starting my air susp. slammed67, nsane68???

[Dropt72Shortbed]

all right, im doing the front first now that my front clip is apart.

i remember hearing that getting a 5" piece of pipe and cutting 3" off would give me my front bag cup, now that goes on top right? and on the lower arm do i just weld a flat piece of metal down?

is their anything that needs to be trimmed or cut so that the bags dont rub?

im planning on using the bigger 224c (ithink thats the correct #), commonly refered to as the 2600 bags. i know lots of guys use the smaller bags but ive ridden in s10s and new silverados with both and the bigger ones have a much better ride quality.

right now my upper shock mounts have already been moved up higher on the frame so i think those are good.

any other tips on the actual install on the front? ive got the air managment part (valves compressors etc) taken care of.

also NSANE68, do you sell any front brackets? do you only have AIM front brackets or do you carry any others?

[Slammed67]

I put the cup in the lower spring pocket and the flat plate on top. I think NSANE or somebody else on here does it with the plate on the bottom. I guess both would work. The plate on top made more sense to me and that seems to be how most kits are made, like Air Ride Tech's. From what I've heard, you should set it up so your top and bottom bag plates are parallel to each other when the bag is at "ride height", or at the height that you'll drive the truck at. I just put the frame up on jackstands at a height I thought I'd be going with. Also if I remember correctly, the ride height of those bags is about 5.5" to 6" tall. So I took a pice of PVC pipe (about the same size dia as you cup dia) and cut it down to the 5.5" and held it up against the top plate to get an idea of how tall to make the lower cup. To get the top and bottom plates parallel at ride height, you'll need to cut one end of the pipe off at an angle (you'll see what I'm talking about once you hold the PVC pipe in place). Use the PVC to make a template and then cut your steel pipe to match. Good luck!

Some of the other guys on here might have more tips and tricks. This was my first bag installation, so I am by no means an expert

[Dropt72Shortbed]

i understand what youre saying, sounds like it could be a bit of guess and check in order to get the angle on the top cup to the point where it postioned properly at ride height.

now what about cutting and trimming? is there any necessary? i know on s10s you have to hack half the coil pocket out just to fit the bag without rubbing.

[XXL]

Originally posted by Dropt72Shortbed
now what about cutting and trimming? is there any necessary? i know on s10s you have to hack half the coil pocket out just to fit the bag without rubbing.

The only modifications you'll need to make to the front are to drill mounting holes for the top plate and to get rid of the bump stop on the lower control arm.

Kenneth

[Slammed67]

I did trim the inner part of the spring pocket to avoid any rubbing. Of course I also made my front cups as short as possible to get the front as low as possible. All depends on how low you want to go. Like I said, use the PVC and make a couple test cups to get the desired height and then see if you have any interference with the a-arm.

[lotik]

why couldnt you just let the bag sit in the bottom spring pocket? maybe put a bolt in it. coil springs are not bolted in to the pocket.

[Slammed67]

lotik: The outside diameter of the air bag is larger than the inner diameter if the spring pocket. Therefore if you set the botton plate of the bag in the pocket, the botton edges of the bag will rub against the a-arm. Over time, that could rub a hole right through the bag. Therefore you have to elevate it some for clearance.

[Dropt72Shortbed]

Originally posted by Slammed67
I did trim the inner part of the spring pocket to avoid any rubbing. Of course I also made my front cups as short as possible to get the front as low as possible. All depends on how low you want to go. Like I said, use the PVC and make a couple test cups to get the desired height and then see if you have any interference with the a-arm.

you said you used the flat plate on the top. where did you put the plate exactly? i figured you rould put the 3" or so of cup on the top and that would have the bag out of the coil pocket down and close to the arm.

i actually havent taken my front suspension apart yet and im pretty unfamiliar with the front ends on these trucks so bear with me. i can take 88-98s and any year s10 apart and back together again in couple hours.

[lotik]

so you just need to cut a piece of pipe the size of the mounting plate on yur bag and set the bag in it? and make it just high enough to set it out of the pocket?

[XXL]

Originally posted by Slammed67
lotik: The outside diameter of the air bag is larger than the inner diameter if the spring pocket. Therefore if you set the botton plate of the bag in the pocket, the botton edges of the bag will rub against the a-arm. Over time, that could rub a hole right through the bag. Therefore you have to elevate it some for clearance.

We must be using different bags. I have no clearance problems that I can see.

Kenneth

[Dropt72Shortbed]

Originally posted by XXL


We must be using different bags. I have no clearance problems that I can see.

Kenneth

Kenneth,

can you describe your front setup to me? what bags are you using? the bigger 224Cs (2600s) or the smaller 255s (2500s)?. did you put the flat plate on the bottom with the cup on top or vice versa? and you had no trimming or cutting needed correct? also how tall are your cups? i like the height of your truck.

thanks

[Dropt72Shortbed]

ttt

[XXL]

Originally posted by Dropt72Shortbed
can you describe your front setup to me? what bags are you using? the bigger 224Cs (2600s) or the smaller 255s (2500s)?. did you put the flat plate on the bottom with the cup on top or vice versa? and you had no trimming or cutting needed correct? also how tall are your cups? i like the height of your truck.

thanks

I don't know which parts off the top of my head... it was the standard Air Ride Technologies kit for the 67-72 trucks. The front bags are double convoluted and they are rounded when they are inflated (the ones in the rear are also double convoluted but they are more squared off). There is a flat steel plate that blocks off the top spring pocket altogether. The bottom has a small perch but I don't know how tall it is off the top of my head. Maybe 3" or less (???). I didn't trim any of the kit and I didn't have to modify the front of the truck other than to remove the bump stop (metal perch included) from the lower control arms, and to drill holes into the engine crossmember on either side of the top spring pocket (the flat "flange" part) so I could mount the top plate.

Kenneth

[big71]

thanks i just bought a set of air bags firstone 2600 front and 2500 in the rear

[NSANE68!!!]

Look's like I'm late. hehe. These guys have all gave good info. I built my kit along time ago. Before prefab brackets.
I used the cup on top and welded the plate to the bottom. It works either way though. Just seemed safer that way, since the cup is secure up in the crossmember pocket.
I do sell prefabbed brackets, $100.00 a pair, these take all the guess work out of angles ect. well worth it IMO. If they had em available when I did my first one I definatly would have used them.
The firestone bags, 2600# get between 6-8" of lift, and the 2500# bags get almost the same.
Any other questions feel free.

[lotik]

anyone with pcitures of there front and rear setups?.. i think this would help explain to people better.

[Slammed67]

Here are some sketches I drew up in AutoCAD. The first one shows the taller bottom cup which is probably the height that you'll get in the kits. The second one shows about how tall mine are, and you can see the interference with the inner part of the a-arm. In both pictures the bags are 5.5" tall, which would be at about ride height. Note: these drawings aren't drawn exactly to scale..... just posted them you give you a better visual of how the front bags mount. Note how the top and bottom bag plates are parallel to each other, which is desirable for best ride quality.

[Dropt72Shortbed]

both top plate and lower cup are bolted in or welded in?

im actually ordering a set of alter images bag brackets for only $85, will probably look alot cleaner than if i made it myself. ill let you guys know how the work out.

[XXL]

Originally posted by Dropt72Shortbed
both top plate and lower cup are bolted in or welded in?

im actually ordering a set of alter images bag brackets for only $85, will probably look alot cleaner than if i made it myself. ill let you guys know how the work out.

If you go with the plate on top, you'll want to bolt it in. The bag bolts to the top plate and the air fitting rises up through it and feeds into the engine crossmember (it's hollow). If you welded the top plate in you wouldn't be able to service the air fitting or bag

Kenneth

[jay-dawg]

slammed...you da man.

good visual.

jay