# How do you protect your air ride components during the winter?



## Clean PG (May 9, 2005)

Just wondering what everyone does to protect some of their exterior air ride parts from the harsh conditions some of us experience during winter.

I began the process of putting the car in winter-mode today and here are 2 things ive done. Next up is to throw some air brake antifreeze in my tank. If anyone has other things feel free to post them :thumbup:

- Cover bags with thick plastic to protect from salt on the roads









- Cover air lines with wire loom to keep snow/slush/ice off the lines themselves (available at most hardware stores and it's sold in a variety of sizes: 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", etc)


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## Niagara_V_Dub (Sep 25, 2007)

I dig the wire loom idea. Might do that year round just for rubbing protection. For the bags, not sure how long that will last before it gets a hole. Then once it does it could be counterproductive. It could hold in the salt laden water against the bag and metal. Just a though.


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## Clean PG (May 9, 2005)

yeah i will have to check the plastic covering the bags from time to time. the last few years i had coilovers i did the same thing and they never ripped. but coils travel much less than bags do, so we'll see.


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## sum41kid861 (Oct 30, 2006)

i get under carriage washes at my local awesome car wash...so im good on that...but good idea on the wire loom! :beer:


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## Slamtastic (Jul 24, 2010)

I put my lines through rubber hose wherever they are exposed. I do this year round.

I also have 3 water traps. 1 between comp and tank and 2 between tank and mani.

I honestly wouldn't worry about the bags. Semis have bags that are made of the exact same material (a bit thicker to support the weight) and they get through hundreds of thousands of miles through some of the worst conditions you can find and they hold up fine. I agree with Niagra_V_dub with the fact that more salt can get in and stay against the bag and possibly cause more damage.

Regular car washes and a bit of methanol is good for me. :thumbup:


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## blue bags (Jul 1, 2009)

ive never done anything different other than airbrake antifreeze in the tank and ive never had any issues, and ive put quite alot of winter miles on it over the past few years. covering the airlines isnt a bad idea, but they are made to handle quite alot so if your confident in your mounting they should be fine either way. 

I def wouldnt cover the bags like that, itll probably cause more harm than good, small hole, then it will end up holding bad things in up against the bags. the components we use in our cars arent really different than whats in trucks that drive cross country all year round.(edit* didnt see the above post, but yea, what he said :laugh


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## sum41kid861 (Oct 30, 2006)

how much antifreeze do you guys dump in the tank?

this is going to be my first winter with bags.

and would spraying some sort of lube/protectant/repellant on the bags help any?


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## Slamtastic (Jul 24, 2010)

sum41kid861 said:


> how much antifreeze do you guys dump in the tank?
> 
> this is going to be my first winter with bags.
> 
> and would spraying some sort of lube/protectant/repellant on the bags help any?


About 1-2 tablespoons in the tank.

I personally wouldn't spray anything on the bags, they are made to handle crappy weather.


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## ALRDesign (Nov 5, 2008)

dubbin18 said:


> About 1-2 tablespoons in the tank.
> 
> *I personally wouldn't spray anything on the bags, they are made to handle crappy weather.*


:thumbup:

I went to CVS and bought one of those syringes that people use to give babies medicine and used that to shoot the anti freeze into the tank. No mess! :laugh:


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## kilimats (Mar 5, 2006)

the wire loom should be there all year around for rubbing protection agreed but that plastic cover idea is flawed, do truck use any kind of proctection on their bags while cruising around the country ? nope 

leave the bag alone, let him breath :beer:


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## sum41kid861 (Oct 30, 2006)

genius. pure genius :beer:


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## John Reid (Jun 30, 2010)

If you're feeling really hardcore, use TechFlex and THEN cover that with loom.


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## Clean PG (May 9, 2005)

ok fine kilimats, only because you said so  :thumbup:


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## kilimats (Mar 5, 2006)

Clean PG said:


> ok fine kilimats, only because you said so  :thumbup:


i've got no power in this forum, feel free to bash me


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## Clean PG (May 9, 2005)

kilimats said:


> i've got no power in this forum, feel free to bash me


orly? well then it's on! :what:


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## Clean PG (May 9, 2005)

i also finally got around to putting some airbrake antifreeze in my tank. it wasnt hard but make note that if your ports are facing horizontally you cant really just "pour" a capful into the tank. i had to rig up something with a funnel and a little spare fuel tubing taped to the spout :laugh:


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## .:Hinrichs:. (Apr 26, 2010)

I usually just wash off the bags if i can while washing the car, it says to clean my airlift rears anyway in the manual...other than that I never really do anything, never used the anti freeze either since i never really had issues


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## BigMeecH (Sep 3, 2010)

I just ordered an analog mk5 kit , I'm wondering if should install now or wait till spring  since montreal winters are kinda rough.


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## Slamtastic (Jul 24, 2010)

BigMeecH said:


> I just ordered an analog mk5 kit , I'm wondering if should install now or wait till spring  since montreal winters are kinda rough.


I installed mine during winter last year. Just finished the e-level the other day just in time for winter too. I'd say go for it if you're confident in yourself.


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## Clean PG (May 9, 2005)

BigMeecH said:


> I just ordered an analog mk5 kit , I'm wondering if should install now or wait till spring  since montreal winters are kinda rough.


if you have a warm garage then feel free to install it if you feel like working on it for a couple days, otherwise wait till spring. either way your air ride will eventually see a winter if you drive it year round, so that shouldn't matter. i'd be more concerned with being comfortable while working on it. cus if youre freezing your a** during the install off you'll just get even more aggravated :beer:


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## BigMeecH (Sep 3, 2010)

Ya I'll obvs install it indoors lol. I'm also cornered that I only ordered 2 water traps for each compressor instead of adding a third one between the tank and manifold


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## .:Hinrichs:. (Apr 26, 2010)

i only run one trap between the tank and mani...have had zero issues so far

my last setup in my cabby I ran 2 before the mani...never had any water in the tank or traps


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## BigMeecH (Sep 3, 2010)

So u think I should add a third trap between mani and tank ?


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## .:Hinrichs:. (Apr 26, 2010)

one between the tank and mani is more than enough...but thats just my opinion...3 would be overkill but its your money


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## BigMeecH (Sep 3, 2010)

U didn't get me lol. I was gonna run a water tap between each compressor and tank and was asking if an additional one would be required between the Mani and tank


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## Slamtastic (Jul 24, 2010)

BigMeecH said:


> U didn't get me lol. I was gonna run a water tap between each compressor and tank and was asking if an additional one would be required between the Mani and tank


I'd play it safe and get another one. If it's between your tank and mani the air doesn't have enough time to cool down so it won't be trapping all of the water. You could also just put your 2 comps into 1 trap then save your other one for between the tank and mani if you don't want to buy another one.


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

for the $30 trap and $10 in fittings it would be some cheap insurance :thumbup:


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## kilimats (Mar 5, 2006)

from personal experience and reading ton of stuff, i don't believe water trap are useful in dry weather when you got an aluminum (rustproof) tank where most of the moisture is trapped anyway. I'm sure it's a valuable item on the east coast

I think i'm repeating myself but my water trap placed after the tank gets no water, all the liquids seats in the tank and is emptied with the valve pictured below


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## Slamtastic (Jul 24, 2010)

^ I did something similar so that I don't have to drain the air out of the tank to drain the water. Then fed the blowdown line out the back with the dump lines.


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## Clean PG (May 9, 2005)

hmmm, something i never thought of :sly: makes me wonder if even tho i'm emptying my water trap once a month there's still water in the tank itself. may have to address that next spring and figure out a setup for it. that's a good idea :beer:

how often do you empty that? and how often does water come out and how much?


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## .:Hinrichs:. (Apr 26, 2010)

just checked my trap last night finally since I had to take a plug out of the tank, and had the slightest ammt of fluid in it, never got a chance to check the tank drain itself tho, so the trap after the compressors does work


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## kilimats (Mar 5, 2006)

Clean PG said:


> hmmm, something i never thought of :sly: makes me wonder if even tho i'm emptying my water trap once a month there's still water in the tank itself. may have to address that next spring and figure out a setup for it. that's a good idea :beer:
> 
> how often do you empty that? and how often does water come out and how much?


monthly with a good 3 seconds pressurized water spray


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## bboy_jon (Jan 19, 2010)

What is the reason for adding anti freeze? is it so the water in the tank doesnt freeze?


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## Slamtastic (Jul 24, 2010)

bboy_jon said:


> What is the reason for adding anti freeze? is it so the water in the tank doesnt freeze?


So that any moisture in the system doesn't freeze and cause stuck valves or ruptured lines.


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## bboy_jon (Jan 19, 2010)

but arent you just putting in liquid that would sit in the bottom of the tank?


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## Slamtastic (Jul 24, 2010)

bboy_jon said:


> but arent you just putting in liquid that would sit in the bottom of the tank?


Just a bit, but it mixes with the all the water that sits in the bottom of your tank so nothing freezes.

Your on manual IIRC, you don't really need to worry about it if you have a trap.


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## sum41kid861 (Oct 30, 2006)

dubbin18 said:


> ^ I did something similar so that I don't have to drain the air out of the tank to drain the water. Then fed the blowdown line out the back with the dump lines.


i am SO stealing this idea :thumbup: :beer:


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## Clean PG (May 9, 2005)

i dont think my tank has a port on the bottom which would allow me to do that


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## ninohale (Jun 9, 2010)

Clean PG said:


> i dont think my tank has a port on the bottom which would allow me to do that


Most tanks have the bottom port (I don't recall ever seeing one without in some fashion).

Some good stufffs in here gents :thumbup:


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## Slamtastic (Jul 24, 2010)

ninohale said:


> Most tanks have the bottom port (I don't recall ever seeing one without in some fashion).
> 
> Some good stufffs in here gents :thumbup:


Some tanks don't have a drain.


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## bboy_jon (Jan 19, 2010)

A lot of tanks dont have a bottom drain. I had a tough time finding the tank I wanted with one


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## ninohale (Jun 9, 2010)

dubbin18 said:


> Some tanks don't have a drain.


I stand corrected


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