madmog
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 1,152
Club RR Member Number: 46
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Air ride hose materialmadmog
@madmog
Club Retro Rides Member 46
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How reliable is the plastic pneumatic hose used in some air ride kits? I've got a kit for my Merc and it comes with this stuff. I'm minded to use stainless steel line instead as something I imagine to be more durable. But am I being overly paranoid? The plastic is more flexible and easy to install compared to bending stainless but stainless only has to be done once I guess?
On a related note, what air ride spares do people keep in the car if any? Has anyone had a failure that made them redesign or swear never to be without a spare such and such?
Thanks
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,710
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Air ride hose materialDez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Nylon is actually more durable. Hardlines are susceptible to vibration, nylon will absorb it. Just make sure they’re clipped down appropriately. The fittings grip the nylon better too. Usually the only way nylon fails is down to bad routing, either them rubbing or excess heat.
As for spares, a metre or so of hose, a pipe cutter and a few fittings in appropriate sizes will get you out of most situations. I also carry a couple of schrader fill valves in case of compressor failure, only any good if you have a tyre inflator as well though.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,710
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Air ride hose materialDez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Also bear in mind of anything fails you’ve got to pick the car up off the floor before you can even begin fixing it. This usually means various interestingly shaped bits of wood and a super low entry trolley jack.
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Air ride hose materialfr€$h&m1nt¥
@freshandminty
Club Retro Rides Member 99
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I had plastic pipes on mine and they were pretty reliable once in and fitted. One thing is essential that the cuts are straight and even so when inserted into the clamp connectors the full circumference (right word?) of the pipe is fully within the sealed section.
Get a little hose cutter to cut pipes.
I used to carry the cutter, a few spare connectors, and about 1 metre of pipe with me just in case.
I remember once I had a leak on one of the hoses from tank and it was empty and the compressor was cutting out overheating trying to fill the tank so I had to swap the hose from the tank directly from compressor to solenoid to lift it up enough to get home. Simple enough to sort out but just an example of why spare hose / connectors are worth having for temporary swaps / fixes.
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Ritchie
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 764
Club RR Member Number: 12
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Air ride hose materialRitchie
@ritchie
Club Retro Rides Member 12
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Look for Norgren components, they are the best for all pneumatic stuff. Might be quite expensive though.
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Phil H
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,448
Club RR Member Number: 133
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Air ride hose materialPhil H
@philhoward
Club Retro Rides Member 133
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Norgren, Festo or SMC would work for me.
As above though - use hose cutters rather than a stanley knife or a pair of side cutters..
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Dec 12, 2019 18:31:54 GMT
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Norgren, Festo or SMC would work for me. As above though - use hose cutters rather than a stanley knife or a pair of side cutters.. Ditto I'm a maintenance engineer in a PVC window factory, all our machines are pipes up using nylon pipe, lots of movement and heat involved, air leaks are few and far between
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Dec 12, 2019 20:12:22 GMT
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trucks have been on air brakes and suspension for a very long time, they use the plastic hoses with push fittings, older stuff I've worked on sometimes had olives and inserts in compression fittings.
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Dec 12, 2019 20:42:23 GMT
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those pipe cutters are good, but you can use just snips, using a normal knife just puts a really sharp edge on the pipe and its hard to get into a fitting.
nylon air pipes are extremely good and reliable. I work fitting tipping gears to trucks, and have fitted miles of that pipe. if you want to be a bit ott about it, get some soapy water to check all your fittings arnt leaking.
The connections themselves, can be reused many many times, i have got a 6mm air pipe belt with a female, female fitting on it, ive had this one for maybe 2 years now.
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