Air ride height/5th wheel height?

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by sgreer78, Nov 25, 2008.

  1. Coal Bucket

    Coal Bucket Light Load Member

    179
    74
    Nov 15, 2008
    Charm City
    0
    Well lets see ... Do Not just crank up your ride height.. if you adjust higher than factory specs it will cause an unwanted preload on entire driveline ... as others have stated this WILL cause trans failure and possible u joint as well.... yes 1.5-2" is way more than enough cause damage, if its 1.5-2" higher than spec... when it comes to your fifth wheel , changing the stands is not that hard or expensive to do... I'm not talking about changing the top plate or the track (or the base if non slide) just the stands or risers as some would call... just get model number off of fith wheel and go to mfgr web site to find your height and the height you want... Any reputable dealer should also be able to help.. Changing the stands is not a big labor intense project either, would also be a good time to replace bushings and pins if needed .. if you have an air slide youll need a small grinder, spray lube and basic hand tools, and some time.. I've run into this many times before although my issues were for draft arm to full fender clearance and blocking pin acess.... Don't meen to ramble on but assuming your ride height is correct it will cost you less money long term to fix your prob the right way the first time... Just my opinion .. good luck
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. black_dog106

    black_dog106 Road Train Member

    1,786
    1,664
    Mar 29, 2009
    MA
    0
    Coal bucket........ sounds like good advice to me! by all means, please ramble on..........:yes2557:
     
    Coal Bucket Thanks this.
  4. ER2010

    ER2010 Bobtail Member

    7
    0
    Oct 13, 2010
    USA
    0
    My forward left distance measeures at about 2.5 inches but the rest three of them are all different rear ones about 6 inch, and the drive shaft is not level, its going upwards ??
    Changed the leveling valve and the rod, no help... Its making grinding noise and vibration
    How can I get the drive shaft to level
     
  5. Smalltruck

    Smalltruck Light Load Member

    141
    68
    Jul 3, 2010
    Elko, MN
    0
    If you are at 2.5 inches on the left as directed and everything is is way off you may have other issues. Such as, how are the steer axle springs? Are your drive tires all the same height?
     
  6. PharmPhailPartsReplacer

    PharmPhailPartsReplacer Not to be confused with DinosPartsReplacer

    128
    433
    Sep 7, 2009
    0

    You have serious issues... I would like to see pictures of the truck . Either your pulling our legs, the truck is wrecked or something is broken.
     
  7. ER2010

    ER2010 Bobtail Member

    7
    0
    Oct 13, 2010
    USA
    0
    I dont have pictures, I will try to take some..

    Its been to dozen mechanics and nobody seems to know whats going on, I also had to replace both rear diffs because of it. That was very expensive repair but still didnt fix the problem, so they said vibration must be the tires, got all new rubber and no difference .
    Its making grinding noise under tran I am afraid its gonna damage the transmission.

    I believe it must be the height problem, but per freightliner manual left one measures fine just the rest of them dont Im not sure if they are all supposed to be the same height?
     
  8. Les2

    Les2 Road Train Member

    5,150
    2,288
    Jul 25, 2008
    kicked back in my lazyboy...
    0
    Yes they should be close. I know when you measure it should be on the left front drive. I was told the measurement should be 12 3/4" from the bottom of the frame to the bottom of the bell on the airbag. I got mine set at 12" now and its riding good.

    Should also note that freightliner has a few different airrides. What year is you truck? Does it have one or two leaf springs on the drives?
     
    ER2010 Thanks this.
  9. ER2010

    ER2010 Bobtail Member

    7
    0
    Oct 13, 2010
    USA
    0
     
    Last edited: Oct 14, 2010
  10. Les2

    Les2 Road Train Member

    5,150
    2,288
    Jul 25, 2008
    kicked back in my lazyboy...
    0
    You've probably got the single leaf airride then. I was told on that setup to set it at 12 3/4"s from bottom of frame to bottom of the bell.
     
    ER2010 Thanks this.
  11. ER2010

    ER2010 Bobtail Member

    7
    0
    Oct 13, 2010
    USA
    0
    Yup, it was too high, they just lowered it and it doesnt grind anymore!!! The drive shaft is now level as well :)
    The bad part is, it messed up the clutch and it cant be adjusted it has to be replaced which is about 1200 plus --two big repairs all because the ride was set too high. Will be back on the road next week hope this was the only problem

    Thanks!
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.