I have been considering air over leaf myself,not to go low (hell im already there)but to go up when needed.removing too many leaves would not be a good idea.im guessing you want bags to get it all the way down right?the pinion angles and fatigue have already been covered,it really comes down to how low are you gonna go?if you are only lookin for a couple inches why not go blocks?i have heard some mention on here about how bad the cars acclerate too.wheel hop will definitly kill whats left of the springs if too many are removed.my plan was to leave my full leaf packs intact so there would never be an issue.
most link bars are somewhere around 1.5 DOM with a wall thickness of 3/16 tig welded ends for maxium strength mounting tabs are somewhere around 1/4 Polyurethane bushings and zerk fittings keep things properly lubed and squeak free
A "universal" 4 link is perfect to use. Its not hard to do you have to have all the angles right or it will bind.
Zman.. it seems we can tell the stories all day long but some people are not willing to accept experience over idiocy. If some people are willing to go through the expense and hassle of installing a 3 or 4-link then they can do it. I personally trust Air over Leaf to ride daily and even to put my family in. As was stated above if it is done right then it will last as long... no actually longer then a link system. Just look at how many 50+ year old leaf spring cars are out there running around with factory springs in it, now tell me how many link systems are running after 10+ years? Not alot because most people drag through the brackets or tear up joints or even snap the links themselves by puting them in a bind. Fact is athat Air over Leaf is not tacky or ugly and it is durable. Learn it, believe it, or do it your own way but stop putting lies into peoples heads.
My plan is, have air bags in the back so that if I have anyone riding with me I can lift up in the back so I don't drag. I don't need to be able to lay frame or body I just need them back there for a little support when she's feeling heavy. It looks like everyone has got there own opinion on AOB. I didn't want to go 4 link because of cost but the link that NewFalconOwner just through up is pretty cheap. Again I'm going to be having kids in the back on short drives to the grocery store so I don't want anything failing when there with me. I might just go bags when I have the money for four link. I'm guessing those Leafs are a little over 50yrs
Its a great idea to keep from dragging.especially when you have your kids with you.dont remove any leafs if your happy with your ride hieght now and if its a money thing try airlift.they make kits with the whole kaboodle for around 300 bux.they are safe and will be fine,as long as they are installed correctly and your leafs are in good shape,wich if you dont take any out you should be fine.
I will give my .02 here. First off I am not a car builder and have never owned a bagged car. I am bagging my current car though. So think what you will of my opinion. Here's my take after seeing a picture on here of a air over leaf setup with the leaf spring broken in 2 pieces I've decided to 4-link my dodge. That being said I have seen some unsafe 4 link also. any design can be fucked during installation. However four links are designed to handle 5 inch swings of travel for long periods of time. Srping are designed to "spring back" not be forced and held at one extreme or another. If you do secide to do it please don't use 60 year old springs.
lol....really 1990???? funny your 23 years old, so you bagged and linked your s10 when you were 4. im impressed!
I have a 02 silverado that used the leaf springs with the air bag setup i used it everyday to work for about a year the ride was horrible at any height and eventually started cracking the frame at the bag mounts so i had it redone with a 4 link cantilever setup and ive never been happier with my truck, it has now been 3 years of daily driving and still no problems i even tow and carry very heavy loads every now and then. Hit me up if u want to check out the setup i believe were from the same town.
There is "BAG OVER LEAF" and there is a "mono leaf" air ride set up. Bag over leaf is where the air bag is attached to the leaf spring the help support the load of the vehicle and or for towing. Mono leaf set up is where you break down the leaf spring to just one leaf and usually do a bag over axle set up. The mono leaf keeps the axle in the factory place but allows more flexibility. Its a dated way of doing it but is still popular because it keeps the rear end factory specs. And doesn't require you to fab up a 4 or 3 link. And for god sakes people use shocks!!! There is nothing worse than seeing a bagged car or truck going down the road that wont stop bouncing... Hideous!
Coming from the mini truck world, main stream air ride suspension has come along way in the past 10 years. Any thing before that was pretty much hit and miss by the builder. So when Lowmater tn says his s10 been bagged since 1990 on a 4link set up with bag on bar??? He must have invented that shit.
2 and 3 link set ups have been around for many years...4 links have been around since 95 96...let me put it out a little differently my truck has only been built on a link setup started as a 3 link and was redone to a 50/50 4 link bag on axle and now is done as a 4 link bag on bar setup
i mean if the first completely built body drop truck came out laying rockers had to have a different setup than bag on mono leaf...need to be a link setup for sure to lay and be safe
I own a trucking company. We have Air leaf rear suspension. In that instance the leaf is about 25% of the suspension. It s more for locating the axle with the spring. The air bag is the meat and potatoes of the suspension. With out the bag the suspension is useless. If mono springs, or air over leaf is unsafe well the big manufacturers have been doing it all wrong for some 50 years or so. Just my two cents. I firmly believe in 3 or 4 link but dont see how ghetto or stupid air over leaf is. Its a matter of preference.
Let's not compare apples to oranges to prove a point here. This is like saying that since ducati puts 90 engines in their bikes that I can toss one in my wife's '53 sears spaceliner (it's a bicycle) frame and send her down the road and call it safe. I don't think you can compare bag overleaf system that is designed by engineers to someone taking the same concept and making it with old leafs that were designed to be used in packs and throwing air bags on top to hold the weight up. The majority of the air over leaf setups I have seen have been people that pulled out leafs so that they will no longer support the weight of the vehicle and then using airbags to help lift the load. which puts more LOAD on the spring or spring pack that was purposely weakened to drop the car. That just does sit right with me sorry. Not to mention the fact that I'm sure your trucks are not laying fram with the air out and jacked up 6 inches to make then drivable.
So I took another look at my buddies truck and they don't appear to be leaf springs. He's using square tubing. They fit exactly where the leafs use to be. There not welded to the rearend there just bolted on with U bolts. Is this a safe way of doing it? Will the rear move at all? Thanks Adam
sounds like a 2 link.... whats being use to "locate" the rearend? ie. panhard bar, z link, is it welded solid across the links? as long as the thing is setup right and the locating device is done correct they can be very dependable, not the "ideal setup" but can be very very serviceable!
He must have a panhard bar keeping the rear end from moving side to side and a 3rd link to keep the rear end from rolling. This will work fine but when you travel up or down the rear end will shift slightly either left or right. I personally prefer the triangulated 4 link as you get no sideways movement and if you do it correctly, no change in pinion angle.
what? with the lower bars bolted with u bolts to the rearend that keeps the rear from rolling.... you do not need a upper link if you have a 2 link, and unless this upper bar was on the exact same plane and length as the lowers it would cause a binding issue. without seeing pics, id imagine this vehicle has 2x2 bars running from the stock perches and stock axle pads. then ubolted there. the locating device could be anything, but id guess a panhard bar from rearend to the frame rail
No believe the naysays here the bag over leafs are very safe and work well. Had the set up on my '41 Ford tail dragger and I got low as need with a 1 1/2 block at to the mix. The set still on the car after ten years and going strong. Do it the right way with Air Ride Technologies setup. http://www.ridetech.com/catalog/AIRoverLeaf-28-1.html CRUISER
Just got a message back from my buddy. He said the square pipe is actually upside down perches. He has no panhard bar.