Possible air leak in airbag

[safecracker]

This is far as I got today on the Spyder. Thankfully I have chain fall setup in my garage. If any of you ever thought about taking off the rear end of your Spyder it really is quite easy. 6 bolts and one ground strap, 2 plug connections, that's about it. Have to take seat off first. Hint on taking seat off. Take backrest off first this gives you alot more room to take remove the seat bolts. My son helped me take off the back section. Tomorrow i will soap the air bag down to try and find the air leak. Bruce.

 

[Bensonoid]

My leak was in the pushlock elbow on the top of the bag. Not a good place to bury that type of a fitting IMO.

 

[Ben Burped]

Was all this necessary ?

This is far as I got today on the Spyder. Thankfully I have chain fall setup in my garage. If any of you ever thought about taking off the rear end of your Spyder it really is quite easy. 6 bolts and one ground strap, 2 plug connections, that's about it. Have to take seat off first. Hint on taking seat off. Take backrest off first this gives you alot more room to take remove the seat bolts. My son helped me take off the back section. Tomorrow i will soap the air bag down to try and find the air leak. Bruce.View attachment 161117View attachment 161118View attachment 161117View attachment 161118

Is all this necessary to replace a leaking air bag ? I have seen the airbag when I replaced the rear tire and had the belt cover off and the lower side cover off the other side. It looked like it could have removed at this stage of disassembly. Did you go to this extent of disassembly to be able to see where the leek is before you replace it ? I am proud of you for the courage to tackle this issue.

 

[safecracker]

I always.wanted to remove the back section of the Spyder. It really is quite easy. I will find out more tonight where the leak might be. I hope. Bruce

 

[safecracker]

UPDATE

I found my air leaks. It was not the air bag. First culprit was the check valve, next it is the 90 degree elbow on air bag, then the connector out of air manifold going to the air bag. Will be ordering 2 sections of hose, check valve and both connectors. About $100.00 worth of parts. Bruce

 

[safecracker]

Just completed putting Spyder all back together. Also put on new rear.brakes and a.new tire. I am a happy camper.:yes: Here are the parts I replaced on the air suspension. Bruce

 

[safecracker]

Went out on test ride. I think I did good. Bruce

 

[DGoebel]

Kudo's to you!

Good Job :thumbup: and thanks for the follow-up.
That's an amazing dis assembly and re assembly.

 

[Magnummac]

Possible Air Leak?

I have a 2015 RT Limited with 8500 miles. The air compressor cycles constantly, especially noticeable at a traffic light.
Is this a known factory problem? Is there a better way to troubleshoot the problem without tearing the machine apart?
Is there a likely problem area? Thanks for your input!

 

[larryd]

I have a 2015 RT Limited with 8500 miles. The air compressor cycles constantly, especially noticeable at a traffic light.
Is this a known factory problem? Is there a better way to troubleshoot the problem without tearing the machine apart?
Is there a likely problem area? Thanks for your input!

My 2014 RTS does the exact same thing...Already had 1 new compressor with 22,000 miles...I have NO leaks...I checked the air pressure when I parked it for the night and its within 5 pounds the next morning...

I'm thinking of reworking the air ride system next winter...Going to put a pressure gauge somewhere I can read it...and use the air ride switch to set the pressure I want...and disconnect the automatic leveling control that constantly exhaust the air with every movement of the bike...So basically it will be like the standard RT but I will use the onboard compressor to air it up to the pressure it want, rather than the valve under the seat...

Any RESPONSIBLE comment appreciated...larryd

 

[Bensonoid]

I have the basic RT and I had a leak at the fitting on top of the airbag. I fixed it and installed a gauge. I only lose 1-2 lb a month now if that. Me thinks you have a leak somewhere.

 

[safecracker]

I believe most of the bad air leaks are either from the 90 degree elbow attached to the airbag,(all RT's) and the check valve on the RTS, or RTL. One thing you can do is just unplug the air release solenoid. It is mounted on the frame right above the muffler. This way it will never bleed off air. You would have to use the Schrader valve. You also will have to unplug the ACS, switch.
To get at the 90 degree connector it is a project. You have to remove air bag in order to remove connector. There is only 7 bolts to remove and 2 wire connectors to unplug and 2 screws to remove the whole back end of Spyder. Have to remove seat first. Wish you luck. Bruce

 

[Magnummac]

I believe most of the bad air leaks are either from the 90 degree elbow attached to the airbag,(all RT's) and the check valve on the RTS, or RTL. One thing you can do is just unplug the air release solenoid. It is mounted on the frame right above the muffler. This way it will never bleed off air. You would have to use the Schrader valve. You also will have to unplug the ACS, switch.
To get at the 90 degree connector it is a project. You have to remove air bag in order to remove connector. There is only 7 bolts to remove and 2 wire connectors to unplug and 2 screws to remove the whole back end of Spyder. Have to remove seat first. Wish you luck. Bruce

I ride two up 90% of the time. Is it possible the the system is forever trying to compensate? If so disabling the system would seem to be the correct move.
You indicate disconnecting both the bleed solenoid and the ACS switch. An earlier response indicated, just the bleed valve. Leaving the ACS active risks over inflating?

 

[safecracker]

Yes I believe it would. Bruce

 

[DGoebel]

Bruce, I'm doing this same process tomorrow, Did you happen to keep a parts breakdown of items purchased for the fittings and lines?

 

[safecracker]

No I did not. Let me know what parts you need and I can look them up for you. I will say this, the hose is about 1 meter in length. Bruce

 

[DGoebel]

No Parts needed, check valve stuck open

Safecracker, Thanks to your post I got the gumption up to pull my trunk on my '13, a little different than earlier models but pretty close, troubleshoot all the hoses and connections and darned if the check valve (706000831 ) wasn't stuck open. Air flowed both ways, even though the valve has directional arrow to show the flow path.

Cleaned it and lubed with WD-40, tested it and it held pressure, remounted it and am now impatiently waiting to see if there's any pressure loss.

Thanks Bruce and others for all the How to's, I watched a couple of vids to help as well, referring to Doc's Seat Removal vid,
Ultimate Seat's Seat Removal vid (you never know when someone stresses something you need to see).
I also referred to PJWeimer's post about ACS Rebuild Thanks, and then Grandpot linked to his Youtube Video
Thanks to both of them for their thoughtful sharing that all helped me fix (I think) my leaking ACS.

 

[safecracker]

You are welcome. :yes::yes::yes:

 

[DGoebel]

Follow-up to leaking checkvalve on ACS compressor

24 hrs later and my once leaking ACS / Airbag system is now leak free. It was just the stuck open checkvalve. Cleaning it up and reassembling, hasn't lost a pound of air pressure.

Bruce, aka safecracker, Thank you so much for posting your process, mine ended up costing nothing but time and a little WD-40 to clean the checkvalve.