# Rear bag popped...



## d3f (May 31, 2010)

Got a emergency... my rear drivers side airbag popped last night, was wondering if anyone knew a dealer or somewhere i can pick one up at in Albuquerque? 

and needless to say... its obvious i cant ride on a blown bag eh? *sarcasm* 

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!


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## markfif (Oct 25, 2007)

Im not familiar with anyone out that ways. You might have to overnight a bag from one of the bigger air ride dealers or just put in some coils or some spring on that side for the time being.


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## harley06 (Feb 28, 2007)

what kind of bag is it?


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## d3f (May 31, 2010)

*its this one*

http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Jetta_V--2.0T/Suspension/Air_Ride/ES1895288/

thats the kit, 

http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Jetta_V--2.0T/Suspension/Air_Ride/ES1895365/ 

thats the one that blew...


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## harley06 (Feb 28, 2007)

how did it pop, id contact airlift and see what they can do


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## SLMDB5 (Feb 1, 2010)

try these guys, they sell air lift stuff:

http://www.truckautoaccessories.net/truckspage.shtml


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

if you have to you should be able to drive on 3...ive done it a few times when i had my mk4, the other 3 will support the weight of the car, or should


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## d3f (May 31, 2010)

1st thanks for all the replies, i still haven't got in there to find out the cause, but i can feel where its popped at, as far as we knew there wasn't any clearance issues, was weird that it was just the one though, i was airing it out to go inside for the night and POP... guess i will be on the phone monday... lol


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## Vato Gato (Nov 30, 2003)

Get in touch with Will from bagriders hella cool cat. I think I paid $84 shipped to Vegas.


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## d3f (May 31, 2010)

Update: Got in there and found some clearance issues with the lower control arm, it rubbed away the powdercoating from so much friction i guess... shaved about a 1/2" on the inside and good to go... had a bag overnighted from ECS... more then likely will order a spare as well


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## BoraRJTI (May 13, 2010)

.:Hinrichs:. said:


> if you have to you should be able to drive on 3...ive done it a few times when i had my mk4, the other 3 will support the weight of the car, or should


Last time I checked the 06 jetta had independent rear suspension so unless you have like 10 inches of travel I dint think you would have enough clearance to drive on 3!

Glad u got stuff on the way to fix ur blown bag!


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## Do Werk (Feb 23, 2009)

BoraRJTI said:


> Last time I checked the 06 jetta had independent rear suspension so unless you have like 10 inches of travel I dint think you would have enough clearance to drive on 3!
> 
> Glad u got stuff on the way to fix ur blown bag!



Lol at first I read what you quoted and what you posted and I was about to be like WHAT ARE YOU STUPID but then I checked the guys car info lol. But yeah this is true.


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## GrayMarauder (Nov 8, 2008)

I just had this exact same thing happen to me today!!


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## GrayMarauder (Nov 8, 2008)

Looked like this, right?










I just checked my passengers side as well.. It looks like when aired, it rubs agains't the cup of the arm..

There is no room of play when installing these.. I am getting one overnighted, but I am worrying about the other side now.. I am pretty sure that one will go soon too...


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## JesseAirLiftCompany (Aug 5, 2009)

Wow holy sh!t!!! It looks like it started to rub on something. What model was this on?


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## [email protected] (Aug 22, 2006)

It looks to me like the rivet and piston inside the bag were loosened some how. The firestone bags have plastic pistons inside and when the bag is under pressure, the innards shift around and they rub. :thumbup:

Hence why BagYards use metal innards.


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## GrayMarauder (Nov 8, 2008)

It was on my 2008 GTI...

I'll grab more pictures for you tonight..

Like I said when aired out, the bag is constantly rubbing against the cup it sits in.. It seems that the bag needs to taper off smaller to avoid the rubbing...

Otherwise I am going to have to saw into this arm..


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## Slo.Mo.Shun (Jan 13, 2010)

Start trimming those control arms.


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## GrayMarauder (Nov 8, 2008)

I am just thankful this didn't explode while I was driving on the freeway or something..

I can only think what might have happened...


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## Slo.Mo.Shun (Jan 13, 2010)

Same happened to me, fortunately I was doing less than 20mph.

What I am really glad about, is that is did not happen during the 1100mi drive to H2oi.


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## [email protected] (Jan 26, 2006)

This bag was rubbing for a while before it let go. See how the threads are all frayed. 
This is why its important to inspect your install pirodically.


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## GrayMarauder (Nov 8, 2008)

I feel like I am being made to look like an idiot here.. As I explained, there is obvious signs of friction here, causing the bag to fail. 

I received my replacement today for the blown bag and quickly found that the new bag I received is different. The bag is shorter and the width seems a bit smaller as well. 









In my previous post, I stated that the bag seemed a bit too wide and needed to taper off to be smaller to avoid rubbing. Even with installing and checking all clearances I still had this problem. The instructions were followed to the tee. 

I called Airlift and after an hour, I was told that there was a revision to these bags. The new kits include a smaller bag, this being because the old ones, when aired would bow, causing them to rub into to cup of the control arm.. 

I don't know if this is true or not, but it makes sense to me. Anyways, I am out another 3 days waiting for another bag so I can replace the other side... I had overnighted this replacement so I could get back on the road. Needless to say, Airlift took care of me and I am happy. 

I just want to make sure that these won't have the same problem. The smaller size should help with the rubbing and bowing.. 

Guess I'll find out.


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## jimothy cricket (Jul 9, 2008)

GrayMarauder said:


>


 you're sure its not just a little bigger due to usage?


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## GrayMarauder (Nov 8, 2008)

Positive. 

Look at the seams.. they're manufactured at 2 completely different areas. 

Even the inlet for the elbow in is different. 

The rep at Airlift said that the new kit consists of 2 different rear bags than what I was provided with.


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## SSRmark5 (Apr 14, 2010)

LOL these are popping left and right


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## [email protected] (Dec 30, 2008)

Just wanted to clear up a little confusion here......Just so everyone can be on the same page. 

Yes the bags are two different sizes. The larger one is an F9000 Firestone Air Spring and the other is an Air Lift Tapered Sleeve. All of our kits now contain the Air Lift Tapered Sleeve.....when we first released the kit we were behind in development on the Tapered Sleeve and used the F9000 in it's place on about the first 30-40 kits sold. So some of you will have the F9000 bag in there. There is a Firestone "F" located on the rubber part of the air spring so if you have these and would like to get them swapped out for the Air Lift Tapered Sleeve please contact us and we will get you taken care of.....Again this isn't saying that the F9000's are defective in ANYWAY, but I just don't want you guys being concerned about your suspension......we are here to take care of you guys anyway we can when it comes to Air Lift product..... 

Feel free to give me a shout if you have any questions.... 

Thanks 

Corey 
800-248-0892 ext 227


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## JesseAirLiftCompany (Aug 5, 2009)

I was just curious on how the innards of either a metal or a plastic capped sleeve bag would move. Is there some kind of different technology on the metal sleeved bags?


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## GrayMarauder (Nov 8, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> Just wanted to clear up a little confusion here......Just so everyone can be on the same page.
> 
> Yes the bags are two different sizes. The larger one is an F9000 Firestone Air Spring and the other is an Air Lift Tapered Sleeve. All of our kits now contain the Air Lift Tapered Sleeve.....when we first released the kit we were behind in development on the Tapered Sleeve and used the F9000 in it's place on about the first 30-40 kits sold. So some of you will have the F9000 bag in there. There is a Firestone "F" located on the rubber part of the air spring so if you have these and would like to get them swapped out for the Air Lift Tapered Sleeve please contact us and we will get you taken care of.....Again this isn't saying that the F9000's are defective in ANYWAY, but I just don't want you guys being concerned about your suspension......we are here to take care of you guys anyway we can when it comes to Air Lift product.....
> 
> ...


 Right, 

I was in no way, shape, or form saying that the bag was defective. 

Considering that I purchased this kit in May, installed and have been driving on these bags until now seems pretty amazing. When you take into account all the raising, dropping and driving these bags have been through, I would say that this bag held extremely well. 

I really appreciate your company's initiative to reaching out and assisting me with this problem. I am excited to get the other bag and get my car back on the road. :beer:


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## SuperBacon (May 8, 2006)

[email protected] said:


> Just wanted to clear up a little confusion here......Just so everyone can be on the same page.
> 
> Yes the bags are two different sizes. The larger one is an F9000 Firestone Air Spring and the other is an Air Lift Tapered Sleeve. All of our kits now contain the Air Lift Tapered Sleeve.....when we first released the kit we were behind in development on the Tapered Sleeve and used the F9000 in it's place on about the first 30-40 kits sold. So some of you will have the F9000 bag in there. There is a Firestone "F" located on the rubber part of the air spring so if you have these and would like to get them swapped out for the Air Lift Tapered Sleeve please contact us and we will get you taken care of.....Again this isn't saying that the F9000's are defective in ANYWAY, but I just don't want you guys being concerned about your suspension......we are here to take care of you guys anyway we can when it comes to Air Lift product.....
> 
> ...


 Now that is customer service right there :thumbup: AirLift


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## JesseAirLiftCompany (Aug 5, 2009)

Thanks for the kind words Gray. We try to do our best and help out as much as possible. 


We will always be here to take care of all of you guys. 
See everyone at H20 and Air Affair.


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## Do Werk (Feb 23, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> Just wanted to clear up a little confusion here......Just so everyone can be on the same page.
> 
> Yes the bags are two different sizes. The larger one is an F9000 Firestone Air Spring and the other is an Air Lift Tapered Sleeve. All of our kits now contain the Air Lift Tapered Sleeve.....when we first released the kit we were behind in development on the Tapered Sleeve and used the F9000 in it's place on about the first 30-40 kits sold. So some of you will have the F9000 bag in there. There is a Firestone "F" located on the rubber part of the air spring so if you have these and would like to get them swapped out for the Air Lift Tapered Sleeve please contact us and we will get you taken care of.....Again this isn't saying that the F9000's are defective in ANYWAY, but I just don't want you guys being concerned about your suspension......we are here to take care of you guys anyway we can when it comes to Air Lift product.....
> 
> ...


 
And this is one of many reasons I will continue to buy airlift stuff.


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## [email protected] (Aug 22, 2006)

JesseAirLiftCompany said:


> I was just curious on how the innards of either a metal or a plastic capped sleeve bag would move. Is there some kind of different technology on the metal sleeved bags?


 The big difference is that the firestone F9000 has plastic top and bottom mounts. Typically, to bolt in or tighten these to these brackets, they have a brass insert that the bolt threads into. This insert can come out of the plastic mount. If it comes out at an mk5 Bottom mount, the lower piston of the bag gets loosened and the bag starts traveling. 

With an aluminum top or bottom mounts, the thread is drilled directly into the piston. Since the bolt threads directly into the piston, the chance of the bolt coming loose is much lower. Thus, a smaller chance of popping a bag or even rubbing. Metal innards allow a much tighter installation and a reduced risk of travel.


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## d3f (May 31, 2010)

YEP! what mine looked like almost exactly same place it was rubbing... i got one more extra on order... seems like its wise to have one in the bullpin... :banghead:


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## mr sarcastic (Nov 2, 2006)

sooo.... i've been fighting with my setup in the rear for a while now. adjusting its placement in the control arm every other week or so to get it perfect. my passenger side is fine, no rubbing. drivers side is starting to show a wear area right where everyone else is having problems. i got the "f" stamp on my bags..... we've put 5-6K on the setup, and its just barely starting to wear through the first layer of rubber showing the metal interwoven bands under. and i've noticed that that needle is getting jumpy. the other 3 needles are pretty smooth when driving, but that on is a bit jumpier. my question is, should i immediately stop driving it? i'm leaving for h20 on tuesday, and its a 1200 mile round trip....


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## Slo.Mo.Shun (Jan 13, 2010)

Try to change the bags before the trip, or make space for them asap. 

If you cant do anything about it, grease them up. Just make sure you don't use anything with petroleum distillates.


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## mr sarcastic (Nov 2, 2006)

I put an inch spacer under it, so it now has room, no more rubbing. My father in law, who is an engineer, took a look at it and he feels it should be fine. A "professional" opinion like that makes me feel better about it. We put a bike tire patch over it so it's kinda protected from more rubbing if it was to occur. Gonna try and get a new bag at ocean city and change it in the parking lot.....


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## Slo.Mo.Shun (Jan 13, 2010)

I was thinking about a spacer on mine even though they don't seem to be rubbing anymore. I want just a bit more space. 

Cant wait for H2o.


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## mr sarcastic (Nov 2, 2006)

part of the reason i did a spacer is cause they're actually too low. i'm running an 18x10, and to get up to ride height, i'm at 80psi. but to get down so the fender is on the wheel, it was at 45psi. adding the spacer put me at ride height at 70psi which is a bit more comfortable, not as stiff. and i can still sit the fender on the wheel no problem.


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## JesseAirLiftCompany (Aug 5, 2009)

MR S, 
Are you running the spacer at the top of the bag or in the cup? Is this kit running our new rear shocks? It can be riding that well with that kind of pressure in it especially if you are running our short shocks. I am very curious about this. 
If you look at our old kit the bracket stands about an inch taller but on the top of the bag, and you also kept the factory long shocks in there. 
Let me know, as I am insanely curious. I will also be at H20 so swing by the booth and say whats up.


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## 07silverbullet (Mar 10, 2010)

:thumbup: to Chris at Airlift today for helping me out with overnighting some new rear bags. The customer service at Airlift is excellent and they really do stand behind their product. Definitely will have a shoutout for you guys in my feature so look for me. :beer:


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## sxedub (Jul 27, 2005)

I've received a few questions lately regarding how these rears bags have held up for me since this thread started and just wanted to put this out there. I have to say after replacing my original bags with the current bag and "fine tuning" my install after a few short trips I've had no issues at all with this setup. Additionally, the customer service I've received from Will @ Bag Riders and Air Lift has been nothing short of amazing. I would definitely recommend this setup to anyone thinking of going this route without thinking twice. 

:thumbup::thumbup:


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## mr sarcastic (Nov 2, 2006)

JesseAirLiftCompany said:


> MR S,
> Are you running the spacer at the top of the bag or in the cup? Is this kit running our new rear shocks? It can be riding that well with that kind of pressure in it especially if you are running our short shocks. I am very curious about this.
> If you look at our old kit the bracket stands about an inch taller but on the top of the bag, and you also kept the factory long shocks in there.
> Let me know, as I am insanely curious. I will also be at H20 so swing by the booth and say whats up.


 i put an inch spacer in the cup of the control arm. that way the bag is raised a bit out of the control arm and the spot it was rubbing on the cup has changed. well, since it tapers, its not rubbing at all now. also, this allowed me to lower my driving psi and its not as stiff. i'm running the shorter rear shocks that came with the kit.... it rides real nice right now, i'm excited to the the updated rear bags. corey is gonna meet up with me at OC and hand deliver them. he was gonna overnight them to me, but i'm gonna be on my way down tomorrow morning.


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## mr sarcastic (Nov 2, 2006)

fyi: a month ago i had make a "ghetto rig" to center the bag in the control arm. since there is a hole in the exact center of the cup, i got a washer that was the diameter of that whole. put that washer in between the bag and the large washer thats on the underside of the control arm. this stopped it from "walking" toward the outer edge of the cup and rubbing. before, i could center it but after a few hundred miles the bag would move toward the knuckle.. but the damage was already done from previous rubbing.


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## GrayMarauder (Nov 8, 2008)

Alright.. I am going to be completely honest right now. I haven't been this pissed off for a long time. 

After overnighting my replacement bag and going through the hassle of finding out that I would need another replacement, because of revisions made to the kit.. One of my replacement bags failed. 

Upon installing one of the replacements, following all instructions, even making sure everything was torqued right, I aired it up. The bolt that fastens to the bottom of the bag completely shelled out the brass filling that it screws into, causing the bag to completely lose its air. Rendering this bag completely useless... 

The money I've paid for this kit, the fare I've paid to take the bus to work, not to mention all the time I've taken to get this back together.. A complete waste. 

I feel utterly pathetic, I've received 2 replacements, both of which I had to kind of argue to get warrantied.. Now I don't even know if Airlift will warranty this out. :banghead::banghead::banghead:


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## 07silverbullet (Mar 10, 2010)

GrayMarauder said:


> Alright.. I am going to be completely honest right now. I haven't been this pissed off for a long time.
> 
> After overnighting my replacement bag and going through the hassle of finding out that I would need another replacement, because of revisions made to the kit.. One of my replacement bags failed.
> 
> ...


 Sorry to hear this. I actually received my two replacements today and they were installed and work properly without a hitch.


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## [email protected] (Aug 22, 2006)

GrayMarauder said:


> The bolt that fastens to the bottom of the bag completely shelled out the brass filling that it screws into, causing the bag to completely lose its air. Rendering this bag completely useless...


 This is what I was talking about in regards to a plastic piston versus a cnc machined piston.

Sorry to hear you're having such issues.


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## GrayMarauder (Nov 8, 2008)

[email protected]nRoad said:


> This is what I was talking about in regards to a plastic piston versus a cnc machined piston.
> 
> Sorry to hear you're having such issues.


 
You know, I actually really appreciate someone sympathizing with me. It's pretty stressful, haha. 

Well, I will call Airlift in the morning and see if I can work this out. I just got my rear trunk enclosure, so I was pretty excited to get everything setup. 

Hopefully I can get another shipped quickly. :thumbup:


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## JesseAirLiftCompany (Aug 5, 2009)

Hey Grey hit me up with your shipping address and I will have them overnight you a couple new bags. Sorry to hear that this happened. Do you have any pics of the inside of the lower control are that I could see???


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## mr sarcastic (Nov 2, 2006)

Tht lower bolt only needs to be torqued to something small like 15 lbs, can't remember the exact spec. When you over torque, you spin the brass fitting and it pulls out. I'm sure they're gonna take care of you, but be careful when you tighten it. I remember seeing that spec and wondering why it was so small. I put a little blue lock tight on it for good measure.


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## GrayMarauder (Nov 8, 2008)

mr sarcastic said:


> Tht lower bolt only needs to be torqued to something small like 15 lbs, can't remember the exact spec. When you over torque, you spin the brass fitting and it pulls out. I'm sure they're gonna take care of you, but be careful when you tighten it. I remember seeing that spec and wondering why it was so small. I put a little blue lock tight on it for good measure.


 Right, like I said, I torqued everything to spec. The bottom bolt is to be torqued 5 lbs. :thumbup:


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## d3f (May 31, 2010)

*strut rub... goes woo woo*

Got both my rears squared away, but i think i might have some issues with the bottom strut mount bolt. It comes reeaaaallly close to the bag clearances. already had to notch my lower control arms to make sure they dont rub..., anyone else having the same issues on MKV jettas?


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## bassmanjosh (Nov 6, 2004)

[email protected] said:


> Just wanted to clear up a little confusion here......Just so everyone can be on the same page.
> 
> Yes the bags are two different sizes. The larger one is an F9000 Firestone Air Spring and the other is an Air Lift Tapered Sleeve. All of our kits now contain the Air Lift Tapered Sleeve.....when we first released the kit we were behind in development on the Tapered Sleeve and used the F9000 in it's place on about the first 30-40 kits sold. So some of you will have the F9000 bag in there. There is a Firestone "F" located on the rubber part of the air spring so if you have these and would like to get them swapped out for the Air Lift Tapered Sleeve please contact us and we will get you taken care of.....Again this isn't saying that the F9000's are defective in ANYWAY, but I just don't want you guys being concerned about your suspension......we are here to take care of you guys anyway we can when it comes to Air Lift product.....
> 
> ...


That's quality customer service there :thumbup:
Hope this quality service extends to canada too!


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