Why does everyones deuce leak air pressure?

[swbradley1]

"the Internet"!

And we all know what Ben Franklin said about the Internet..............

 

[135gmc]

If you could see an air leak (like you can see a water leak), it would be a lot easier.... Most of your air leakage is probably from the air compressor / unloader, but check the gladhands - lick your thumb and "seal" the gladhand, and see if you build up any presure. Do the same with the air tank drains. Other than that, use pipe joint compound on every joint you make, but avoid teflon tape - bits of teflon tape don't do an air pac any good.

 

[doghead]

Most of the air lines are copper and flared. No need for sealant.

 

[1stSarge]

Replaced the gladhand rubber and the windshield wiper lines…my problem fixed. They were rubber, so I replaced them.

 

[F18hornetM]

Not sure how this thread got into water cooled turbos, but a quick walk around the yard and here is what I found. Of course this was a quick look, so not set in stone.

Cat 3116, 3126 and C7 do not have coolant cooled turbos
Powerstroke 7.3, and 6.0 are not coolant cooled turbos
Powerstroke 6.4 has turbo acuator coolant cooled as well as fuel is coolant cooled
Powerstroke 6.7...not sure..
International DT466, and Maxxforce. not coolant cooled
The duramx is coolant cooled
Of the engines here, the only one I can find that is coolant cooled is the duramax.

As far as DOT inspections, my shop is 2 miles from the scales, and they check our fleet alot. If you can hear the leak or find with soapy water fix it, if not, dont sweat it.
Happy motoring!

 

[Mass Ownage]

I just added new ball valves to the rear air lines (glad hands were removed and replaced with airtool coupling since I dont use a trailer). Still leaks air from somewhere but it take a couple days to completely bleed out now.

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Note to self: Pick up a spray bottle and a bottle of Dawn dish soap.

Even then I can't find the SOB...... I can hear a high pitched low volume whine but **** if I can find it.... Mine sounds like it's right behind the battery compartment I've sprayed everywhere around there except on the batteries..... I don't need more excitement...

 

[quickfarms]

It is not uncommon for the air system to leak down overnight.

When you do your pre trip you are supposed to do the static applied test to check for leaks

 

[Rustygears]

Even then I can't find the SOB...... I can hear a high pitched low volume whine but **** if I can find it.... Mine sounds like it's right behind the battery compartment I've sprayed everywhere around there except on the batteries..... I don't need more excitement...

I see in your sig you have an A3. Lucky you, welcome to the king of air leaks. On an A3, the most common point for leakage on recovered trucks is the little air regulator used for the air assist steering system. This dumb thing is failed and leaking in many trucks. Check the posts on this site. It is located on the right side near the steering pitman arm INSIDE the U channel frame on the left sde. Second big culprit is the air assist steering drag link itself. Again, lots of posts on howto fix. Third culprit is a messed up air dryer, located underneath, midship on left side. It gets gummed up because it cycles too often when the air assist regulator is leaking. Easy overhaul and fix - takes an hour. This failure in turn puts oil, water and general snot into the air system, causing the CTIS to gum up and fail as well as the air assist steering drag link to corrode/rust and leak air.

The air system on an A3 is like a house of cards. Work through the above items first. Then start looking for loose fittings. I found the flare fitting on the copper line leading from the compressor that transitions to plastic tubing before the air dryer was loose and leaky. With the other problems fixed and that fitting tightened, my A3 holds over 60 psi for a couple days. Good enough for me!

 

[m16ty]

Most of the air lines are copper and flared. No need for sealant.

There's no telling how many times I've took off a flare or compression fitting and find that somebody has applied sealant. Does more harm than good.

 

[overlordofmars]

its that crappy Chinese Teflon, just does not seal, NO really, most of the time its the valves in the compressor leaking back, install a check valve.

 

[1 Patriot-of-many]

I see in your sig you have an A3. Lucky you, welcome to the king of air leaks. On an A3, the most common point for leakage on recovered trucks is the little air regulator used for the air assist steering system. This dumb thing is failed and leaking in many trucks. Check the posts on this site. It is located on the right side near the steering pitman arm INSIDE the U channel frame on the left sde. Second big culprit is the air assist steering drag link itself. Again, lots of posts on howto fix. Third culprit is a messed up air dryer, located underneath, midship on left side. It gets gummed up because it cycles too often when the air assist regulator is leaking. Easy overhaul and fix - takes an hour. This failure in turn puts oil, water and general snot into the air system, causing the CTIS to gum up and fail as well as the air assist steering drag link to corrode/rust and leak air.

The air system on an A3 is like a house of cards. Work through the above items first. Then start looking for loose fittings. I found the flare fitting on the copper line leading from the compressor that transitions to plastic tubing before the air dryer was loose and leaky. With the other problems fixed and that fitting tightened, my A3 holds over 60 psi for a couple days. Good enough for me!

Neither of those are where mine is coming from. Right around the right airpack on the right side is where mine is, but ****ed if I can locate it.