just take it to the dealer...

 

thnx HumminNBoatin, that is what I have decided... I am sure replacing the system will fix it. But why swing the big hammer when all you may need is a small one...

I will report back what they say. On another note its been a week since I have seen it happen, so thoughts are if it were a leak I would see it every day (I have even seen it sit for a day and 1/2 with no air loss).

I will see...

Thanks for all the thoughts and advice... I am learning as I go. But I do love my truck

 

It could still be an air bag leak.

The dealer is going to try to get you to replace the $1,600 + compressor. I wouldn't have them do this yet, though it probably would be a good idea to get the flash done so the compressor runs less.

I had the leak down sometimes, in a matter of hours and sometimes not at all problem.

In my experience, if you want to keep the air ride, you need to replace both bags right now. Mine started leaking down randomly. I was pretty sure it was the drivers side air bag, so my mechanic replaced it. The bag was a little cracked on the out side but not bad. When i cut it open it was way worse on the inside.

That helped for about two months, when it started doing it again. My mechanic and i checked the passenger bag with a spray bottle of soapy water. Couldn't find anything. A few days later i decided to check with the soap again, and i found the tiniest leak in the air bag.

Here's my theory, on what happened to mine, and may very well be whats happening on yours. The bag is leaking through the cracks, but because they are very small, when the car is parked just right, they are being sealed by the weight of the vehicle. Other times they are not.

So back to my story. I ordered another bag and replaced it. By the time i got the bag the computer shut down the compressor system completely. It kept showing an overheat code. We had a hell of a time clearing the code.

Since then i've had the system shut down twice even though it's not been leaking. I believe i have a faulty or poorly contacting overheat thermostat (or whatever its called). The compressor shows no sign of actual overheating. It runs strong and does not get hot.
Both times i was able to reset it by unplugging the two connectors going to the compressor, undoing the relay up front and unconnecting the battery for 10 or 15 minutes. For some reason, just unplugging the battery does not reset it. I've been going about 3 weeks now with no problem. If it happens again, i'm going to take the overheat sensor wire and ground it so it does not trip.

So, my recommendation would be to replace both air bags immediately before you put too much stress on the compressor and or sensors.

I would also replace the compressor air filter (it is up under the drivers side fender well. I have not found a replacement for it other then buying the whole line and filter through gm. It's well over a hundred dollars. Typical parts rip off. I made my own, bigger and better filter with some furnace filter fabric and a lawnmower air filter and plenty of tape. Anyone know where to get the little filter by itself? I'm sure it's just an off the shelf part if you just knew what else it fit.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

I am totally with Rotten on the air bags. His story is exactly the same as mine when it comes to them leaking etc....

 

Thanks guys... too cool of you to take the time to assist me... I called the dealer and he said as long as they have been in business they have never replaced the air inlet filter... but I am with you... cant hurt... I may take a look at mine over the weekend and come up with a design that works... you have any pic's of yours? Also I found the bags below, do you think they are worth it? I will replace the bags and the filter (unless its just super clean when I take it out - did you go through the filler hole?)...

see below:
I found this on eBay and I was wondering if the bags were worth the money, or should I only replace with the firestone brand:
95.00 each (2 left out of 8 he started with)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT


Item Description
Rear Suspension Air Bag
Part Number: 15938306
Condition: Original Equipment, 0 Miles, Never Installed







EDIT: Heck with it... he is listing original factory part... cant be all bad... same part number that is going for 185.00 I orderd 2... I am going to hold on the re program and anything else till I get these in...

hope this all goes well... and thanks for your help...

Now how to make a filter
I did find this:
http://www.autoanything.com/shocks-s.../201A4452.aspx

and

http://www.truckchamp.com/suspension...air-suspension

 

No probem'

The filter won't help any with the leaking, but it may help the life of your compressor. Mine was pretty dirty.
Here it is after i cleaned it up.

As i said before, it's not in use now as i have an improvised one on now. I'll try to get a picture of it soon but no promises Work has me snowed under.

I accessed it from underneath the car. Just follow the line going from the compressor to the driver-side fender well.

Those are the OEM air bags so those will just be fine. And i think the OEMs are Firestone. I'm sure someone can chime in here if that is wrong.
The price is good too. About the same as GM parts direct.

 

Thanks man... great pic... so that is the factory filter? can you just remove and clean? and it looks like it un screws right?

thnx for the comment on the bags... I feel better that I decided to get them... and you guys are right I need them any way... after your comment I bet mine are pretty bad... I can see a good amount of dry rot cracks at the bottom fold... just never saw a leak is all. We will see.


EDIT:
Well I am feeling pretty good about just ordering the bags, and good call guys... I parked my Hummer on the street and had passenger side on the curb well that triggered the leak, once I noticed it I ran out and grabbed my bottle of soapy water and sprayed down the passenger side air spring and found this I watched it grow from nothing... till it popped... if it wasnt leaking air... it wouldnt have filled up and popped. Thanks guys for your help.

 

As bad as this sounds i'm glad to see your air bags are leaking! That's an easy fix. The problem sounded so much like the way mine did. I even blamed it on the valves for a while.

On the filter:
Pretty small, as you can see, about the same size as a 35mm roll of film (remember film?) Your correct, it just unscrews. I removed the foam outer, tapped and blew it out. The inner part is a folded paper filter. You can blow it out too. It's just like any other paper filter though, i don't think you can really effectively clean them out. I mean you can blow most of the dust out, but i don't think it's at all like a new filter. I've read that the newer style filter that is ceramic.

Nice find on the air suspension accessories. The newer 2 stage compressor requires a line adapter kit. The parts place wanted $200.00 for that. I would bet you could make your own with that stuff for less then $30.00

 

HA, thanks Rotten... Bags will be here on the 30th... I plan on replacing over the weekend... Guess I will put the frame on jackstands and get a jack under the rear end... Planing on using a razor to deflate the old bags. then I will raise the rear till the bags seat themselves on the axle and I will start it up so it can inflate (all this after I connect the lines of corse)... thats my plan... I will get some pics and update after. May do some paint work while I have it up... I plan on re coating the frame and all this year any way...


thanks

 

Part One of Bag Replace...

OK, So I got the bags today, and they are in fact the same ones on it "Factory"... I jacked up the tuck from the rear end as high as my 3 ton would go (not as high as I would have liked). Then I put jack stands under each side of the frame for support and chock/blocks in front of each tire. I then let the jack down all the way (well till the tires were back on the ground)... then I took my knife to the bags... note the passenger had little air in it (or at least compared to the other it had way less pressure). After which to give me more room I cut the bags in half to give me more access... Now the hard part is really (or at least so far) getting the lines off... Only way I could do this was to push the retaining clip in and turn counter clockwise to take the top of the bag out of the frame... then I used both of my index fingers to hold down the metal ring on the bag where the hose connects to it and it tried to hold the line as well and pull, at one point I could not hold the line and gave a tug anyway and it popped out... If you had a buddy here to hold the line as you pulled the bag it would make short work of this. Once I got them both out I said to myself it’s a great time to clean the frame up and use my Eastwood frame restore kit I had sitting on a shelf So I will continue on tomorrow with shots of the frame clean up... I hope this will benefit someone in the future... But just know it is an easy job over all (So Far).