Having found the airbag shock absorbers in a great previous sticky post I thought I would give them a try. See them here: https://www.airbagit.com/Air-Springs-Air-Bags-p/baga-800-long.htm My only concern was that they were slightly over 3 inches in diameter instead of the 2 3/8 in stock air springs on my Motor Trike.
After removing the wheels to get started it was time to take loose the air hose. A 12mm wrench took care of that quickly. To my surprise the nut holding the air spring (left and right side) on top was loose. I screwed it off my fingers. I later found that it is plastic.
The bottom bolt holding the air spring requires a 3/4in wrench. After removing it the old unit would slide over clearing the mount and come off. Now its time to place the new shocks on. This can be accomplished a lots easier if you place a jack stand under the axle and move your jack under the rear most point on the frame. Jack the trike up here about 2 inches or so. This will not affect the jack stand. After placing the new air bag on the bottom mount let the jack down just enough to get the top of the new air bag to go thru the mounting hole.
Find the washer and bolt and screw in into the bottom of the air bag hand tight. Take the new nut which is a metal with nylon lock and screw it onto the threads coming thru the mount. Note that both mounting holes are bigger than the threaded mount on top of the air spring and the bolt on the bottom. This gives room for some adjustment to get the top and bottom to line up better.
My old ones were badly misaligned. (see pic) After alignment tighten the bottom bolt with the 3/4 in wrench. Next tighten the new metal lock nut on the top.
Place the air connection back in the top and tighten it up. You're through, now it's time to repeat the process on the other side. This picture shows the new and greatly improved lock nut and air connection.
I'm not sure you can see the cracks in the rubber. They are what I would call severe. If an airbag were to burst on a trip it could be devastating for the rest of the ride.
As I stated at the beginning I had some concern about the increased diameter of the new air bags. The clearance is greater than it looks in the pictures. I can get my hand between the airbag and the tire just up to but not over my knuckles, so the clearance is about 1 1/4 inches. I'm running a 235/60-15 tire and my speedometer is dead on. I may go to a 225 tire later.
This job took me about an hour. A mechanic could probably do it in 30 to 40 minutes. I hope this helps someone.
After removing the wheels to get started it was time to take loose the air hose. A 12mm wrench took care of that quickly. To my surprise the nut holding the air spring (left and right side) on top was loose. I screwed it off my fingers. I later found that it is plastic.
The bottom bolt holding the air spring requires a 3/4in wrench. After removing it the old unit would slide over clearing the mount and come off. Now its time to place the new shocks on. This can be accomplished a lots easier if you place a jack stand under the axle and move your jack under the rear most point on the frame. Jack the trike up here about 2 inches or so. This will not affect the jack stand. After placing the new air bag on the bottom mount let the jack down just enough to get the top of the new air bag to go thru the mounting hole.
Find the washer and bolt and screw in into the bottom of the air bag hand tight. Take the new nut which is a metal with nylon lock and screw it onto the threads coming thru the mount. Note that both mounting holes are bigger than the threaded mount on top of the air spring and the bolt on the bottom. This gives room for some adjustment to get the top and bottom to line up better.
My old ones were badly misaligned. (see pic) After alignment tighten the bottom bolt with the 3/4 in wrench. Next tighten the new metal lock nut on the top.
Place the air connection back in the top and tighten it up. You're through, now it's time to repeat the process on the other side. This picture shows the new and greatly improved lock nut and air connection.
I'm not sure you can see the cracks in the rubber. They are what I would call severe. If an airbag were to burst on a trip it could be devastating for the rest of the ride.
As I stated at the beginning I had some concern about the increased diameter of the new air bags. The clearance is greater than it looks in the pictures. I can get my hand between the airbag and the tire just up to but not over my knuckles, so the clearance is about 1 1/4 inches. I'm running a 235/60-15 tire and my speedometer is dead on. I may go to a 225 tire later.
This job took me about an hour. A mechanic could probably do it in 30 to 40 minutes. I hope this helps someone.
orag:
