Okay, with the larger piece laying flat, as I lifted the cover off, the first piece was the rubber diaphragm with the nipple towards the cover, then the tin cap, then the spring between the cap and the base! Basically, the spring was pressing on the wrong side of the diaphragm.
Now, here is a long story that is just for entertainment. With the caveat that it may not be that entertaining! So read at your own risk of having wasted 5 minutes and being bored.
For the last four days I had the TM "parts exploded view" opened on my computer of the wheel valve on a separate tab. I typically have 10-20 tabs open on my screen at any given time. On a regular basis I review them and close the ones I no longer need. Kind of using them as a reminder to do things or follow up on a project. I bet I looked at that wheel valve exploded view 200 times over the last 4 days. Yesterday morning I finally decided I didn't need that open on my computer any more. I hadn't planned on driving the truck for a month or so but you know how plans change.
I thought I would be able to rent some space near where we are polishing the floors in our warehouse but to no avail. I now (as previously stated) needed to drive the truck to one of our other buildings 5 miles away. So the other thing I must admit is that I no longer have my CDL license. And the the truck had the license plate in the front window instead of the rear where it belongs. No front plate required in Florida. The truck needed fuel so I stopped at a gas station to fill her up and right as I stopped next to the pump, two motorcycle Highway Patrol Officers (not local police or Sheriffs ) roared right by me. That actually freaked me out a bit they came so close! This so reminded me of my youth driving a 1971 Kenworth W900 and a Talbert RGN lowboy with some not particularly noticeable violation at any given time and encountering the MAN! Things like, being over weight on the rear axles, not have a proper fuel permit, license expired on the truck, over on my logbook hours, being 14 years old by myself only carrying a School Permit! You know, little things.
So, with that encounter out of my way I relaxed a bit and began the process of fueling the truck. About 2 minutes into fueling, guess who pulls up immediately behind me? Like 5 feet from the hook block hanging on the back of my wrecker boom! You got it, a Florida Highway Patrolman in a cruiser. Oh Crap! No plate on the back of the truck and no CDL! So what else can I do but engage the guy with small talk. He makes a few comments about the cost to fill the truck up vs his car, I ask about the longevity of the new patrol cars and solicit his opinion. All the while I reduce the flow of fuel into my truck to the slowest speed, the very first notch on the pump handle! Ahhhh, He finishes well before I do and wishes me a good day, then pulls away from the pump and I give him a nod and wave. Finally, crisis avoided.
Not so fast mister!! As I finish and climb up into the cab, and to my surprise, guess where the officer went? Really? He's parked now right in front of my truck at the curb where the entrance to the convenience store is. And he is sitting in his car! Now what? I sent my wife this text and asked her to say a prayer!
So I climbed back down and decided to waste some time going to the bathroom. I came out and he was still there. Now I'm paranoid he has figured this all out and is just waiting for me to pull out onto the highway and nail me! People are walking around the truck, kids are coming over to look at it, you know the drill. So I decide to go ahead and leave. Whatever happens was meant to be. As I am pulling out of the station driveway onto the main highway my wife calls me. "Have you left yet?" I of course presume she is talking about the sticky situation I am in currently. Nah, she wants me to bring home a vacuum from our warehouse. So I give her the blow by blow up to that point just as you understand it so far from this gibberish. A mile down the road and I see no officer or patrol car, relief, looks like I'm in the clear. Now if I can just get to my other building and park this sucker!
Hold the phone Nurse Jackie!! I'm still on the phone with my wife, 2 miles from my destination and now I have a new emergency. The "
Low Air" light just popped on. I check the gauge and it is reading 40 pounds! And dropping. I shift to a lower gear to bring the revs up hoping that will compensate for whatever is leaking, but to no avail. Well, if you have been following this thread you all know what is going on. The air dryer has a stuck plunger and is venting all the while I am driving. All I can think of now is that the system is going to bleed down far enough that the brakes will lock up right there in the middle of US Highway XXX, 5:00 pm traffic!!! So I am freaking out a bit and tell me wife, (now remember, she just got the blow by blow story about my recent encounters and a little extra about how uncomfortable I am driving at the moment) "I have an emergency, gotta go!" No good bye, no details on why I cut her off. I find out a bit later that I could have shared just a few more details which would have provided a better domestic relationship experience for me later! Note to self, give details next time before hanging up. Hey, I'm 34 years at this relationship stuff. I can still learn a few things!
So as I wait for the truck to either overheat the drums, lock-up in the middle of the road, or get pulled over by my friend, ( I figure with the luck I am having he has to be somewhere around) I decided to drive another half mile to my house where I could work on this new issue. And as you might have guessed, I MADE IT!
Once home, I asked you all about the air dryer and with your help got that fixed. THANK YOU! I then was in the mood and decided to tackle the wheel valves or at least one. So I take apart the first one and it just doesn't look right to me. Can't make sense that the parts are in that order. Eureka! I'll just go look at the exploded view on my computer that has been open for the last four days! Ahh, "insert mild expletive" ( I rarely swear) I closed that tab earlier in the day. It's no longer open on my computer.
GOOD GRIEF!
IT TOOK ME THIRTY MINUTES TO FIND THAT STUPID PAGE AGAIN IN THE TMs!!!
Thanks everyone. And If that wasn't worth the read I offer my humble apologies.
A real man is the kind of man that when your feet hit the floor each morning the devil says Oh Crap, he's up!