Freightliner Columbia. Manual - part 16

bracket; apply hand pressure only. See

. If

movement at the center of the equalizer exceeds
1/8 inch (3 mm), replace the equalizer bushings.
See Group 32 of the Columbia® Workshop
Manual for instructions.

With the vehicle unloaded, attempt to move the
equalizer side to side, using a pry bar between
the equalizer and frame rail. Apply hand pressure
only. See

Fig. 5

. If clearance between the equal-

izer assembly and any frame component or fas-
tener is less than 1/8 inch (3 mm), replace the
equalizer bushings. See Group 32 of the
Columbia® Workshop Manual for instructions.

Freightliner AirLiner Suspension

WARNING

Do not replace individual leaves of a damaged leaf
spring assembly; replace the complete spring as-
sembly. Visible damage (cracks or breaks) to one
leaf causes hidden damage to other leaves. Re-
placement of only the visibly damaged part(s) is
no assurance that the spring is safe. On front
spring assemblies, if cracks or breaks exist in the
two top leaves, a loss of vehicle control could
occur. Failure to replace a damaged spring assem-
bly could cause an accident resulting in property
damage, serious personal injury, or death.

Inspect the forward and rear spring brackets for
wear, cracks, and other damage. If any of these con-

ditions exist, replace the damaged bracket(s). See
Group 32 of the Columbia® Workshop Manual for
instructions.

WARNING

Replace worn, cracked, or damaged spring
brackets. Failure to do so could result in bracket
breakage, possibly leading to loss of vehicle con-
trol and resulting in personal injury or property
damage.

Inspect the crossmember(s) and gussets for wear,
cracks, and other damage. If any of these conditions
exist, replace the damaged parts. See Group 32 of
the Columbia® Workshop Manual for instructions.

IMPORTANT: Before checking the AirLiner sus-
pension height, make sure there is no load on
the chassis, and the trailer is unhitched.

IMPORTANT: To prevent voiding the warranty
on Barksdale height-control valves, note the fol-
lowing:

• Do not overtighten the bolts in the Barksdale

height-control valve housing. The bolts should
not be loose, and should not require tightening.
Only if necessary, tighten the valve housing
bolts 45 lbf·in (500 N·cm). Any damage to the
valve housing will void the warranty.

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A. Measure the change in gap at this point.
1.

Equalizer Bracket

Equalizer

Pry Bar

Fig. 4, Side View of the Equalizer

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A. 1/8" (3 mm) Clearance
1.

Frame Fasteners

Frame Rail

Pry Bar

Equalizer

Equalizer Bracket

Fig. 5, Top View of the Equalizer

Suspension

32/3

• Do not attempt to disassemble the Barksdale

valve body or the control lever. There are no
serviceable parts in the valve, and any disas-
sembly will void the warranty.

NOTICE

When removing or loosening a Barksdale height-
control valve from a mounting bracket, always
hold the valve-side mounting studs in place with
an Allen wrench while loosening or tightening the
nuts that attach the valve to the bracket. Because
the mounting studs are threaded into the valve
body, loosening the nuts without holding the
studs can tighten the studs, which can crush the
valve body and damage the valve. Conversely,
tightening the nuts without holding the studs can
back the studs out, causing a separation of the
two halves of the valve body, and possibly a leak.

Park the vehicle on a level surface, using a light
application of the brakes. Do not apply the park-
ing brakes. Shift the transmission into neutral,
and build the secondary air pressure to at least
100 psi (690 kPa). Shut down the engine.

Mark the location of the front and rear tires on
the floor, and chock the tires on one axle only.

Check the length of the overtravel lever between
its pivot points. See

Fig. 6

, Ref. A.

3.1

If the vehicle is equipped with an adjust-
able leveling valve, the length should be
8 inches (200 mm). If the length is incor-
rect, see Group 32 of the Columbia®
Workshop Manual for adjustment proce-
dures.

3.2

If the vehicle is equipped with a fixed lev-
eling valve, see Group 32 of the
Columbia® Workshop Manual for the
overtravel lever length for the rear axle
installed in your vehicle.

On single-drive rear axle configurations, measure
the distance from the bottom of the left axle stop
to the top of the U-bolt pad. On tandem (dual-
drive) rear axle configurations, measure the dis-
tance from the bottom of the forwardmost left
axle stop to the top of the axle U-bolt pad. See

Fig. 7

, Ref. A. The correct distance for single

and dual-drive rear axles is between 2-3/8 inches
and 2-7/8 inches (60 to 73 mm).

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f320410

A. Measure the length of the overtravel lever between

these two points.

V-Shaped Mark

Adjustment Locknut

Overtravel Lever

Cotter Pin

Linkage Rod

Fig. 6, AirLiner Overtravel Lever and Linkage Rod

Measurement

08/16/96

f320453

A. Measure height here.
1.

Left Forwardmost Axle Stop

Fig. 7, AirLiner Axle Stop Measurement

Suspension

32/4

If the axle stop measurement is not correct, see
Group 32 of the Columbia® Workshop Manual
for adjustment procedures.

Apply the parking brakes, and remove the
chocks.

Chalmers Suspension

Chock the front tires, place the transmission in
neutral, and release the parking brakes.

Power wash the suspension, or clean it with a
hard-bristle brush before performing a visual in-
spection.

Inspect the rubber bushings for cracks or other
damage.

Try to move the torque rod ends using your
hands only, and check for any free-play. If free-
play is felt, replace the torque rod end bushing.
Do not use a pry bar to check for free-play. Use
of a pry bar may lead to premature bushing re-
placement.

Lift the rear of the vehicle and support the frame
on jack stands to unload the suspension compo-
nents. The vehicle is lifted high enough when the
beam ends are off of the saddles.

Inspect the walking beam for cracks or other
damage. If damage is found, replace the walking
beam.

Keep the vehicle supported by the jack stands
for the next operation.

Manipulate the walking beam so that a microm-
eter, vernier, or dial caliper can be used to deter-
mine the wear area thickness on the bottom
face. See

Fig. 8.

Measurements should be taken

a minimum of 1/2 inch from the beam flange
edges to eliminate any edge wear that may have
occurred. Subtract the wear area thickness (see

Fig. 8

, Ref. B) from the thickness at the non-

wear area (see

Fig. 8

, Ref. A) to determine the

amount of wear.

If the beams show any wear greater than 0.062
inch (1.5 mm), a Chalmers wear plate must be
installed, or the walking beam must be replaced.

Rotate the restrictor cans 360 degrees and in-
spect the cans for cracks, severe corrosion, and
distortion. If any of these conditions are present,
or the restrictor can is missing, replace the re-
strictor can.

WARNING

Replace all cracked or missing restrictor cans.
Failure to do so could lead to loss of vehicle con-
trol, which could result in property damage, seri-
ous personal injury, or death.

32–02 Suspension Lubrication

Front Suspension

Wipe all dirt away from the grease fittings (if
equipped) on the spring-eye bushings. Apply multi-
purpose chassis grease with a pressurized grease
gun until old grease is forced out.

NOTE: Service Schedule IV vehicles equipped
with a 12,000 lb (5452 kg) front axle are fitted
with maintenance-free rubber bushings, and do
not require lubrication.

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A. Non-Wear Area

B. Wear Area

Walking Beam

Fig. 8, Walking Beam End Wear Thickness

Suspension

32/5

Rear Suspension

Chalmers

No lubrication is required on the Chalmers rear
suspension.

Freightliner Spring

Single Axle

No lubrication is required on Freightliner single axle
rear suspensions.

Tandem Axle

Lubricate the equalizer cap-and-tube assembly bush-
ings by applying multipurpose chassis grease at the
grease fitting until old grease is forced out from the
cap-and-tube assembly. See

Fig. 9

Hendrickson

The Hendrickson RS Series suspension does not
require lubrication.

For Hendrickson RT2 and RTE2 Series, lubricate the
bronze, ball-indented bushings in the spring eye, as
follows:

Park the vehicle on a level surface, apply the
parking brakes, and chock the front tires.

Raise the rear of the vehicle until the rear wheels
are suspended in the air, then support the ve-
hicle with safety stands. This relieves the load on

the bushings and pins to allow the proper flow of
lubricant around them.

Use a multipurpose chassis grease and lubricate
the bronze, ball-indented bushings in the spring
eyes at the grease fitting. See

Fig. 10

. Continue

to lubricate until grease exits both ends of the
bushing. If the pin will not accept lubricant, re-
move the pin and clean the lubrication channels
where lubricant may have hardened. Remove the
safety stands.

Neway

No lubrication is required on Neway rear suspen-
sions.

Reyco

No lubrication is required on Reyco rear suspen-
sions.

32–03 Suspension U-Bolt

Torque Check

CAUTION

Failure to retorque the U-bolt nuts could result in
spring breakage and abnormal tire wear.

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A. Lubricate here.
1.

Cap-and-Tube Assembly Bushing

Fig. 9, Equalizer Assembly Lubrication

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f320424

Bronze Bushing

Lubrication Hole

Grease Fitting

Lubrication Groove

Fig. 10, Hendrickson RT2 and RTE2 Series Bushing

Lubrication

Suspension

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