Firestone bags, leak

[Heypal]

So I picked up a set of Firestone Ride Rite bags for my 05 1/2 ton Suburban. Install went fairly well, however one of the bags has a leak at the push to connect fitting. I tried re-cutting the line (side cutters) several times and even installed a 90 degree elbow to take the stress away from the turn into the bag. No dice. Firestone offers a tubing cutter (should be in the damn kit!) to cut the tube. Is this where I am making the mistake? Frustrating.

 

[whitefish]

You can cut with a normal tubing/piping cutter.

 

[SODAK-DOO]

Maybe take the line and plug it into the opposite bag fitting, if long enough, and make sure its the line and not the fitting. I have air lift bags and had the same issue, but with plastic fittings, and went and bought brass fittings and that fixed the issue.

 

[IDspud]

Side cutters are about the worst way to cut the tubing, you are crushing it flat which creases it, then popping it back. This stretched the tube and distorted the fit.

 

[SRXSRULE]

Those tubing cutters work nice! Your next best method would to be a sharp razor blade. A nice square cut is what you need. Eric

 

[richracer1]

Side cutters are about the worst way to cut the tubing, you are crushing it flat which creases it, then popping it back. This stretched the tube and distorted the fit.

Absolutely. I installed the Firestone Ride Rite kit on my '15 3500HD SRW back in Sept-Oct. I used a new razor blade and sliced the tubing (made the cut using a sawing motion). No leaks what so ever.

 

[Heypal]

Yes, after cutting the lines with a razor it provides a much better cut than the side cutters. Fool! After re-trimming the lines there is still a small leak present as it didn't hold air over night. However, I am going to re-run the entire line and eliminate the elbow (Just two more spots for possible leaks) and I am hoping it will be fine. Here at my work we use 1/4" food grade poly. Anybody use this instead of the official Firestone hose? Is the Firestone hose available at parts stores?

Pal

 

[volcano buster]

Get some soapy water and cover the suspected joints. Easier to fix one leak than chase them all.

 

[SRXSRULE]

I also suggest using a liquid thread sealer on the fittings, not the pipe tape. Eric

 

[Dirty Steve]

Any parts store that carries parts for air brakes will have the tube.

I had one that I could not get to quite seeping down overnight. I ended up smearing a very light coat of silicone sealer on the end of the tube prior to pushing it into the fitting. No leaks after 55,000 miles.

I use my kids toy bubbles to find leaks. Works great.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

 

[LoudHandle]

As far as finding the leaks, most any house hold cleaner (409, Windex, etc.) will show bubbles where your leaks are. Some will form bubbles themselves, but you'll want to look for bubbles that are growing.

 

[SODAK-DOO]

also,

read the fine print. my air lift bags had in the fine print to add 1/4 cup of air brake anti-freeze. both my neighbor i have the same bags, along with a on board air compressor for them, and he did not add the antifreeze and had a few issues with his system until he did add it.

 

[Heypal]

Thanks guys for the additional input. I do have some new line so I can start from scratch. The local parts store had Gates air brake hose that will do the trick.