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| Adjustment | Walking Beam | Air Suspensions | 4 Spring Suspension | Shock Absorbers |

| Bushings | Height Adjustment | Torque Rods | Leaf Springs | Air Springs |

Tips for Keeping Your Suspension System in

Top Condition
SUSPENSION TYPES

Different Types of Suspensions Require Very Different Maintainence

Procedures
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Suspension configurations have remained much the same over the

years. The majority of highway tractors are now speced with air
suspensions, which improve driver etention and reduce damage to
cargo and equipment from road shock. Ride height has become a
serious maintenance issue with air ride suspensions since the advent of
high-horsepower, high-torque electronic engines. Regardless of the
type of rear suspension you're dealing with, a four-spring setup, a
walking beam model, a multi-spring configuration or a modern air ride
system, the best advice for keeping any of them working properly is
basic: Keep the nuts tight! On all suspensions, the U-bolts, brackets
and clamps can stretch and nuts can work loose. Then everything goes
downhill fast. Retorquing fasteners to the Manufacturer's specs every
100,000 miles is an important part of routine suspension maintenance.

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Look for broken and missing parts while you're at it, and replace them.
To help technicians starting out in the field of suspension service, we're
providing the following refresher on the different types of rear
suspensions you may be asked to repair.
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Walking Beam Suspensions

Those of you who have been around the truck maintenance business
for a long time have seen plenty of walking beam suspensions. These
were the first popular tandem-axle designs. The suspension
incorporates two equalizing or walking beams, one on each side of the
truck, that pivot at the center point onbushings, usually made of rubber.
The walking beams are connected by a crossover tube and each beam
is supported by a leaf-spring pack or rubber load cushions to absorb
road shock and rovide stability. The design distributes weight evenly
over the two rear axles and provides the articulation needed to keep all
the wheels on the ground over uneven terrain. Hendrickson Truck
Suspension Systems' RT series, with its characteristic leaf-spring pack
above the walking beam, was the industry standard on vocational trucks
and tractors for more than 70 years. The design has been updated and
remains a solid performer, both for on and off road wwork applications.
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LEAF SPRINGS

Spring packs are mounted on saddle assemblies and are connected to

spring hangers at the front ends with spring eye pins. The rear ends of
the springs have no rigid attachment and move forward and backward
as the spring deflection changes. Periodically check all leaves and
spring clips for cracks and other damage. Also, inspect each frame
hanger. Replace any that have developed cracks or have severe rust.
Hendrickson recommends that high mileage springs with one or more
leaves broken below the No. 2 leaf be replaced with a new spring
assembly of the same part number. Replacing both springs will assure
ven spring deflection. Main and wrapperleaves are available as service

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replacements. The part number is stamped on the spring clips. An

extended-leaf version of the walking beam suspension, with longer top
leaves and an additional rear spring hanger, provides two stage spring
action for a smooth ride and good stability with a full load, partial load or
when running empty. When empty, the extended leaves contact
outboard spring pads to lower the deflection rate of the springs for asoft
ride. With a load, the springs contact the main pads and provide a
higher deflection rate. On Hendrickson RS series suspen- sions, four
rubber load cushions are used in place of leaf springs. The cushions,
available in several durometer hardness ratings for a range f heavy-duty
applications, should be inspected for cuts and swelling at least once a
year. Cushions cut by the retaining lips of the saddles or frame hangers
might not be of the correct hardness or configuration for the truck's
application or may require rebound control. A rebound ontrol stop kit is
available from Hendrickson. Cut or damaged cushions should be
replaced, says the manufacturer. Lateral support is provided on
Hendrickson vocational suspensions by transverse rods, which transmit
lateral loads directly to the frame. This keeps the axle centered laterally
and controls axle walkout during cornering.
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TORQUE RODS

Longitudinal torque rods help maintain optimum driveline angles,

restrain the rotation of the axle housing while braking and acceler- ating
and absorb leaning and cornering forces. Torque rods should be
inspected routinely for looseness and for excessively worn bushings.
Hendrickson's HN series vocational suspensions combine an equalizing beam withtheVariRate Spring System, which features diagonallymounted rubber bolster springs, a Hytrel auxiliary spring and shock
absorbers. In the empty or lightly loaded condition, the rubber springs
act in compression and shear for a smooth ride. As the load increases,
the springs compress and stiffen for more stability without affecting
ride,says Hendrickson. When fully loaded, the auxiliary springs make
contact to provide more stability. Integral shock absorbers are designed
to eliminate tandem axle hop and smooth the ride further.

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Raydan Manufacturing says it offers an air ride walking beam suspension that can retrofit Hendrickson spring pack or rubber block as
well as Neway Anchorlok International and Ridewell Corp. suspensions with its Air Link product. The design utilizes two air bags above
each walking beam. Since the shock impact is absorbed by the air
springs, bushing life of four to five years can be expected in severeservice applications, the company says. Retrofitting any Hendrickson
spring pack, rubber block or solid mount walking beam suspension with
an Air Link takes about 20 hours. The original suspension is removed,
leaving the walking beams in place and the Air Link is bolted to the
frame. A Dynalastic suspension can be retrofitted with Air Link by
adding walking beams to the existing hangers. To retrofit any Neway
ARD or AD series suspension, the rear axle posts must be repositioned
to the back of the rear axle; walking beams then are installed onto the
existing differential hangers. The job takes about 40 hours, says
Raydan, which warranties retrofit installations for three years, unlimited
mileage, regardless of application.
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4 Spring Suspensions
Four-spring suspensions, which have been standard on many on- and
off-road trucks over the years, incorporate a multi-leaf steel spring pack
at each wheel and give good service and excellent articulation.
Multi-leaf suspensions incorporate long spring packs that serve as
equalizing beams and work like a walking beam suspension to
distribute the load to all of the wheels. But in recent years no single
suspension type has grown in popularity as quickly as air ride.
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Air Suspensions
Air suspensions have become the norm for road tractors. Inflatable,

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rubber cushions absorb road shock as much as 50% more effectively

than multi-leaf springs. According to the Firestone Industrial Products
Company, its air spring products are found on more than half of the
vehicles equipped with air suspensions on the road today. Truck
manufacturers offer proprietary air suspensions as well as those
supplied by Hendrickson, Neway, Reyco and others. Neway claims to
have the heaviest capacity rating up to 52,000 Ibs. with its AD 252
Series for on- and off-road applications. Reyco claims to have the
lightest tractor air ride suspension on the market with its 240AR model.
The design utilizes a unique spring beam that reduces the number of
components and features two-piece torque arm bushings for easy
maintenance, says the company.
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Air Springs
An air suspension typically uses two air springs or air bags per axle.
Bags are available in single, double and triple convoluted types and
reversible sleeve models for on- and off-road applications, says
Firestone, which also supplies aftermarket parts. Since air bags are
prone to damage, periodic inspec- tion to detect tears, holes, abrasion
and other damage is good policy. Misalignment can result in
over-extension of the bags, which causes them to pull away from the
metal top plate or from the piston at the lower mount. The air bags are
secured to the frame rails with mounting brackets ahead of the axles,
providing a trailing characteristic that keeps the suspension aligned and
stable. Each bag supports one end of a trailing arm;the other end is
attached to the frame. The suspension is designed to move, enabling
the axles to turn around the trailing arms' center of rotation.
Air suspensions include a height- control system to respond to sudden
changes in ride height and shock absorbers to issipate axle rebounds
and add stabihty. Track bars and torque rods with rubber bushings
restrict the lateral movement of the axles and maintain pinion angles for
reduced spline and U-joint wear. Transverse rods add roll stability and
reduce axle stress. Worn bushings in these rods can cause excessive

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roll and sway and lead to premature air spring failure.

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Shock Absorbers
Shock absorbers are an important part of any suspension system and
must be in good working rder to keep tire wear to a minimum. Feel the
shocks after the truck has been operated to tell if they are working
proper- ly; they should feel warm. If a shock feels cold to the touch,
disconnect it at the bottom bracket and work it up and down to check
the resistance and to determine if it should be replaced. Look for oil
leakage, too. All shocks will "mist" and a film of oil will be seen below
the skirt. Real oil leaks are tell tale signs that shocks need to be
replaced. Some service specialists recommend replacing a set of
shocks after 250,000 miles.
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Drivers should resist adjusting the air suspension's ride height for
comfort or convenience. "Some people change the setting to suit the
height of a dock approach or for a convenient fifth-wheel height. But
they sacrifice the performance of the suspension and the driveline," he
observes. Manufacturers recommends maintaining the factory setting at
all times. "When you change the setting, you run the risk of throwing up
a driveline vibration. Then you start tearing up pinion bearings and
U-joint The height adjustment is not there for the convenience of the
operator; it's there so that it can be set correctly," he adds, noting that
major damage can result from improper ride height. "We have seen
cases of driveline failures where the ride height was set way off, yet the
problem was blamed on driveline components or something else," says
Adiaf. "Driveline vibration can get so bad that you can do serious
amage to a transmission and clutch." Manufacturers of air suspensions
have gauges available to set the suspension at the recommended
height. Settings should be checked and adjusted after any repair is
made to suspension components. Excess vibration in the driveline is a
sign that the ride height is not set correctly. Too high a setting is hard on
shocks, which are forced to travel to their fully extended length. Too low

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a setting produces a poor ride as the suspension bumps against the air
sprin bumpers or axle stop. In both cases, driveline angles will be
incorrect and could lead to failure of driveline components. We
encourage people who work on any suspension to contact the
manufacturer for technical publications that detail how to diagnose and
repair their products.
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