first gen 2wd front air ride anyone?

[Mel Fuelling]

Mysteryman,

I am sorry to hear about your dog's condition. I've lost 2 to tumors in the past.



I have 2 '93 CTD D350's, one that I work out of that with the cab high topper, tools, and equipment usually grosses 9k every day and one that is a backup that weighs 5740. I hope to work out of them for the next 20 years. (I am 59 and work on grain elevator legs. My work takes me from ground level to about 240' at present, so you've probably guessed by now that I've been accused of being an optimist before. )



I put air bags on the rear of my work truck, talked to the Ride Right's customer service,, was told that I was the first person to ever think that this combination was over sprung, tried seven different combinations of removing different leaf springs to arrive at a combination on the back that's not too

bad. (I see from your posts that I better go check my frame rails. )

I talked to a tech at "Air Ride Technologies" about air bags for the front, but

he would not make a recommendation or share information about correct parameters to follow. There is so much that I don't know about front suspension design and parameters that I was just going to take a set of sacked front springs, move the shock outboard to the rear, and put a lift bag inside of the sacked coil to see if that helped. I also bought a double chamber bag to see if I could fab a coil replacement for the front, but my lack of knowledge has limited progress.



I am very interested in air bags on the front, and since reading this thread,

lower control arms. Do you have an estimate on cost?



How much are your door hinges?



Thank you,

Mel

 

[ptmoore]

mel, my truck is 4wd, but i have air lift brand air bags installed inside the rear coil springs of my el camino ss. this combination will raise the rear of the vehicle but the ride is really harsh i think because the bag pressure prevents the springs from compressing. i am going to try the external bag mounting on the rear of my dodge and may remove one or some of the springs, i think this set up will provide an adjustable yet comfortable ride

 

[Mel Fuelling]

ptmoore,

Thanks for your reply warning me away from inside the coil air bags.



Modern OTR trucks offer a terrific ride using single chamber bags on the drivers and on the cab. A neighbor of mine put single bag helpers on the front axle leaf springs of his 95 Freighliner (setback axle) that was a big improvement. I just hope that mysteryman can show us how to apply this to

a 2wd /D-350. I know that I don't have the knowledge, time, or resources to make all the mistakes myself.



I had Air Lift single chamber bags helping the rear of a '93 Dakota that I was working out of before I got my D-350. The single chamber bag did a marvelous job-restored ride height, but they weren't harsh. (I had to replace them every 12-16 months. ) I would recommend anyone to try single chamber bags instead of double chamber bags. I have most of the parts I need (air lines, fittings, and a 2 quart fire extingisher bottle for each air bag) to try to add more air volume to the double chamber bags on the rear of my D-350 to reduce their harshness, but haven't yet.



I think that the chamber volume, minimum height, and maximum working height of double chamber bags may be more suited to use on 2wd front applications than for rears if they have enough weight bearing capacity.



Thanks,

Mel

 

[HFletcher]

I am still working on this project... The vendor is draging his rear end. I will crack the whip on him in the months to come... .



What became of this? TIA Hank

 

[mysteryman]

Hi all, I have not forgotten about this project. . I am on the road right now taking my Dog (Lucky) on his last trip before he passes away... He has had cancer and is loosing the battle... I will be back on the projects after he goes and I find my way back home..... thx... .

I am still working on this project... The vendor is draging his rear end. I will crack the whip on him in the months to come... .



What became of this? TIA Hank

 

[Mel Fuelling]

mysteryman,

You are an important information source to those of us who have chosen to drive 1st Gens that don't have the training or personal resources to find the solutions that you have encountered.



When you get back home and have a chance to get caught up, check your pm box @ tdr.



Thanks,

Mel

 

[Monte]

m. m. , do you still have any of those door hinges? i am in love with my old stock 93 2500 automatic, and have been driving her since 98... my son tanner(tater head), just got a 92 4 wd 2500 5 speed, and we are trying to get it rolling(old farm truck@worn out)... anyway, i am trying to stay in my truck for as long as i can, college is expensive, and my daughter is in her 3rd yr... teaching in texas, does not pay the best, but it would be cheaper than buying a newer truck... . what other stuff do you have/make????? thanks, monte

 

[dpuckett]

I have not been too active in this forum the last couple years, and missed this thread. I am interested in a set of lower control arms, though I have decent ones now, or at least I thought I did. I'll PM you about your hinges. With good springs, shocks, and bushings, I think I'll wait a while before making the move up to air- gotta get used to stuff one step at a time. Be a good excuse for an onboard compressor, though. I'd like a set up like MMiller has on his 92- I believe he deleted the springs altogether and has a set up simiilar to the big rigs.



Daniel

 

[mysteryman]

Hi all. I have not forgotten about this project. I have just been very busy and traveling a lot. I have also been in a state of panic over the getrag shifter fork issue. If we run out of those we are in real trouble. . The aftermarket ones out there now don't woprk ! Stay tuned

 

[dpuckett]

Is the shift fork issue the one that lets the transmission- and not the driver- decide when to come out of gear? If so, my 92 is about to take a BIG dump. It likes to stay in 2nd and 5th, regardless of where the stick goes. Plus, I have about 3" of freeplay in each gear.



Oh, and we wont let you forget an issue that can potentially beef up the frotn suspensions of these woefully underdone trucks.

-DP

 

[HFletcher]

You bring up a good point. . The uppers were also a problem up north due to rust ! I have seen them break in half many times... .



My main concern however is correcting problems that reoccur that we will be running out of parts to fix real soon... . The uppers there are plenty of still around..... They are really no more than gas truck arms with a few extra struts spot welded on them to keep them from bending..... We can make them up easy from used gas arms that come from the south... .



The lowers bend all the time!! most every truck has bent arms on it ...

some worse than others... . Most of you do not know they are bent. . there is a lot of room to adjust the front end to hide it. But the trucks handling suffers for it and so do the tires!!



I would love to design a whole new system. . but the cost would be brutal !

Most guys that have old trucks do not have them because they love these old trucks like I do... They have them because they are either cheap or or poor . Most will not spend very much to keep them running. If they had the money the would just buy a newer one... .

I want my old trucks no matter what the cost to fix them... The 91,92,93 Cummins 5 spd trucks were the best of all the Cummins trucks ever built to date. . 94 up were really just over sized cars. . Not trucks at all!



I had a 94 back in 94 when they came out... . My 72 W300 power wagon with tow rig had to tow my 94 back to the dealer 3 times for warrantee work :{

So much for new being "better" LOL



My main concern now is building the parts that we are going to run out of while I am still able to do the projects... I look good for my age but I am getting old... My next stroke might be my last. and I want to solve all the problems that I know need to be fixed once and for all while I still can...



I know once these control arms are built that they will never be a problem again..... We engineers do know how to design things to never wear out. But that costs money to do and the bean counters do not want to give us the money to do it. Everyone today wants cheap... . not good. . But good is not cheap and cheap is not good...



I have the ability and the experience to make anything for these truck you all can dream up... But who is going to pay for it???? The only way we can make things cheap is to build things in very large numbers... . The demand is not there... . Or perhaps a better way to say it is dedication to these trucks is not there... . I know that every truck out there needs lower hinges. But no one from tdr has gotten any from me. All my personal friends have them on their trucks... I have sold them to countless fleets for years... . But no general consumers... . Now why is that????? I guess most do not care that their doors don't close properly or that they are ruining the latches that are being discontinued any day now... Perhaps consumers just like replacing door hinges every year... ????



In any event... If I get 25 guys to chip in on this project I will make it happen. If not I guess I will make a few myself in my shop for my trucks and call it done... .



I will know more next week after the vendor reviews my drawings and gives me a quote.....

I don't want to spend anymore on this project than I have to so the uppers are not a high priority right now. But if the demand is there or if the money is there I will gladly do them as well... .



I will be glad when I can have a decent pair of lowers! I have a whole; barrel of bent one now and 4 trucks that don't track like they should

This seemed like a worthwhile undertaking. Is it a no-go, and I missed it? TIA

 

[1stgen4evr]

As far as I know it is a no go but an air ride can be had on the front if you change to a leaf setup with a straight axle. I have seen the bags offered in of road flyers that were not terribly expensive.



And air ride is nice. I have it on the rear of one truck.



James