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Thu Oct 07, 2004 10:28 am

I wanted to test my airshocks (Monroe air adjustable shocks) today and I can not get the bus to lift.

The spring-leaves are removed for the test and even then I can only lift it like 5 mm, thats it. The pressure is 5 bar or 90 psi which should be enough to lift it, I would think.

What pressure are you guys running and how do you get there? What type of compressor are you using?

Thanks for any tips.

Thu Oct 07, 2004 12:05 pm

call me a dumbass, but isn't it the leaves that hold all the weight of a vehicle? The shocks just dampen the travel. You'll need to have the leaves in to test out how a shock handles.

Thu Oct 07, 2004 12:15 pm

yup
LOL

Thu Oct 07, 2004 1:02 pm

You cannot use air shocks (ie; Monroes, etc.) to hold a car up. They still use the springs, leafs, torsion etc to support the weight and add addition lift when air is added. Marv Shaw and FOX both make an air shock that will support a vehicle. Go to SEMA.org I think and look up suppliers of air bags and suspension. This is the aftermarket major trade show and one of the major deals this year is air suspension.
I will be there and looking at a lot of the new air ride suspension components available.
There are these new air bags with shocks in the centers. They have gotten them small enough in diameter where they will basically replace a standard shock and give you 6 to 8 inchs of movement. I want them for a project of mine.

Thu Oct 07, 2004 1:23 pm

I tried it with the leaves installed first, but since I could not get any lift I tried it without the leaves so they would not be working against the air shocks.

But this would not work either...

What could be the reason that the air shocks are not lifting the car?? They do not leak and I can hold 90 psi into them. Any other reason which would explain the non-lifting? Is this pressure not enough?

Do I have the wrong type of air-shocks? What would be better type?

Any other thoughts??

Thu Oct 07, 2004 1:33 pm

My guess is that physics is your answer.

Thu Oct 07, 2004 2:01 pm

Peter - Belgium wrote: I tried it with the leaves installed first, but since I could not get any lift I tried it without the leaves so they would not be working against the air shocks.

But this would not work either...

What could be the reason that the air shocks are not lifting the car?? They do not leak and I can hold 90 psi into them. Any other reason which would explain the non-lifting? Is this pressure not enough?

Do I have the wrong type of air-shocks? What would be better type?

Any other thoughts??

Why stop at 90 psi, keep going to see if they will lift. All a Monroe is a shock with an air bladder around it. Do the shocks still have shock to them when air is put in. If you are looking for a tru air ride the Monroes will not do it for you. They are used here to help hold the rear of a car when towing. In the old days I had them on all of my old pick-ups. Fill them as much as I could to lift the back of the truck and spin the tires and bounce down the rode. If going air, do it right!

just one of 100's on the web

https://erato.safe-order.net/cgi-diaxiscustoms/sto...0589.11422

Thu Oct 07, 2004 2:39 pm

I swear that in addition to lifting my 73 Nova's ass WAY up into the air, my Monroe air shocks gave me some extra horsepower. Ah yes, fond highschool memories...
FYI--I ran 120psi in my shocks when I REALLY wanted to impress my mullet-clad buddies. The suspension was utter crap with those shocks!!

Thu Oct 07, 2004 4:55 pm

billyisme wrote: I swear that in addition to lifting my 73 Nova's ass WAY up into the air, my Monroe air shocks gave me some extra horsepower. Ah yes, fond highschool memories...
FYI--I ran 120psi in my shocks when I REALLY wanted to impress my mullet-clad buddies. The suspension was utter crap with those shocks!!

The suspension on any 73 Nova is utter crap.

Thu Oct 07, 2004 7:49 pm

most air shocks have a max psi of 150-200 so pump them up.

If they wont work with the leaves then they wont work at all.

Even if you do get them to work take a look at the mounting points. I can tell you right now that the lower shock mount is not designed to handle that kinda weight and i wouldnt suggest welding mounts on the arms either.

Thu Oct 07, 2004 10:11 pm

speed holes wrote:
The suspension on any 73 Nova is utter crap.

heheh... :) Thats the truth.

Seriously you should be able to lift the front, even with 90 Psi. If is not doing it, the relation of the shock eye to the trailing arm not enough leverage on the arm for the shock to do any lifting. (geometry is incorrect) The only way to get around that would be to build a lever to fit on the lower shock mount, wich would probably just break the thing and you'd be SOL. Its better to do it right.

Thu Oct 07, 2004 11:33 pm

I will try to get some more pressure and see what it gives.

What I would like to do is to set the adjustable beam with the leaves at its lowest position and pump up the car when I'm hitting the road.
So I just need some suspension travel and 2" would be more then adequate.

It is possible that I have the wrong type of air-shock and that that is the cause of the non-lifting...
Do you know what would be the right type for me to use??

Do you really think the lower support is too weak? If I leave in the leaves it should be no problem even if it ones decides to break the car still sits on the leaves.

Fri Oct 08, 2004 3:54 am

there really isnt a right or wrong airshock, but the rule of thumb is get ones with the biggest bladders you can find.

Might try extending the top mount to make it easier to fit a larger airshock.

Fri Oct 08, 2004 5:40 am

The top mount is already as high up as possible since I mounted the airshock on the narrowed beam I make with my special sideplates. This locates the top of the shock already just below the inner fender plate.

I would prefer to use an airbag, but at the front this creates some problem due to the restricted space. The rear will have an air-bag forsure.

The only thing I could think of is too low pressure. I will try to get up the pressure tonight, but after that I'm out of ideas...

Fri Oct 08, 2004 9:04 am

The suspension on any 73 Nova is utter crap.[/quote]

:lol: This is true!
And my car was WAY low budget, so imagine how that old pos stock suspension felt with maxed-out air shocks forcing the rear into the air.

Fri Oct 08, 2004 11:41 pm

shit.....those air shox wont lift a bug rear end, let alone a bus. Believe me, I tried. One thing I noticed was this, lift the car in the air with a floor jack, Fill the air shocks, then lower it to the ground. After the initial drive to set the torsions, you will notice it is signifacantly higher. Kinda defeats the quick adjustment purpose though.

Air shocx are not designed for this kind of use

Sat Oct 09, 2004 5:12 pm

I guarantee that bottom shock stud will break. Just wait until you see how fun that is.

I had one go back in the day when I was running 2top & 2bottom leaf springs on my very first bus. I was so dumb back then that I thought the suspension was just stiff. I was actually riding on bottomed out shocks so yeah the ride sucked but I could corner like an Indy car :lol: