Sagging on one side

[Mike Gineris]

1999 Contessa Naples with Magnum Chassis. After setting overnight the drivers side drops a couple inches. Air bag leak? What could it be?

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Mike,
The bags are pretty robust. More likely a leaking air line connection. Soapy water spray on the connections and lines is about th only way to find it.
Steve

[Mike Gineris]

Perfect. I will get on it. Thanks!

[Will Hansen]

Inspect the bags too. If cords are showing, spray those areas of the bags also. Bags are tough but some failures start to show up as pin-hole leaks at those deteriorating areas. And, sometimes, no matter where the leak is, you may be able to hear it.  My summer project has been replacing air bags. I have some photos of inside and outside a bag I just cut open. I’ll post ASAP.
-Will

[Mike Gineris]

Will get to looking this weekend.  Hopefully the bags are OK.  Pictures would help a lot!

[Eric Maclean]

Mike
Don't forget to check the ride height valve for that side I've had two of them leak where the fittings going into the body of the valve where leaking.
 there is a metal piece which the fitting screws into, this metal piece is held into the plastic body by roll pins pushed into wholes in the body the roll pins engadge a grove in the metal piece to hold it in this allows the metal piece to rotate in the plastic body I assume so you can't over torque the plastic body .
If this is where your leak is you can remove the valve and on the frame side of the valve you will see small rubber balls pushed into cavities in the body using a pick they will come out and from the other end the roll pin can be pushed out of the cavity this will allow the metal fitting to come out of the body and expose the inner portion of the valve there are "O" rings on the metal piece and if the metal isn't too badly corroded a good cleaning and new rings may fix the leak .
If not a new halidex valve is in order.
Hope this helps
Eric

[Mike Gineris]

Thanks for the detail! Where is this valve? I imagine our coaches are similar

[Eric Maclean]

There are two valves for the rear air bags one for the right side and one for the left side they are mounted on the in side of the frame rails just ahead of the rear axle and have control rod that connects from a lever on the valve down to the axle.
Hope this helps
Eric

[Eric Maclean]

Mike
For your  ride height the air lines run from the air tanks on the pass side up to the cross member above the transmission under the door ahead of the bed area where there are two air pressure regulators mounted one for the front suspension and one for the rear suspension from there the one air line heads forward through the frame to the front suspension the other one goes to the rear ride height valve and from there to their respective air bags.
Hope this helps
Eric

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Mike,
This thread is long but has a good explanation of the ride height leveling system and pictures.
http://beaveramb.org/forum/index.php/topic,4844.msg36253.html#msg36253
Steve

[David T. Richelderfer]

Just wondering here...  Mike, does your coach have auto air leveling and auto hold level?  If it has auto hold level, then your coach should have an auxiliary air compressor to keep the air pressure up for the auto air leveling when the engine is not running.

[Mike Gineris]

I have no idea about auto leveling. Went in to rebuild the wall from water damage and decided to replace the carpet and hardwood floor and wallpaper which then required the cabinets be removed. My plate is overflowing

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Mike's Contessa does not have auto leveling. It rides on air bags but leveling when parked is via jacks.

Mike, You mentioned that the coach sags overnight. If you didn't level it with the leveling system, it's the air system as the coach is resting on the air bags. If you leveled it with the leveling system, it could be a jack that is failing. I think the 99 is the same as the 01. The jacks sit on the axles to level. If you are not comfortable working under the coach I'd recommend having it looked at by a qualified shop. If you do want to work on the height adjustment, be sure you use a jack or stout wooden blocks to brace the coach up as a slip on the adjustor can cause the coach drop to it's lowest point and crush anything in its path.
Steve

[Mike Gineris]

No problem fixing things. It’s not the jacks. Got to check the bags, fittings and lines.