[Bankrz]

Can someone help me out here? I installed a set of Firestone Ride Rite air bags on my 99 Dodge 2500 CTD.

A couple of days later I took my truck to a shop to have the brakes checked out and tires rotated in preparation for a short camping trip. The guy at the shop told me that I should not have installed the air bags because they will cause the Rear Height Sensing Proportioning Valve to get a false read and not allow the correct amount of brake fluid to my front brakes. He said that the 99's are about the only Dodges that have this Rear Height Sensing Proportioning Valve system.

UHHHHH?? :CRY:was my response. Will that make a difference when pulling my 26ft toy hauler was my next question.

Anyone out there ever run into this? Any advice?

 

[Buck08]

I have never heard of it, I think hes full of you know what

 

[Mopar1973Man]

I heard of a lot of people disconnecting the arm and tie wiring to the bed (or such). This was suppose to improve the braking force by opening the valve completely...

So yes you got the valve but there is ways of handling this problem. Oh yeah the valve controls the REAR brakes not the FRONTS...:rof

 

[Shibbyutman]

There is a valve in there and it is to shuttle more brake force to the rear as the springs sag more (implying there would be more weight over the rear axle). If you tie it up to make it 100% all the time your truck will think it is at GVW the entire time and you will smoke your brakes prematurely. It will not hurt the rear brakes in your case as it is just going to shift more of the load onto the front brakes instead of increasing the rears. So in a way he was almost right

 

[Bankrz]

Thanks for responding to my question. What do you guys think, should I pull them off? I tow a 26ft toy hauler trailer and I do not want to have any braking issues.

 

[Shibbyutman]

It still depends. If you have drum brakes in the rear, don't bother taking them off, the increased braking force you will get from them as a result of the valve being active isn't worth the hella saggy ride. If you have rear discs on the other hand, the valve will provide a significant increase in rear brake force. Know this, if you do leave the bags in there you may want to go to a bit more aggressive pad on the fronts because they will be working slightly harder. :thumbsup

 

[Bankrz]

Thanks for the info. Yes, I do have drums in the rear. Thanks again

 

[dmbowhunter]

i didnt know that my truck had that either. i have always felt like the rear brakes were not helping out at all. i just went and removed the conecter bar on the valve and wire tied the arm to the brake lines at an up hill angle like there was a lot of weight in the truck. feels like it made a big differance on braking. i wish i would have done when i bought the truck

 

[dmbowhunter]

does anybody know how the valve works. if i move the arm up farther am i going to increase flow more or will it start shutting it off like a ball valve would do once you go past the hole in it. if any one has a diagram i would be interested

 

[dmbowhunter]

my chilton doesnt even show this valve

 

[Shibbyutman]

Just look at the relative motion of the arm. Think, if the bed came down like from a lot of weight, what way would the arm have to move? my guess is down, but I don't have a picture in front of me either

 

[Bankrz]

I am out of town with out my truck right now, but when I get home tomorrow I am going to check out the zip tie option and see if that is something that I am going to go with. Thanks for all the responses.

 

[dmbowhunter]

the valve is on the frame and when the springs sag it moves the arm up. but how far up can i go before it starts restricting flow again if at all

 

[Shibbyutman]

measure the distance from the spring to the bump stop and I would imagine that the end of the arm would move a similar distance. If not to the bump stop just measure from where on the spring it mounts to a horizontal line at the same height as the bump stop.

 

[Bankrz]

Ok I'm back in town and I crawled under my truck to look at the valve and arm assembly. Do I unbolt the valve from the frame or one of the arms that are in a sissor configuration?

Dmbowhunter, I sold my 77 cruiser last year. It had a 4 bolt 350 in it and locked up front and rear. I miss it.