Hi:

I just inherited my late father's '05 Dodge Dakota in June 2013, and even though I've worked on plenty of cars/trucks, the one thing that baffles me is how this air suspension works. I've been on Google for the past 2 hours, but most resources talk about vehicles with an onboard controller / compressor, but this seems to be the manual variety where there are 2 valve stems bolted into the bumper.

Since I didn't understand how it worked and knew my dad to maintain his vehicles well, I just kept it as-is from the day I got it and assumed that there was the proper amount of pressure in it, but then as I happened to be pulling into a gas station driveway last night, I heard a sound that sounded like blowing air into an empty plastic gallon milk jug (very muted; I was surprised I heard it). It bunched up when it was empty, but I put in 25 PSI as a wild guess and it inflated into a straight line (e.g. no bulging/deformities/etc minus the disturbing "milk jug sound"; it is not the apparently more popular convoluted form).

So far the air spring seems to be holding pressure after 18 hours and about 50 miles of driving, not to mention the truck now handles almost as smooth as a Lexus and the steering is very nimble, which has never happened before (especially since I have a bad back and never thought of the air suspension)! Incidentally, I don't have ANY manuals on the air suspension, not to mention the service department of the stealership that installed it refuses to pick up the phone and I've left 2 messages this past week.

With that, I have the following questions:

1. If I am using this as a commuter truck with just me (I weigh 180lbs) inside it most of the time, how much PSI of air should I keep in it?

2. How much should I adjust it if I do have a different load (e.g. from my 120-lb girlfriend all the way up to having 3 of my larger dude friends in the cab, plus or minus hauling a bunch of stuff in the truck bed, towing a trailer, etc.)?

3. Last but not least, if an air spring was allowed to pretty much completely deflate and everything looks fine per the short-term conditions given above but given that noise I heard, do you think it's fine, or should I bring it to be inspected? If so, how hard would it be to inspect it myself, or do you know of anybody in the Los Angeles area that is qualified to inspect it?

Thank you very much for your help.

 

If it's holding air on both sides, it's likely no damage was done. I believe AirLift (who may or may not have made your kit) says to keep at least 10psi in the air bags at all times. I had their inside-the-coil bags on my Jeep and 10psi just barely firmed it up, while 50psi was more than enough for hauling a heavy dirt bike on a hitch carrier or towing a large trailer. I never ran them over 50psi for any reason.

For the most part, I think it's a personal preference thing. The truck will haul a full load without any air bags at all. They just level it out. And if you run too much air in them with no load, the ride will shake the fillings out of your teeth. So experiment a little and see how it feels.

 

I Googled some more after posting this, and yes, it is an Air Lift 59555 (What threw me off in my searches was that the dealer put an "X" in front of the part number...), and further reading is that they put "p.s.i." instead of "PSI" on all documents so it was hard to cross-reference. My dad did have a trailer and I can correctly assume that's why he got them.

I know your Jeep might have different handling/weight characteristics, but what would you say is a recommended amount with no load? Oh and one more question since you have a pic of your truck in a puddle of mud haha (and I'm getting mixed reviews on my searches lol)... Are air lifts a complete no-go for off-road adventures, or is it OK as long as I adjust the air pressure?

 

I don't see any reason it would hinder you off-road, as long as you run the minimum pressure. They might limit axle droop in serious off-road situations, but I'm guessing that's not really what you're talking about.

 

Well, I'm talking about going through the mountains and probably the desert at easy/moderate speeds, no rallies haha. Again, I know that it's as long as minimum pressure is kept I'm fine, but what pressure would you recommend for no load and off-road?

 

Again, it's personal preference. I like my suspension to soak up bumps, rather than launching me through the roof every time I hit one, so I would run minimum pressure.

Maybe start out with 20psi or so and see how it feels, then let some out as necessary? You're definitely not going to need much.

 

Awesome, thank you!

 

No problem. Enjoy your truck.

 

I'm glad you started this thread as my recently purchased '05 has air bags similar to what edwardw818 described and I have no clue as to what make they are or anything else about them.