Thanks for the offer Best2Drive. The disks are on 3 1/2. I'll see if I can find something locally before you go through the trouble of sending one across country.

Looking at the angle brackets you fabricated, based on your most recent photos, brings up a few concerns that you may already have considered... but in case anyone else finding this thread in the future follows your fix without first considering a couple of important measurements that might vary on their truck from yours, I'll mention the concerns here anyway.

On the driver's side, I'm concerned about your parking brake / emergency cable, and on the driver's and passenger sides, I'm also concerned about impact shock loading of the frame, near where it might be considered the weakest. Let me explain...

The designed suspension travel is just a little bit under 3" up and 3" down from level, totaling to just under 6" of suspension travel between full jounce and rebound, all while maintaining a relatively consistent pinion angle relationship in the driveline, which is the beauty and purpose of the parallelogram suspension design. Another aspect of this air suspension to consider is the "kneeling" feature, to facilitate easier hook ups... something you might benefit more from given your fully operable tailgate. If there is 3" or less clear space between the top of your add on L bracket and the bottom of your frame flange, or any part of your parking brake cable where it passes inbetween the bottom of the driver's side frame flange and the top of your L bracket, then you may very likely have problems when loaded.

The original frame as manufactured is already challenged in that area as it is, due to the Ford designed cut out in the bottom flange of the frame to provide clearance for the shock absorber. That is one of the reasons why this suspension utilizes a subframe of flanged plate sistered back to back with the frame web to reinforce the frame in that area, because the bags are directly on top of the axle for compact packaging, and as such the loads to the frame are conveyed directly above the axle, (closer to where that shock absorber cut out is) rather than aft of axle in the stock leaf spring or other Z beam air spring designs like the Silent Drive or Reyco's RD1350F.

On one ton pickups with Ride Rite or Air Lift "helper" springs mounted directly above the axle, I've seen cases where the frames crack, and the crack initiates where the cut out is for the shock absorber. The top and bottom of any beam (in this case, our C channel frame) bears the most stress in tension and compression. The vertical frame web in between the horizontal flanges is just to keep the flanges together. The vertical web is considered neutral, and the closer to the center of the vertical web, the more neutral, and the less stress, can be found in that part of the frame.

So it being established that the frame flanges are subject to the greatest stress, and it also being established that the lower frame flange in this critical area has been handicapped in the original frame design by a cut out to clear the shock absorber, which in the factory leaf spring suspension design isn't a problem at all, but in any aftermarket alteration, all things must be considered.... we could have a problem with the upper leg of your angle iron banging against that bottom frame flange in full jounce. Or, with it crushing the outer jacket of your parking brake cable, causing the cable to jam.

Some scenarios to consider... fully loaded, hit a big pot hole. The rear tire drops into the pot hole, and as it hits the cliff to climb out of the pot hole, the upper leg of your angle iron crashes against the parking cable. Depending on how long the rut is, and how quick the auto leveling reaction is, one can even conceive of a situation where when lightly loaded, the auto leveling arm indicator measures greater distance on the side of the axle that dropped into the hole, and just as it opens the valve for auto adjusting air pressure, the tire hits the cliff as you climb out of the hole. It all happens very quickly. If it didn't happen quickly, you'd likely have enough time to avoid the pot hole in the first place. Make certain you have enough clearance so that the actual jounce bumper stops travel before the upper leg of your angle bracket does, in much the same way as those straps behind the airbags stop downward travel before the bag membranes rip.

Ford suggests mechanical chassis clearances be at least 3/4" in spherical zone. So ideally, you'd like to aim for whatever the maximum suspension compression distance is, plus 3/4" for safety. Solely based on the photos, it doesn't appear as if the upper legs of your angle brackets afford that much travel distance/clearance. But since ACTUAL suspension travel distance can vary somewhat from truck to truck, only you can know what the distance is. I can tell you the design spec's, but that is only a reference. If it were as easy as making an upper leg to anchor the other end of the bracket, then Reyco probably wouldn't have flattened the upper mounting flange of those anti roll bar brackets, and instead would have incorporated that type of mounting in the weldment design of the original suspension.

The easiest way to test for contact vs clearance is to utilize the kneeling mode of the suspension. Kneel it fully, and see if any space is left between the upper legs of your angle irons and the frame or parking brake cable. If there is contact, then strongly consider redesigning your mounting scheme. If there is a good amount of clearance, call Reyco back and offer your services as a level (pun intended) headed suspension designer!

 

I will verify this weekend, but the bending of the brackets are what I believe is causing the failure of the sway bar brackets. I will Kneel the back to make sure but looked to me to have the room. I may round the brackets more to confirm with the sway bar brackets as well to make sure I have the room.
If this was the original design to bend the already thin brackets, I would say shame on Reyco for this design and Ford for accepting it.

Thanks for the caution info...
It has been offered-noted that I may want to look at replacing the entire rear suspension system to get away from theses issues and get to something that is supported. Not my preferred option..
I do have a few 3.1/2 USB drives it you wish one..

 

We agree that double bending commercially obtained brackets, which fatigues the metal, is not optimal. But it might be the lesser sin, when compared to an impact with the frame or parking brake cable.

I like your idea about rounding the angle iron. I was going to suggest that, but wanted to wait until you verified that you had an issue first. But now that you've brought up a willingness to trim the bracket, I would suggest substantially trimming them, within 1 or 2mm of the edge of the commercial brackets you bought, and include the diagonal cuts (or round over equivalently, as you said.) Here's why:

Another test that should be done is an offset angular test, where the truck frame is supported by jack stands, high enough for the axle to hang all the way down to the bottom of its suspension travel, (the limit of the limit straps), and then keep going up to leave additional 4" of clear space below the tires to make room for the downward angular sweep of the outermost shoulder of the outermost tire in the dually pair. Note that the frame should be properly and substantially supported, with multiple jack stands, sufficiently rated, on level ground, with the both front tires chocked from in front and from behind if only the back end of the truck is raised. Release the air pressure from the bags. Then use a floor jack under only one side of the hanging rear axle. I'd chose the driver's side, since the clearance is less there. Position the floor jack as near as possible to the wheel end of the driver's side, and raise that half of the rear axle all the way up as high as it will go. If your bracket hits the brake cable, then that must be addressed.

Ford calls for second unit body builders like Fontaine to consider body clearances assuming that the axle is in full jounce on one side of the vehicle, and full rebound on the other side of the vehicle. The angular positioning encroaches more space above the axle the further away from the centroid of the lateral pivot point. Your brackets are much closer to the center than the outermost tires, but still, the wider your brackets are, without cutting off the corners, the higher those corners will approach the frame when the axle is tilted at an angle. Think of maintaining clearances in a spherical zone between two potential collision points, and consider those zones throughout the entire dynamic range of movement, which will not always be level and even.

My guess is that you might find the brackets as currently configured too close for comfort at the extreme possibilities of movement. But it is yet close enough to work that it isn't an obvious slam dunk decision without testing. And with air suspension... full air suspension like you have... one most always plan for a sudden loss of air, not just in both bags, but in just one bag. Running over some freak piece of metal on the highway that turns out to be a samurai sword whose previous owner, now deceased, but whose ghost wanders the earth, was fired from Yokohama or Bridgestone (Japanese tire companies). All right all right I'm entertainingly reaching there... but the point is... to really consider worst case scenarios. Usually one bag fails at a time. These bags have an internal bump stop in them. Consider the durometer of that internal bumpstop. How much will it compress when 5,000 lbs of pin weight drops on it? That kind of thing.

When I raise and support vehicles of this size and weight, I use up to eight (8) jack stands, rated at six (6) tons each. I use up to four (4) long reach floor jacks, and usually use the floor jacks in pairs. On my personal truck, I bolted support cleats for jackstands permanently through existing OEM holes in my truck frame, that I designed (using a combination of tractor parts and Ford parts) to permit pitch angle changes along the length of the truck, to raise or support the front higher than the rear, or vice a versa.

So when I say raise and support the truck, I do not mean cinder block and timber. I'm not assuming that you will use cinder block and timber, but since some people do, I wanted to make sure to disclaim that specfically . I put an excessive amount of care and caution in raising and supporting 12K lbs + trucks, and I'm sure you do the same. Without sufficient tools to do it safely, consider taking the truck to the service bay of a local alignment shop to have the airless offset angular suspension travel evaluation done to check that clearance.

One more thing... those elastomeric stop nuts you used (nylocks)... I would suggest that you consider replacing those with all metal grade C lock nuts or prevailing torque flange nuts on the passenger side (where the exhaust runs). The issue with nylock nuts under a vehicle chassis is that elevated temperatures can soften the nylon or whatever plastic it is that is supposed to provide the resistance of the nut from backing off. When that plastic is exposed to heat, the softening reduces its grip around the threads cut into it, and combined with jiggling vibration typical of a live axle, and the potential "dethread jacking" from thermal cycling, there is more potential for nylocks to lose their torque over time when in proximity to exhaust heat, when compared to all metal options.

 

I purchased an 03 f550 fontaine pickup, just wondering if you ever found your air leak and ever find a source for air bag replacement?

 

Hello: Late to the party here but I thought I would add an Important NOTE to this thread from my experience with these F550's. My sister-in-law bought one of these 2001 F550 Fontaine's brand new here in CA. It had the "Removable Tailgate", which she had ordered. We drove it to many out-of-state Horse Shows with a 9'-6" Lance Camper in the bed and towing a 3 horse slant-load Horse Trailed with a loaded tack room, water & feed. The total rig weight tripped the scales in AZ at just over 26,000 Lbs., on one trip.

This F550 also had the 4.88:1 rear gears and it was wound pretty tight going 75 MPH on the open highway (not in any cities) like from CA to Oklahoma. So, like Best2Drive did, I had Gear Vender in El Cajon, CA install one of their Overdrive units in her F550. On the 200 mile drive back home from El Cajon, I kept noticing the smell of gear oil every time we slowed up or stopped. I thought that they may have overfilled the Gear Vender so, I ignored it. The next weekend, we loaded it up and went to a horse show about 100 miles away from home. That Gear Vender solved the problem of the revving up of the Diesel Engine and made it much quieter inside the cab. But when we pulled into the show grounds, that Gear Vender was so hot that it was smoking and oil was dripping out of it. After the show, we drove home at 50 MPH then unloaded it. That following Monday, I called Gear Vender and spoke with our salesman. He said it was most likely just a seal leaking and nothing more. I said NO, there is something WRONG and asked to speak to the owner of Gear Vender. My number was taken and an hour later the Gear Vender Owner DID call me back. The owner told me that his salesman should NEVER had sold me a Gear Vender for a 7.3 Diesel Truck like ours. He said, behind a 7.3 Diesel Engine there was something that caused pulsing, harmonics or something like that and that their Gear Vender Unit wouldn't last 1500 miles in our F550. He told me to bring the truck back to El Cajon, CA and that they would remove their Gear Vender Unit, re-install all the original F550 parts and drive shaft, refund our money and give us $200 for the Fuel and time we spent to bring it back to them. We appreciated the honesty and the extra $200 as well. My sister-In-Law still has the F550 up in Oregon with only 86,000 miles on it and is ready SELL IT NOW. But, after reading Best2 Drive comments, I thought I should share our negative experience with a Gear Vender Unit in it. Thanks also to Y2KW57 for all the valuable information and knowledge on these. We also had a sway-bar bracket break 2-3 times and, they broke in the same place as yours. Otherwise, a GREAT truck.

In 2008, my Sister-In-Law moved away and took her truck with her so we bought a New F450 Crew Cab Ford Truck. It had a Dual Turbo 6.2 Diesel in it I believe. That truck was much more responsive and more comfortable to ride in. But, the week I brought it home, we put our Lance 9'-6" Lance Camper (which weighed 3400 lbs. loaded) in it and it sagged pretty bad in the back. I had seen Ford's F450 ads on TV where they put a 10,000 lb. block in the bed and it barely settles down at all. So, I called our Ford dealer and asked what the heck was the deal with our truck. He told me that if you watch the Ford TV ad, that that block is placed right behind the cab and forward of the rear axle. He said for me to just buy booster "Air Bags" for it and that would solve the problem. I did buy those Air Bags and it took 100 PSI air just to get the truck level, with the camper in it. Very disappointing! But, it did run good and never gave us any problems until we sold it and the camper, last year. Thanks to all, Lance

 

I've read that the Gear Vendor overdrive units aren't suitable for over a certain weight, meaning that you can run in direct drive for towing & use the extra overdrive for less rpm when not.
I could be interested in buying the truck, but I think it might be out of my price range, I'm in the UK & shipping from the West Coast adds a chunk, then our government wants around 45% of the purchase price & shipping costs in taxes....feel free to PM me about it though.

 

Ok, yes. I think she is asking $22,000 for her F550 truck. It is located in Redmond, Oregon.

 

Thanks, I've tried to send you a PM but you aren't able to receive them as a new member. Perhaps you could email me some more information to robmillward@hotmail.com

 

Just came across this old thread. Thought I'd see if anyone's still running these trucks around.

I have a 2003 F450 4x4 Fontaine Conversion that I've owned since about 2006. It's still in pretty mint condition, with around 127k on it. Runs great and the paint still shines. The Lariat interior is about flawless. I have all the original paperwork, manuals, window sticker, etc for it.

I have been considering purchasing a new truck, but have decided to put some money into this one and do some updates for that "new to me" truck feel instead since I really do like the truck and it has never let me down. It also has the 7.3L in it. I'm doing mainly cosmetic things like a front end update to the 2005 up headlights/grill/bumper, newer style mirrors, Cervini cowl hood, and led marker lights. I'm also going to put a few go-fast parts on it. Not because it's a race truck, but just to feel different and new to me again - and who doesn't want to pull hills faster anyway.

I have a few questions.

1) Has anyone found a replacement air bag for the 345p rear suspension system? The mounting studs on the bottom of the bags have corroded out of the aluminum so the bag is no longer fixed to the axle. They have been that way for some time, but I'd like to replace them.

2) I replaced the original Thomas compressor several years ago, but this one is beginning to get loud. Has anyone upgraded to something more suitable or better quality?

I have more questions, but I'll wait and see if this thread comes alive again. Thanks!

 

Well I have one, thanks to this thread I purchased the truck mentioned by Lance Ryerson, it was one of those trucks that has been on my radar for some time, but always thought I'd never find one. I'm in the UK & there's not another one here. The truck is a one owner low mileage, extremely well maintained vehicle which has now found it's forever home. There's a thread by me about it's journey to the UK in the 7.3 powerstroke section, I absolutely love this truck, it does everything I could want comfortably & capably. The compressor has been replaced on my truck but I don't have the information until I get home at the weekend. Although if it ever needs replacing again I'd probably go for something from "Extreme Outback" https://www.extremeoutback.com
maybe emaybe engine mounted unit......
Here's a couple of pics of the truck, just because....

 

Nice looking truck!! I feel the same about mine, that's why I decided to hang onto it instead of going with a new one.

I don't think I can post pics yet since I'm a new member, but once I can I'll put a couple up. I'll take a look at the compressor you mentioned. I thought about the engine driven stuff but it looks pretty tight with the dual alternators to fit something else.

 

It probably won't fit with dual alternators, they do some high output 12v compressors too, there's also Viair, they have some options with good output, I had one on my F350 that came with my Hornblasters kit, 5 years of regular use & still aired up the tank as good as the day I fitted it.

 

Glad to see someone else found this thread useful. I too bought my truck with confidence after reading here. I’m a new member, still figuring out the works. I’ll try to post pictures. 2004 model lariet. Has the chrome “classic traveler” badge on the back and the fold down tailgate. Previous owners bought it new and had it garage kept. I bought it about 6 months ago with only 65,000 miles. I’ve loved it so far. Bigger truck than I need but again, after reading this thread, I couldn’t pass it up. I have all the paperwork for my ultra ride suspension and the transfer low trax II fuel tank systems if anyone is in need of parts or such. Everything is stock except a few cosmetics that the previous owner added. It also has remote start and a DVD player in the overhead. Anyone know if that was original?

 

I just got a quote and confirmed fitment of the extreme outback unit. Their mounting system does work with dual alternators, but after looking into it a bit more, it's maintenance (grease every 4hrs) and duty cycle (on 5min - off 10min) isn't very impressive. The unit would likely be ideal for an offroader or service truck to air up tires or run some tools here and there, but I don't think it's going to last very long with how often it needs to run at times. I don't have an hour meter on mine, but minutes add up fast. Every time the suspension unloads, the leveling valve releases a bit of air and before you know it, the compressor is running to fill the system for a minute or so. On some roads or highways it comes on pretty often.

The electric ones they sell look about like these....... https://bossairsuspension.com/compre...px07-complete/ ,which I was looking at for an electric option.

I'm eyeing these oasis compressors up at the moment...... https://landmarktools.com/products/o...air-compressor. They seem pretty legit.

Worst case I'll go with another Thomas and rebuild the one in the truck for a spare. I just wanted to go with something solid and not have to worry about it for another 15 years.

 

One fantastic feature that the Fontaine Classic Traveler bed has... that is sorely lacking on all new present day pickup trucks, regardless of brand, is illustrated by the problem presented in the photo below:



If you have a Fontaine, then you already know that you DON'T have the above problem, and won't, no matter what trailer you tow.



As you no doubt know, Reyco-Granning discontinued manufacturing the 345P air suspension system in June of 2003, and over the 18 years since, has distanced themselves of providing any support for it, even removing archived information from their website, which used to remain available for reference, but no longer (as of more than a decade ago).

As Fontaine was the exclusive supplier/reseller, to the extent that any 2004-2006 units had the Reyco Granning... it would be from remaining inventory already manufactured. By the 2004 model year, Fontaine had turned to Link Air Ride suspension.

So any hope of finding a Reyco-Granning part number 25220-01 replacement air bag is fairly non-existent... but the bag itself is an outsourced part, which I believe is still available from various truck air spring vendors who sell Firestone air bags.

The cross referenced part number that you will find this particular air spring listed under is W013588907 . This is an industry air spring SKU, not a RecyoGranning part number.

Because you have an F-450, and not an F-550, and because you have a 2003, which is a year when Ford ran some F-450's with the very first production run of the then brand new Dana S110 AdvanTek axle that would eventually replace the Dana S135 in the F-550's, but prior to that was "tested" in the field by replacing the Dana 80 round tube Salisbury style axle in the F-450s around that time... I'm having some misgivings about saying, yes, go ahead and order the W013588907 air spring... before you measure some reference points on the top and bottom of the spring... where you say the attachment hardware corroded.

As I recall, the air spring itself was the same for the F-450 and the F-550 (despite a ton and a half difference between rear axle ratings... 11,000 lbs vs 13,500 lbs), but obviously there were some hardware differences to attach the parallel arm assemblies to a round tube versus a square tube axle, and I no longer remember the impact of these differences, and if they propagated to any difference in the base of the reversible sleeve bag.

The bag bellows itself is the same regardless... a reversible sleeve Firestone 1T5L-2. But there are several models of air springs that use the 1T5L-2 bellows (eg, W013589447, W013589448, etc). The difference is in the top cap and the bottom base, which dictates mounting and other factors like minimum height, maximum height, maximum diameter when loaded and underinflated, load rating at various pressures, natural response frequency, percent of isolation at designated forced frequencies, and dimensional differences to meet the envelope of space in which the air spring was specified to operate.

Here are some reference diagrams for the aforementioned spring W013588907:







I recommend using the three diagrams above, especially the bottom two diagrams (the top diagram is provided for context and specs) as comparison references as you measure the same distances on the top and bottom caps of your existing air springs.

Any dealer in Firestone commercial truck air springs should be able to order what you need, especially when you have this informational head start in hand to direct them with.



Consider Reyco-Granning's frame mounted updated air supply solution, consisting of a 12vdc pump, two height control valves (for lateral stability when cornering) a built in air dryer, frost proof air lines, and other goodies...