Q. Reasons why SKW1000 series wont extend?

[Jose Suayan DDS]

Desperately needing some suggestions on why my SKW1000series wont inlate/ extend. Any suggestions from experienced forum members are greatly appreciated. I have a Benz SUV thats rated at 4900 lbs. with upper and lower A-arms on all 4 corners. Suspension consists of coil overs on back and torsion bars up front. I' ve managed to fabricate custom upper A-arms to make room for the SKW1020 on all 4 wheels which were mounted on the original shock mounts. When the moment of truth came to inflate the SKW' s only the right rear wheel would extend (which worked perfectly and inflated within a second almost to the point of hopping) but the other ones hardly inflated at all. Checked all the airlines and solenoids and let the tank fill to capacity to try each individual corner with full tank pressure. Still the same result, only the right rear SKW extending very well.

My theories as to why this is happening are as follow:
1. Vehicle too heavy for the SKW1020' s (which has a load capacity of 2200lbs per shock and my SUV weighs 4900lbs)
2. Angulation of the shock (none of the shocks were mounted more than 15 degrees off perpendicular)
3. Blocked airline not delivering enough pressure to bags (double checked solenoids, lines, and connections for blocks and leaks, none were found, switched solenoid source to different corners and still only the right rear rises)
4. Benz' s never meant for airbagging (Pneumatik customs in Canada already did a vehicle just like mine, and Im very jealous)
5. Somehow only one of my SKW' s actually work properly and the other ones dont (all 4 SKW' s seem identical)

Any comments on my guesses as to why my SKW' s arent extending are greatly appreciated.
:(

[BAGGEDBIRDS.com]

WE USE THE SKW1000' S AND SKW1020' S ON T-BIRDS AT JUST UNDER 5000 LBS ALSO WITH NO PROBLEMS AFTER 4-5 YEARS. I WOULD START WITH THE BASICS. THE SKW' s SHOULD HAVE COME WITH A SHRADER VALVE, MINE DID. I WOULD PUT THE SHRADER VALVE ON EACH CORNER INDIVDUALLY AND PUMP THEM UP WITH A SHOP COMPRESSOR AND SEE IF THEY ALL LIFT THE SAME THAT WAY. THE WOULD EITHER PROVE OR DIS-PROVE A FLAW ON THAT 1 SKW

Jose,
It makes no sense that one side is rising and the other side is not at all. This tells me that we have a blockage or a kink in the line. I would suggest swapping the fill lines from left to right and see if the problem follows the swap. If it does, then that means you definetly have a blockage or a kinked line. Give me a call and I can go over this with you on the phone, I will also try to reach you this afternoon.

Tony...

[darren@ridetech.com]

I would really like to see some pictures.

[Jose Suayan DDS]

Kindly post instructions on how I can send digital pictures of my set-up.

Thank you for your prompt reply. I am impressed at how promptly your tech support called me to help me with my problem.

[Jose Suayan DDS]

Hello Darren,

Posted some pics of my setup (Project ID 12478). Comments by any experienced forum members are greatly appreciated.

Thank You!:eek:

[darren@ridetech.com]

I wish we could see more Jose. What pressure are you putting to the bag and what size tank do you have?

[Jose Suayan DDS]

I' ve talked to several knowledgable people in the Central Coast Cali area about airbagging regarding my dilemma and these are some of the suggestions they made:

1. getting a bigger air tank and additional compressors. I currently have one 5 gallon tank and one arc7000 compressor which came with the BigRed kit.

2. larger air line (maybe 1/2" ), I now have 3/8" airline which came with the BigRed kit.

3. air compressor with a higher compression rating (greater than 150 psi???)

4. airbags with a greater load capacity. Mine are the 6.5" diam. SKW1000 series. Maybe I need to go with the 8" diam 2000 series?

Everyone seems to be in agreement that the problem lies with the weight of my SUV and the independent suspension (upper and lower a-arms) on all 4 corners. Any comments about these solutions are agreatly appreciated.

[darren@ridetech.com]

What air pressure are you putting to the bags? The only thing that doesn' t make any sense about this whole dilema is the fact that one of them does work. What is different from that one to the one on the other side. Are you letting the compressor recover? 5 gal. should be plenty and the air line won' t make any difference. If 150 psi won' t pick it up, more psi will only be a crutch to the real problem. I wouldn' t suggest going over 120psi for a driving height. Those bag will pick up about 2100 lbs. at 100 psi. So, if you take the weight of the vehicle at that corner and calulate the motion ratio of the lower control arm you should be able to estimate what psi it will take to raise the vehicle. And just to prove to yourself that only one of the shockwaves is functioning properly.... swap sides.