| Author |
Message |
ChuckS (Chucks) (66.167.142.168)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 20, 2003 - 8:19 pm: | |
Am getting much closer to joining your gang. My future MC9 has what look like original bags all around, and all seems well for now. They're up and ready to go in about 15 minutes after starting, with 120 or so PSI.
Question - when they start to go one of these days, do they usually pop like a tire blowout or slowly just crack and start leaking? When this occours does the bad bag close itself off so pressure is active everywhere else, or does the whole system lose air thru that one bag? In other words is it driveable (slowly) to get repaired or does this mean a flatbed trailer trip to the shop? (very expensive I'm sure)
Thanks again for your kind help!
Chuck |
Nick Russell (66.82.9.38)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 20, 2003 - 8:24 pm: | |
In my experience, a couple of our MCI 8's bags have developed slow leaks. Does not affect our driving at all, but when we park the system drains down faster than it used to. |
jim mci-9 (209.240.198.61)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 20, 2003 - 8:28 pm: | |
when the airbag leaks, the bus will loose air..... if its running, the air compressor ought to stay up so all the other systems will work....but the bus will "lean" over....if the rubber snubbers/bumpers are still good, it will sit down on them instead of the tires....airbags are around $100.. each.. depending on where you buy them...something to think about.... |
John Rigby (24.174.239.244)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 20, 2003 - 8:57 pm: | |
I would purchase from luke enough bags and anything else that is connected that might rust and not want to go back ( he will be able to advice you, mine is an 04 and I keep a full set of nuts and bolts for each bag ).
When you get them put each one indevidually in a old type grocery sack and saple it up, the brown paper will stop the rubber drying out and deterating.
This could save you seveal days stuck on the road.
John
Luke 1888 coach 34. |
gabby (67.28.80.134)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, October 20, 2003 - 10:36 pm: | |
If your coach takes 15 min to get to 120 lbs of air either you have a leak or a compressor that is bad. |
ChuckS (Chucks) (66.167.142.168)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 21, 2003 - 12:06 am: | |
I did not know that 15 minutes was longer than acceptable. How long should it take? I did do the test of pumping brakes to bring it down to 75 or so, and the PSI popped right back up in a very short time. I didn't have a stopwatch with me, but it seemed less than a minute or so. |
Scott Whitney (66.82.9.31)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 21, 2003 - 12:45 am: | |
Chuck, my bags and all three air tanks, fill in about 3-5min at high idle. 15 mins seems like a long time to air up.
I had one bag go on me. When adjusting my brakes (like we all do religiously, right?) I noticed a big blister on one of my bags. It was about the size of a US quarter and told me the bag was on its last legs. I drove on it for about a thousand more miles and then one day it went out. When it went, I knew exactly what it was. The coach would not air up until I capped off the supply line to that bag and the rush of escaping air was quite prominent. Surprisingly, I could not tell the difference in the ride of my Flxible transit with one front air bag capped. Although I drove gingerly and repaired it ASAP.
My front airbags are such an oddball part number that that they have to get one-off manufactured by Firestone as they are ordered. So I ordered a second bag to keep as a spare. . . My rear bags are more common and stocked by various parts houses so I am not sitting on a spare for the rears.
Scott |
BrianMCI96A3 (65.40.112.252)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 21, 2003 - 12:47 am: | |
Chuck, 15 min. is really way too long, that said, if the air pressure builds back to 120 quickly, it's not the compressor, you must have leaks somewhere.
Brian |
ChuckS (Chucks) (66.167.142.168)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, October 21, 2003 - 7:10 am: | |
Well thank you again, Gents!
Today's the day I'm going to dip a toe in and get a bus shop to give her a full 'going-over' and then I'll know more about things. Hate to spend probably $300 for that before I even own her, but you've convinced me that it's the wise choice. I'm going to try to get them to let me observe the process, if they'll let me in the shop. |
Brad (142.177.83.217)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, November 02, 2003 - 6:48 am: | |
When I bought my bus it would stay up on the air bags for a week or so. Last summer it came down to a day or little more so took the soappy water bottle and found 3 of the bags had air leaks around the middle.
I carry a spare air bag but have never had to replace one on the road yet !
Brad |