rear bag setup question

[blazer2007]

I have a 78 blazer and I have firestone 9000 bags for it but how do I determine where to mount the brackets.Ex. compressed height of bag say is 4 in. ,ride height is 9 in and total is 12in.So put truck at ride height ,measure 9 in for brackets.It has a c notch so minus say 5 in to bottom out on frame gives me my 4 in compressed height.Hope is not confusing

[mikey882]

It depends on what you're trying to do....... Park and lay frame? Or have similar ride height to stock?

The sleeve bags you have........have somewhat limited travel compared to the double convoluted bags.

I'm guessing that you are mounting the bags at or near the rear axle?
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[blazer2007]

Just park and air out until hits c notch which is about 4 ins away from ride height

[mikey882]

If you are running a bag with an internal bump stop that will make a difference, or do you plan on installing a set of separate stops? Also, do you plan on mounting the bags directly to the axle?

If so.........

Lay the notch on the rear end......if you have an axle bracket, mount it to the lower bag plate, then push the bag fully deflated and hold it where you want it on the axle. that should get you very close to where the top of the bag needs to stay in the frame. That will get you immediate travel when you start to fill the bag.......as well as get you the most amount of travel. Tack it well and put enough air in the bags to lift the frame.....check the sponginess of the set up at ride height. If you want it stiffer then the bag brackets need to have more space between them vertically in order to acheive a taller, stiffer bag at the same ride height.
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[PBFAB.COM]

In a case like yours, where you you're looking for a simple airbag system without using a large notch, you have a few options. First off you're going to need to address the suspension portion first, then the airbags secondly.

Since the airbags are going to be you're primary suspension, then you need to get the axle location part of the suspension figured out. If you're going to be keeping the leaf springs, then you'll need to get the suspension to compress down far enough so the axle bottoms out in the notch first. In order to do this you'll need some lowering components such as: flip kit, lowering blocks, shackle and hanger, etc. You can also install some form of a link system to replace the leaf springs as well.

From there you can go about locating the airbags themselves. There are kits designed to locate the airbag off the bottom side of the axle tube that might work in your case. Keep in mind that you're going to need a min of 4.250 inches between the upper and lower mounts once the axle is bottomed out.
The F9000 sleeve bag does not have an internal bump stop and it's compressed height is 4.0 inches. Keeping the bag at 4.250 will prevent it from internal damage

You'll need an upper crossmember installed to locate the airbags along with the lower mounts off the axle. If you don't have room to run them down there, then you might want to look into some form of a link that would allow you to locate the airbags someplace else.

Remember you'll be needing new shocks with the new suspension system, and those might require new mounts as well. Give us a little more info so we can help you out a little more as well. We do have components to help get you in the right direction, or can help steer you in the right direction with tips and suggestions as well.

[blazer2007]

The rear is flipped with a c notch,1 inch spacer and 3 leafs left in.It has no trouble to hitting c notch.The rear is a new ford 9 inch so I have a blank canvas for welding brackets etc.I would like to run some sorta link setup but rearend has taken it,s toll on funding for now {posi,gears,bearings,was endless}I don,t see to find any link kits for blazers.For the upper bridge bracket I was wondering if I could make it like an adjustable crossmember bracket with tabs welded on the end to make it a bolt in item instead of welding,have one peice of sq. tubing sliding into another,just an idea.

[PBFAB.COM]

You could use the kit that you posted a picture of very easily. Using the upper round tube bar, you could easily weld a flat mounting plate to the end of the tube and bolt that to the chassis. I'm sure you can make an adjustable mounting solution depending on what your future plans might require. I like how you stepped up the rearend in your build, and that's one major item out of the way. Thumbs up.

Good luck with the project and keep the forum posted on your progresss.

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