Info & Update to air suspension test tool
#1
06-14-2016, 01:13 PM
Info & Update to air suspension test tool
An enterprising forum member (John Turbeville) who is suffering from the air suspension woes that plague many of us tracked down an old post from a couple of years back where I had fabricated a pressure testing rig for the front shocks out of readily available pipe fittings, adaptors, gauges, etc. He asked if I had ever put together one for the rear shocks as they have a different size airline and fitting. If I did it has long since found its way into a dark corner in one of my 3 storage sheds and I couldn’t find it.
Since I had subsequently given up the fight and swapped the air suspension for a set of coil-overs, I still had laying around the 4 shocks I had removed (I’m a packrat so sue me) and I took the factory fitting out of the one blown rear shock to see what I could figure out. Now we’re dealing here with an alien species of metric fitting and some variation on British thread pitches etc., it’s not very likely you’ll find what you’ll need in the shrink wrap aisle at your local Walmart.
I looked online at a couple of British websites with no real luck as the descriptions weren’t good enough to convince me what they had would work. I checked several local supply houses to see what might be available but that didn’t pan out either as the fitting from the rear shocks is a very small piece with an 8mm 1.0 thread pitch/size that is for a slip through pressure line sealed by a small press fit brass collar from the inside.
On a hunch I went to the local NAPA store as they also custom make high pressure HVAC and hydraulic hoses thinking perhaps they could fabricate something or lead me in the right direction. Their tech, who matriculated through the same 60’s car wars that I did, took what I had and disappeared into his cave for about ten minutes and returned with two small parts. When attached to the tester I built 2 years ago year and then attached to the fitting from the rear shock I salvaged I had a working tester that could be used (with a couple of parts swaps) on both the front and rear shocks to test them for leaks.
Here’s the link to my older post from 7/2013 describing what I made with pictures and parts #’s if you want to make your own and below are the two new parts, which are both Gates pieces, with the following descriptions and NAPA part#’s.
Link for 2013 post: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/g...90/#post772872
New parts required for rear shocks: G31100-25023/8” pipe coupling & G60631-0202 slip-fit adaptor
With those and a short piece of the appropriate sized and type of 1/8” pressure hose as well as the fitting from the top of a blown shock you can make a tester of your own.
OR
You can message forum member John Tuberville and he’ll happily send the one I’m sending him to the next member in line for a nominal fee to cover his investment just as I have done with him.
Hope this helps someone else.
Since I had subsequently given up the fight and swapped the air suspension for a set of coil-overs, I still had laying around the 4 shocks I had removed (I’m a packrat so sue me) and I took the factory fitting out of the one blown rear shock to see what I could figure out. Now we’re dealing here with an alien species of metric fitting and some variation on British thread pitches etc., it’s not very likely you’ll find what you’ll need in the shrink wrap aisle at your local Walmart.
I looked online at a couple of British websites with no real luck as the descriptions weren’t good enough to convince me what they had would work. I checked several local supply houses to see what might be available but that didn’t pan out either as the fitting from the rear shocks is a very small piece with an 8mm 1.0 thread pitch/size that is for a slip through pressure line sealed by a small press fit brass collar from the inside.
On a hunch I went to the local NAPA store as they also custom make high pressure HVAC and hydraulic hoses thinking perhaps they could fabricate something or lead me in the right direction. Their tech, who matriculated through the same 60’s car wars that I did, took what I had and disappeared into his cave for about ten minutes and returned with two small parts. When attached to the tester I built 2 years ago year and then attached to the fitting from the rear shock I salvaged I had a working tester that could be used (with a couple of parts swaps) on both the front and rear shocks to test them for leaks.
Here’s the link to my older post from 7/2013 describing what I made with pictures and parts #’s if you want to make your own and below are the two new parts, which are both Gates pieces, with the following descriptions and NAPA part#’s.
Link for 2013 post: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/g...90/#post772872
New parts required for rear shocks: G31100-25023/8” pipe coupling & G60631-0202 slip-fit adaptor
With those and a short piece of the appropriate sized and type of 1/8” pressure hose as well as the fitting from the top of a blown shock you can make a tester of your own.
OR
You can message forum member John Tuberville and he’ll happily send the one I’m sending him to the next member in line for a nominal fee to cover his investment just as I have done with him.
Hope this helps someone else.