Journey rear air spring (bag)

[Ed O.]

Hello,

I have an 04 Journey and today when I got back from a trip I noticed a hissing sound coming from the rear wheels. I climbed under with a flashlight and noticed the air coming out of the top of the passenger side air bag spring. It was doing that for more than an hour then stopped. After I started it up and moved it to my RV pad and shut it down I went back and didn't hear anymore air hissing. Is this common or where and how does the air get released? Thanks.

[SteveG]

Ed.O I don't have enough "Air" experience to assist you but I have found FreightLiner helpful for these types of concerns. 800-385-4357. It would be interesting to hear what you find out. SteveG

[Ed O.]

Thanks,

I spoke to someone from Olympic Truck close by and there shouldn't be any air leaking through the top of the air bag.

I will take it in next week and let you know. I have the exact same rig as you.

[bellsharbor]

It sounds like the air bag did not seat properly. I had that happen on my last coach, on a Freightliner Chassis. I had to use the jacks to get a stuck bag to re-seat and it worked fine after that. I had no idea what I was doing but it seemed to work! Good luck and let us know how you do.

John

[Don G]

Maybe its the suspension letting air out to level?

[Ed O.]

I did take my coach in today. They inspected everything with the rear air bag suspension and couln't find any air leaking out. I think if there was a failure it would still be leaking. Not sure what else to think. Thanks all.

[Greg Spannan]

Hey Ed, I saw your post. I have an 05 Journey. They have Neway suspensions usign Firestone Airsprings. I was a development engineer at Firestone in Noblesville Indiana (they are no longer made there, I believe they moved to TN). Anyway, you have Neways 1T15K1's on the frone and 1T15K2's on the rear. These airsprings have an aluminum pistons on the bottom and the tops are crimped plates. They are a rolling T style. A better ride than bellows type. I suspect the hissing sound you heard came from the leveling valve. They have a three second delay. So when you go over the bumb or pothole they do not give a knee jerk reaction. They use a silicone fluid to slow down the action. If you load or unload the coach with significant weight they will adjust the ride height. I work with Tom Carpenter in Noblesville, he did all the initial Ride Rite designs. I worked on the molds for those units. Every airspring was leak check using 8% nitrous oxide in a cabinet with a sniffer that detected leaks. Those airsprings are very durable even though the cord is only .035" diameter. I know I'm a little late but if you need info on this suspension, just contact me. I know all about them. I went to Gaffney last year to see Freightliner build the chassis- worth the trip.
Regards,
Greg Spannan
spanny1212@concast.net