way better with the blocks gone. i kept the over load for towing but if i go with bags i gotta dump it. my problem is, i want the inside the frame bags, and i may have a clearance issue with the 5" exhaust. i thought about just throwing blocks in when i tow.
Yeah I may change my exhaust to infront of the tires sooner than later and at that point I will have some bag brackets made to put my bags on the inside as well......
the clearance i speak of is too fit the bags inside the frame rail with 5" exhaust. and i promise, my new trailer is heavier...lol a real race trailer..
I don't understand what you are worried about, the bag has a heat shield to keep the heat away and to prevent the bag from touching the exhaust. On mine, the heat shield almost touched the exhaust, and there is plenty of room between the shield and the bag. The bag does not get wider, it stays the same size(unless you pull it past it's max inflated height, ei: no air in the bag and you pull it apart.)
not sure, but they called me and said they needed to be modified to fit, i was wondering if its because the truck has no rear block at all... i dk, mike said the exhaust would have to be modified heavily to make it fit right.
Here's the install instructions. I know for a fact that the bags will fit between the frame and the exhaust. Now if your worried that that height will play an issue, thats a different story. The minimum height is 3" and the max is 9" there should be enough room to have this mounted with the setup that Mike is running. The diameter is also 8".
Sorry David. They don't fit with 5" exhaust. The upper bracket has major clearance issues with my exhaust.There will be some substantial bracket mods going down.
You think these bags and setup is better than the Air-Lift 5000 setup?
I just got my airlift parts on on Saturday but can get another kit and sell this one if I need to....I like the idea of inside the frame...but seem stability would be better...side to side with them wider...I dunno.
hi i just put firestone bags on my 250 with stock blocks, no overloads, and stock exhaust. i have probably 2.5 inches between the bracket and exhaust, and my kit is for a gooseneck hitch, so i have no idea if anything is different for no gooseneck. i think the main obstacle is the bend in the pipe going over the axle. if it is not as much of a bend as the stock pipe there is no way i could see it fitting. but towing with the bags is sweet, way more stable. hope this hels you out bit
the hole on the bracket is about 2" to the right of the hole on the frame, mike and me threw around the idea of loosening the exhaust and adjusting it...wasnt going to happen.
and before anyone says anything, i know that that was the wrong spacer block to have.
Let know if you want me to mount those up for you Mike ?? I can make what ever we need to do it right !! I'll talk to you tonight when I bring that tank back over.
i called you about it saturday gene..i had to take matters into my own hands. totally modify the exhaust to clear the bag and bracket, then totally modify the lower brackets for the OUO traction bars. but the job is done, they are pretty hidden and the job is really clean. i had to add a small extension of 5" to bring the exhaust back down below the quarter panel, thank god i had an extra piece of 5" stainless and a clamp!! pics to come shortly.
Mike - did you have to modify the airbag brackets or the OUO brackets? I have the same air bags and plan on getting the OUO bars...if they aren't going to be a major PITA to install.
From what mike and me talked about last night, it was to start. Once he got one side down he just replicated on the other.
He'll be swinging by today to pick up a gauge and his bottle of pooky, I'll take a pic later of his custom set up
here's a shot of the exhaust, this is raising it 4 inches to completely go up and over the bag..staying plenty clear.
here's a pic of where i had to notch the bottom bracket to clear the traction bar mount. it didnt need much trimming on the bac side, but up front there was a lot more. the pic didnt rotate, just tilt your head to the left to see it.
the last pic is the setup, and you can see how long of an extension i needed to bring the tailpipe back down to its original location. it was a beeyatch messing with all the angles, but my buddy put all new hangers on and helped me mod the brackets.... now i am very happy.
with 6-8 psi the truck sits exactly like it did before, and rides the exact same, but at 10psi, i can feel the change... kinda like it had more rebound on the highway bumps... so 6psi is where it will stay. i might throw my 2" blocks back in and a leveling kit..see how i like that.
here's a pic of where i had to notch the bottom bracket to clear the traction bar mount. it didnt need much trimming on the bac side, but up front there was a lot more. the pic didnt rotate, just tilt your head to the left to see it.
I think I have a little more room between the airbag brackets and U-bolts/spacers for the springs, but what's the O.D. of the traction bar bracket U-bolts?
I had no problem with mine, with the Firestone mounts or the OUO block mounts.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Ford Power Stroke Nation
2.5M posts
107.3K members
Since 2007
A forum community dedicated to Ford Power Stroke owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about diesel performance, modifications, EGR deletes, troubleshooting, lift kits, tires, wheels, maintenance, and more!