Dry rot around bottom of air spring

MKVIIRIP

MKVIIRIP

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I searched for a while, and didn't find anything about what I have to say.
On that note, some people should name their threads better than "oh lowdy, lowdy hallp me! or save my car!"
I don't think I looked at any of them.

On to the point. I have an OEM second gen front air shock assembly. It is used. I'm uncertain of the age, but it held air, then sat off the vehicle for a few months. It has mild (in my experience) dry rotting around the bottom of the air bladder. It is leaking from there. It drops about an inch the first 30 minutes of sitting with the air ride system off.
Does anyone recommend Spraying some kind of Rubberized Undercoating or any other such product on it?
I know there is the possibility it will hold.
Will it damage the rubber?
It needs to last a minimum of two weeks.
Thanks
 
:shifty::shifty: tire slime? :shifty::shifty:
not recommended as a permanent thing, but a few have used it temporarily.
 
Nothing that you can apply to the outside is going to help. And anything that you put in the inside is likely to damage other parts of the system.

Which side do you need? I have a decent passenger side bag (just the bag, no shock), if you feel adventurous enough to disassemble the shock and replace the bag.
 
Yes, I'm interested. I don't have the $ this moment but soon. Where do i get the seals?
And I'm gonna see about ordering a set of your HID adapters soon.
Oh, it is my passenger front.
 
chris2523 said:
:shifty::shifty: tire slime? :shifty::shifty:
not recommended as a permanent thing, but a few have used it temporarily.
Click to expand...

Yep. It will work. As a temporary band-aid only. I've used it a couple of times to keep the car on the road until I could afford new air shocks.

MKVIIRIP said:
I don't know if it will dry if i put it on the outside
Click to expand...

You don't put it on the outside. You put maybe a couple of ounces in through the solenoid opening. Remove the solenoid, turn the shock upside down, compress it, pour a small amount in the solenoid opening and let the shock extend. It will suck it in through the hole. In my experience, only a couple of ounces is needed. When you're done, thoroughly clean the solenoid housing, and I mean thoroughly! You don't want any of that green stuff getting into your air lines! Then turn the shock right side up and let it sit overnight so all the greenery can settle at the bottom. Once it's there, it will usually eliminate your leakage until you can afford new shocks. And there's pretty much zero danger of the stuff getting into your air lines or other components once it has settled to the bottom of the spring. Since the solenoid is at the top, you'd have to turn the car upside down for the stuff to travel up the spring and get into the solenoid. To be clear, this procedure is NOT a permanent repair option. You WILL have to replace your air shocks. This will just keep you going until you can afford new ones.
 
MKVIIRIP said:
Yes, I'm interested. I don't have the $ this moment but soon. Where do i get the seals?
And I'm gonna see about ordering a set of your HID adapters soon.
Oh, it is my passenger front.
Click to expand...

You can just reuse the o-rings.

Let me know when you're ready and I'll give you a package price, you'll save $5 shipping if I send both at the same time.
 
Does the slime completely dry? If not, then I don't exactly feel comfortable using it.
So nobody has dared to try spraying rubberized undercoating on the outside? I guess it would harden too much and peel away, making my problem worse.
I am going to the marine supply store this weekend, and I'll see if I can find anything there that is friendly to rubber.
I'm seriously considering 3M 5200. that stuff stays flexible, I've sealed many things with it, and its just about impossible to remove once cured.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...0000_nid=833P6DHCV6gsQH8HT14PGTgl503JG3DNJDbl
 
the slime does not dry. it is thick and seeps into the cracks and fills them up. thats how it works in a tire.
i understand you being uneasy. not something i would try except in a dire emergency.
 
I don't really want to slime it if at all avoidable. I have another one on the way, it's just probably about a week out.
I need my car so I think I'm going to try the 5200 on it.
I'll be sure to share how it works, as I have not heard anything on this.
 
Shipped the second one out this morning. It was still holding air as of last week. Extremely sorry about the first one. The p.o. said 2-7 days.
 
Thank you much.
I'd still like to try a few things until then. Who knows, I might even figure something out that works.

I was also considering coating it with a tube of PTFE paste (pipe thread sealant) and then wrapping it with heat-shrink harness tape.
Any ideas on something to wrap it with?
Maybe cut the cuffs off a couple of pairs of rubber gloves and stretch them over it and silicone them on?
Its just temporary.

One problem with the 5200, is that it takes a week to fully cure. They have fast cure 4200, but it hardens more and has different properties.
Does anyone know the required voltage/amperage of the solenoids?
I figure I'll do some off the car testing.
 
Just put 12v to the solenoid to open it. I wouldn't put anything in the bag that hardens... The bag will no longer be able to flex. The only thing that I think would work would be an inner tube patch from inside, but even then, the flex of the bottom roll of the bag will pretty quickly make it fall off. If you were to turn an old bag inside out, you would see a LOT of cracks in the rubber. You don't see them from the outside, but that is why the slime works, it fills all those holes while allowing the bag to flex freely.
 
DieselDan said:
Just put 12v to the solenoid to open it. I wouldn't put anything in the bag that hardens... The bag will no longer be able to flex. The only thing that I think would work would be an inner tube patch from inside, but even then, the flex of the bottom roll of the bag will pretty quickly make it fall off. If you were to turn an old bag inside out, you would see a LOT of cracks in the rubber. You don't see them from the outside, but that is why the slime works, it fills all those holes while allowing the bag to flex freely.
Click to expand...

Well I was planning to apply teflon sealant to the outside, work it into the cracks, then apply 5200 over that (which stays flexible, it Cures, not Hardens) and then wrap that in some kind of stretchy piece of rubber.
My main problem, is that the cracks are on the rounding part of the bottom of the bag. I can't think of a good way to wrap that.
I could drive the car as it is now, but I have a fairly new compressor and I'd shoot myself if I toasted another.
 
Just FYI, this is what the inside of an old bag looks like.

816871d5.jpg
 
So I can theoretically disassemble mine and coat the inside with a sealant? How difficult would that be?
Its a second gen bag
 
Since I now have a good working shock on my car (thank you Micah) I was considering experimenting with fixes on the others. Does anyone have ideas as to how I can simulate the load of the car on it? I don't feel it would be an accurate test if I just inflated the bag and it held air.
 
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