Ive tried everything teflon tape, paste, combinations. No matter what I do, I leave my car in the garage for 2 days and I have no pressure left in my tanks when I wanna take it out. Anybody come up with anything that keeps a good seal fo longer then a few weeks?
I've got the same problem. I used soapy water to track down all my leaks at my fittings, but I think I'm losing a little at one of my bag fittings. It seems to me that the compression fittings seal better than the Prestoloks (push in). They also make pipe dope for br*** fittings which I'll try instead of tape if I ever take the system apart. Bryan
The compression fittings work better than the push to locks. I'm still tracking down my air leaks. Also remember that the more you take apart the push to lock fittings the less air tight they become. I typically lose about 10 psi over night. When I drive my truck regularly I leave it all the way up over night. This way I can lower the truck to a drivable setting and let the compressor fill the tank while I drive down the road.
you could be losing air back through the compressor & barometric pressure can cause it to loose pressure too.
After you find your leaks you can use good quality teflon paste like Masters and then wrap the thread with 2 wraps of good quality tape like Petro-Tape Do not over tighten. Most smaller threads are 2 turns hand tight then 3-4 to make up. Over tightening squeezes all the good out and streaches the box ends. Different brand of fittings have different tolerances. I work with pressures up to 20k psig and the hardest to seal sometimes is the cheap fittings that you are trying to get to seal with water and air pressure. I have had m***ive leaks messing with the pump to the well in my house. I like to blame the offshore fittings from the hardware store. Br*** fittings are soft and seal well. Some people will tell you that a sealant is not needed with br***. It will not hurt to use some sealant.
Had similar small leaks with mine too,usually over 2 days+.I also used soap/water to source(aired up system @ max pressures as well as normal ride pressures) and fixed seals as needed.I also found br***/pipe dpoe to work best.Also found push connect fittings(though quick/easy) to leak if disturbed more than coupl times.
First of all make sure that all of the fittings you use are DOT, whether they are compression or push to connect. I like to use the Weatherhead push to connect because they are faster and easier to deal with and if you use a good fitting it wont leak. But if you do have to pull the airline out of a push to connect fitting, cut the end of the airline off before you reconnect it. To seal the threads wrap the fitting 3-4 times with good teflon tape then put a dab of permatex or loc***e liquid thread sealant over the tape. then as everybody else said, make sure you dont overtighten. If you still cant find a leak in the air supply then check that air is not leaking back through the head of the compressor. You can drain the tank and pull the leader hose off of your compressor and blow through the opposite way to test the inline check valve. Those do tend to go bad from time to time. We do alot of air-ride jobs at our shop and other than check valves going bad, the vehicles hardly ever have leaks. Another thing you could check if the fittings arent where the leak is coming from, is your fill valve(s), that is another problem, especially with cheap valves. I always use SMC valves and I have never had a single problem. One thing I like to do as a precaution, is to put check valves before each of the fill valves so that if something were to happen to your air supply the vehicle wouldnt drop do to lack of back pressure. That would also keep your car up over night so that you wouldnt have to wait to drive until you fix all of the leaks. Sorry for the novel I just keep thinking of more things.
I use stainless AN fittings and flared aluminum line on customers stuff. not only does it look super trick, but I can honestly say I haven't had a "leaker" yet. only downside is you have to adel clamp the aluminum line every 10 inches or so- or it will rattle and make you want to pull your hair out.
i have yet to get my ride completly air tight, but a few friends of mine have been using the an style barb fittings with the blue high pressure fuel line. its expensive to do but they seem to be not having any problems and the line is super flexible and allows you to run it tighter along the frame and make a neater job rather than the plastic line. hope this helps
Temperature will also affect PSI Example 12 gal tank 200PSI 70F 85.71PSI at 30F 50F when filled and 40F out at night will drop from 200PSI to 160PSI and if anyone cares this is the formula V1*T1=V2*T2 or (V1*T1)/T2=V2 On my daily driver, I use Parker DOT compression fittings on the airbag lines, and Parker PTC with Sealock for the gauges. I also use yellow teflon tape and I can leave it aired up for 1 week without any leaks.
This may not actually be helpful, but, IIRC, teflon tape is not a sealant. It's just a lubricant. Unfortunately, I don't recall what you're supposed to use to seal them (see, I'm not helpful) but plumbers pipe dope seems to ring a bell.
If you do not have a check valve between your compressor and tank,it will leak out through the compressor.
presto fittings ****, I just recently help a friend of mine change out a cruddy line instal on a unfinished project he had...bottom line its attention to detail, not overtightening and yellow tape that made my system leaktight, I'm not running a one way valve and my system will hold steady pressure for 18 days (thats the longest its ever not been driven) to qualify this I left my comp override switch on (so the pressure switch would turn it on if need be) and hooked a hour meter up to the comp...left it for two weeks (wilst away on business) and came back with a fat 0 on the hour guage and a full system of air...
make everything hardlines and use A/N fittings steel or aluminum and make sure your flares are all even.
a couple of things,your air lines need to be cut square as can be ,lock tight makes the BEST pipe thred sealant,preslocks work fine make sure there pressed al the way IN sometimes youll think there all the way in BUT there not that line should go in about 1/2'' one more thing why you guys (rustypipes to)park yer cars aired upi thougt we bag our cars so when we park them we air em out?
I just put a br*** ball valves directly on each one of my bags a while ago so the wouldn't go flat during winter storage. It has held for 8 weeks now just fine. Got them Lowe's for like $2.50 a piece.
Cut the lines square and the rest cant get any easier. I only used Parker PTC fittings and never had a leak on either of my old trucks in 2 years.
Yes, I use loc***e and I probably loose 10 lbs. a week in the tank. I also use 5 check valves and 8 solenoids so there are a lot of connections. From the solenoids to the bags I use a hydraulic line with flared fittings,
I'm pretty sure that's the problem...it leaks super slow out of one side only. The thin razor blades don't cut the DOT line very well...they tend to wander and make uneven cuts. hahaha...no ****! Bryan
what kind of tanks are you guys using? I hear a lot of the chrome tanks leak. I have the chrome tank in my ride right now. We actually ran a tap through the holes again, when you chrome it, the chrome sometimes affects your seal (so I've heard) I haven't had any problems at all. I hate the push in connectors. I only have those as a backup in case of any emergencies.
sheeeit, i usually park at ride height unless i have a reason, then when someone comments on how low it sits, i dump the air.
yes lay it out...as for tank PSI are you using a check valve at the pump? mine would leak out the pump with a cheap check valve i use Parker check valves now with no issues.....
My 48 doesn't leak out of the press fit fittings. It was good for about 8 years. It leaks out of the paddle switches now. I gotta replace them. I guess they just got worn from use. Clark
I have used scuba tanks on two of my previous rides.You can by them used from a dive shop without the gauges and ****.You can go to napa or lowes and get reducer fittings.
No I do lay it out when its parked in the garage. But when Im ready to take it out I start her up flip the swith and "click" no air left in the tanks and then I have to wait for the s.o.b. to fill up so I can get it up high enough to move on to the driveway. Thanks for all the reccomendations Im definetley going to try them all and see, The loc***e is somthin Ive never tried, Probally wont ruin all my clothes like that plumbers paste stuff has, Thanks again everyone
i have a probublum similar to this thread. Any help would be great. my air was leaking from my tank. Pretty much draining the whole tank over night. i had a check valve but it was a ****py one, and it was right on the compressor. I think the heat effected it. So i went and bought a 2000 psi parker check valve. (best one i could find). I then installed it closer to the tank. But now i am still loosing air back through the compressor. I did the soap and water test and thats the only leak i can find.
Do you have plastic line? Is it ****ed up directly to the compressor? If so,the compressor will get hot and warp the line causing a leak.Use some hard line from the compressor,then change to plastic.
The Jalopy Journal
