Is there any good, workable air bag leak fix?

[ricford]

Last year, while still under warranty, I took the '14 RT to a dealership in Northwest Louisiana for minor engine repair. I was advised they were 'famously' waiting for parts. I reported the air bag leakage and asked them to investigate. They 'couldn't find nothin' wrong. The air bag leaks to having to the point to have to carry a battery portable small compressor to keep it at 50 PSI on trips. Aside from R and R, is there a good, workable, fix.

[Peter Aawen]

Many people 'think' they have air bag leaks when it's actually just the system working the way it's designed to work.... if you manually put in more air than is needed to maintain the computer's stored & set ride height, the excess pressure'll be bled off & lowered to whatever pressure is necessary the moment you start riding, so it might seem to be loosing air when it's not really!! No matter how much air YOU might want in there, it's the computer's set ride height that governs how much pressure the system will maintain in the air bag - any more (or less!) will be bled off/ignored/over-ridden as soon as you ride, and the pressure you end up with may vary depending on load, temp, attitude, & maybe even how hard you braked when coming to a stop to check!!

That said, there are just as many if not more who truly have leaks in their Air Controlled Suspension systems - and there's MANY places those leaks may be!! The check valve; any one of the press-fit air hose fittings; the top of the bag where the air goes in; the bottom of the bag where it sits on the swing arm & can collect fine gravel to puncture the bag; anywhere along any one of the air lines; maybe even in the air compressor itself.... and then there's the potential for actual air compressor failures too - the system might 'think' it's adding air, but if the compressor has lost the piston/crank con-rod, it can run all it likes, but it's never gonna actually pump any air!

Finding a leak in this ACS thing is just a little more complex than simply finding your air bag pressure is lower than whatever you last put in there manually.... can you give us some detail on why you think yours is leaking & what you've tried in order to determine this and/or fix it?? Often, removing & replacing anything dodgy or maybe even everything is the ONLY 'good, workable fix'!!

[Bfromla]

Ric consider the source & your personal experience with them Save yourself the aggravations & go see SpyderPops :firstplace you will enjoy the ride & not have to question the service

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Ric, is your RT the base model, or RTS or Limited? If the S or Ltd then it would be as Peter describes. If the base you need to keep looking. Check the Schrader valve. Do you have gravel at the bottom of the bag that maybe has worn a small hole in it?

[Mikey]

[ricford]

My Bad! I know the advice for those with auto air up systems is correct. I forgot to add that I have the RT, the plain vanilla verrsion. Didn't know the difference when I bought it. They had only one on the floor and I wanted a CanM. Spyder. I don't have a cap on the valve. But will get one. If that is not the problem, I would like to know if anyone has experience with Amerseal. In my tires, in theory, the sealant just sits there until there is a leak then moves to seal the leak. (Don't know if it eventually dries out or not but supposedly not) Would that work or just live with airing up before a ride. I have a hand held re-chargeable compressor that works, though it is a hassle. Sorry I didn't give full info at the start. The importance in having the bladder at proper pressure is where the headlights aim. The ride too but the aiming is more important to oncoming traffic.

[larryd]

Bakers Air Wing used to market a easy to install aftermarket air compressor kit with a gauge and everything needed to make a Spyder without the factory set up a "On Demand" air ride system...I installed several and they worked fine...Bakers are a forum sponsor...Call them, and hopefully they can still hook you up...If not, and your interested I have a new complete kit that I'd sell for $150.00...GOOD LUCK

PS I have a custom built "Air On Demand" system on my 2014 RTS that uses the Viair compressor for 3 years now and never wished for anything better...larryd

http://bakerbuiltairwings.com/categories.php?cat=2

Here is the install links

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H325EL9pNns
Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErHcj3TGqhY