My 89 CC Dually: Double Wide

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by bluex

What thickness of plate did you use to "cup" the arms? Does the pocket hang down further than the lowest point of the arms? I'm thinking of doing that to mine when its apart for the frame swap. Might have the crossmember sectioned as well. The only problem with that is then the front will drop lower than the rear lol. If you can could you post a picture of the bottom side of the arm?

Bottom & sides are 3/16" steel. The bottom is flush w/the outer edges of the OE arm. The sides tie the bottom into the sides on the top.

[hot trux]

looking good!

[SCOTI]

New lower shafts arrived today & were dropped off @ my neighbors business to get the dowel hole relocated .750" back.

The new sway bar shows it will arrive tomorrow so the OE unit was plucked tonight.....

[aggie91]

Looks like good progress is being made on this one. Hope to see it soon.

[SCOTI]

I didn't get the shafts back yesterday so I worked on getting the arms drilled for lower bag hardware & played around w/shock relocation possibilities. New sway bar is BIG (the 2nd pic of the bushing is the new bushing on the old HD 1.25" bar)....

[Hankster]

Just found this thread! I love your truck man! Keep up the good work!

[75Dually]

Scoti,

Hmm this looks very familiar! Keep up the good work bro!

[SCOTI]

One step forward..... 3 steps back.


A-arm mock up & measurements were done using the larger C30 spec'd dbl convoluted Firestone bags. Once everything was tacked together I test fit one of the bags w/50psi of air to verify clearances.

With the arms almost done now, I assembled the pass side so I could set it down on its full weight to allow disassembly of the drivers side. When I did this, I noticed my margin of clearance was reduced more than I cared for. I could not wedge a yard stick between the bag & F/R 'pocket' edges on the a-arm. It doesn't touch; but it's also just sitting still....

So I looked up alternative bag choices & decided to change directions. A call to AZ Perf was made & I now have a set of Porterbuilts lower arms on order. Nice thing about these is I get the caster benefit, bag clearance, & they already have the sway bar bracket that I'll need so that means fab work on the front should be done.

At least the a-arm mod put the bag & ride heights right where I was expecting (~6" @ 100psi). I'll prob go ahead & finish them out & use them on a 1/2 ton since the smaller diameter 7" bags would clear w/o issue.

Now I'm working on air leaks. It seems my compressor feeding the tank for the rear bags is leaking down. Tank is good (submerged/leak tested @ 50psi) but when connected to the compressor only, it will bleed down over night (enough to kick the comp on).

[cable666guy]

Custom wiring hazards !! Nice build !!

[SCOTI]

This air system is pissin me off. I removed the fittings @ the compressors for re-sealing. I removed the teflon tape & sealed them w/Loctite thread sealant. Same results..... the tanks will bleed down enough to require kicking the comps on after sitting overnight. I guess I'll cut new airlines to eliminate them from the list.

Not sure what it can be other than possibly the drain valves for each tank (they passed the leak test though).

The bags are holding fine so the lines from the valves to the gauges are ok (all leak tested as well prior to installation).

Oh well.... if it was easy, everyone would have custom stuff.

[IowaHooch]

I like where you are going with this. Looks great!

[aggie91]

Scoti - do you have a check valve in the line between the compressor and the tank?

[Low Elco]

Scoti- check here- havin similar trouble about halfway down the page, may help.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...563833&page=52

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by aggie91

Scoti - do you have a check valve in the line between the compressor and the tank?

No check valve....

That being said, the set-up used in my 68 was done (plumbed) the same way. It could go weeks (months) before the comp cycled & used a Thomas comprssor as well.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Scoti- check here- havin similar trouble about halfway down the page, may help.

The main diff I see between our systems is mine is all manual paddle valves.

Currently (for isolation purposes) the 'supply' lines from the tanks to the paddle switches are not connected to the tanks. My bags are aired up & holding so from the paddle valve forward there does not appear to be a problem. The 'leak' or where the bleed down is occurring is between the tanks & comp's. The comp's are plumbed to feed the tanks & I have inline PTC plugs in the discharge ports of the tanks (again, just for isolation purposes while investigating the leak).

I might try the check valve approach suggested by Karl.

[SCOTI]

So I did some looking @ lunch..... Where is a good source for a check valve?

My comp's have an 1/8"npt female outlet; tank ports are 1/4"npt female; & using 1/4" DOT airline.

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

So I did some looking @ lunch..... Where is a good source for a check valve?

My comp's have an 1/8"npt female outlet; tank ports are 1/4"npt female; & using 1/4" DOT airline.

I bet member way2lo2 could set you up.
Boris has all kinds of air ride stuff.

[lolife99]

http://www.viaircorp.com/checkvalves.html

[SCOTI]

I found some @ a local bolt, fastener, & fitting place. I pulled the supply lines to each tank. The 'front' tank had very little remaining pressure; the rear had alot more.

I re-plumbed the comps w/the check valves inline. I checked on them @ a 3hr dwell time & the comps didn't come on. The pattern has been the 6-12hr mark so I'll follow-up tomorrow am.

The feedback has been appreciated....

[SCOTI]

As of 12hrs, the comps didn't come on when powered up. That's a good sign.
We'll see how things are after work tonight.

[tintbox]

Looking good sir.

[SCOTI]

48hrs & comps still not kicking on. Looks like the check valves solved the issue. Now I'll do some shop cleaning/rearranging & get back on the bed fabrication while waiting on my PB lower arms.

[aggie91]

Good to hear it was a simple fix. Sometimes the compressor is the source of the leak since they are designed to compress the air and not hold the air, hence the need for a check valve.

Ever notice when your shop compressor finishes pumping up the tank that there is a little relief of air that it makes as it stops turning? That is the pressure bleeding the read valve in the compressor so that there is not a high head pressure on the next start up.

Karl

[monte0185]

Looking good. How much are you going to have to cut out of the bed floor with that 4 link setup? When you get to that point pics would be awesome.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by monte0185

Looking good. How much are you going to have to cut out of the bed floor with that 4 link setup? When you get to that point pics would be awesome.

The notch cover slopes from approx 32" @ the base to 12" @ the top. Above the C/L of the rear end, the floor is effectively 6.5" higher than the rest of the floor.
Something like this:

[SCOTI]

The cross sill directly above the front 4-bar mounts will be relieved as necessary for clearance.