them. We recently popped a diaphragm and that got me thinking about what should be replaced. I did notice that the manual says replacement of the diaphragms should be annual.

Thanks, guys.

Tom Caffrey

[lostagain]

Whatever makes you feel good: some people, like me, don't worry about them until they break, or look really bad. You could carry spares with you so you are ready when it happens. Or you could replace them whether they need it or not on a regular basis, and be safe. My personal feeling, and that is just me, is I only spend as much money as necessary. What is "necessary" is a different thing for different people.

If you have DD3 chambers on the drive axle, new or reconditioned ones as spares might be a good idea if they haven't been done in a few years. I rebuilt mine a couple of years ago, so I know I am good for a while.

Air bags can be observed easily, and if cracked and weathered old looking, should be replaced obviously.

When I was looking after the hockey team's MCI D3 bus, we broke an air bag once. The president said we should replace them all. I said no, we can use the money for other things. I drove that bus for another five years and never popped another one. I carried spares with us though.

JC

[luvrbus]

Just replace you spring brake canisters Tom they are to cheap to try and repair 

[pvcces]

Thanks, JC and Cliff.

That was pretty much what I thought. Also, I can see that the spring breaking could result in some bad news. We had a concrete pump that broke one or two. It made me think about what might happen if the rig was parked on a grade. One broke into three pieces.

Cliff, we think that we might be in your neighborhood in one or two weeks.
Would it cause any problem if we stopped by?

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