Air tank auto drain leak

[Mark S]

I noticed my air pressure taking longer to build up and draining much quicker, meaning I had to wait before driving after a rest stop. I discovered the auto drain on the secondary air tank leaking at the valve. Pushing and moving the pin didn’t stop the leak.
Is this valve serviceable or is it a replacement part?

[FYIB]

I service mine every spring. Take it off the tank and then those four bolts around what you circled are all that needed to unscrew for it to open. Inside is a simple plastic piece and a rubber valve. Since most of us don’t have air dryers those valves get really mucked up. I just scrub the inside really good with a toothbrush and then really clean the rubber valve. I then put some lithium grease around all the seals and bolt back together. Fixes that slow drain every time I do it.

[Mark S]

I can’t imagine why it was leaking. Lol. I cleaned it up with a toothbrush, reassembled and installed and it seems to be holding air.
Thank you FYIB.

[Ibub]

I just cleaned my two. The back one looked just like yours. The front on the other hand had what looked like Georgia clay in it.

[Mark S]

Originally Posted by Ibub

I just cleaned my two. The back one looked just like yours. The front on the other hand had what looked like Georgia clay in it.

I wonder if the “Georgia clay” is rust. I also wonder what the inside of our tanks and brake components must look like.

[Ibub]

Me too. Thinking of making an appointment to have a Air dryer installed.

[SloPoke]

Mark - We seem to be on a parallel service path. We just replaced our Air-Dryer on our FK along with our Coolant Reservoir on the chassis.

I talked with Ron about the drain valve, they only expect them to last 3-4 years before replacement is needed, and if they are leaking - it is not a critical safety issue to red-tag the vehicle as the valve is designed with a feature that if the valve fails completely, it will not deplete more air in the tank than what the compressor can fill as the opening in the casting where the air flows is limiting the flow.

To be honest, I was actually enjoying the leaking valve since it was acting as our air-bag dump valve too... When we pulled into our camping spot and leveling with the jacks, it purged the air from the air bags. When I cycled the jacks a second time about 30 minutes later, it did not have enough air to raise the suspension back up to full ride height - and we were re-leveled with the bags empty.

P.S. Are you coming out this year to EJS?

[Mark S]

Hi Steve. My year Seneca doesn’t have an air drier, perhaps I should consider adding one. As far as the leaking drain acting as a dump valve, I wish you had told me that before I added manual dump valves. Lol. Once I cleaned up the drain valve it actually looked pretty good and seems to function. I will clean the primary today and may even try to scope the tank to see if there is any rust.

Next up I’m considering new tires based solely on their age, dated 2216. We recently committed to keeping our Seneca after attending the Tampa RV show and realizing we really like what we have compared to new.

I wish we had a “Ron”, a trusted someone to help with Seneca maintenance and decisions. Instead I rely on you, Rob, Rusty and several others here on the forum. I just can’t seem to find anyone here in a south Florida that I trust for my Seneca work

Stay well and regards to Stacy

Ps: No, but I wish I was coming out for EJS. We will be going to the Black Hills SD for a Jeep Jamboree in September.

Originally Posted by SloPoke

Mark - We seem to be on a parallel service path. We just replaced our Air-Dryer on our FK along with our Coolant Reservoir on the chassis.

I talked with Ron about the drain valve, they only expect them to last 3-4 years before replacement is needed, and if they are leaking - it is not a critical safety issue to red-tag the vehicle as the valve is designed with a feature that if the valve fails completely, it will not deplete more air in the tank than what the compressor can fill as the opening in the casting where the air flows is limiting the flow.

To be honest, I was actually enjoying the leaking valve since it was acting as our air-bag dump valve too... When we pulled into our camping spot and leveling with the jacks, it purged the air from the air bags. When I cycled the jacks a second time about 30 minutes later, it did not have enough air to raise the suspension back up to full ride height - and we were re-leveled with the bags empty.

P.S. Are you coming out this year to EJS?

[javamon]

Originally Posted by Mark S

I can’t imagine why it was leaking. Lol. I cleaned it up with a toothbrush, reassembled and installed and it seems to be holding air.
Thank you FYIB.

Hi Mark,

Haven't had mine apart yet but I did purchase a spares kit awhile back just in case.

Bendix DV-2 282134

https://www.finditparts.com/products.../bendix-282134

[Mark S]

Hi Dave, I was surprised how quick and easy the maintenance was on these. Since you are at the same age and mileage as mine, I would suggest taking a look at yours as the rear, which I now think is the primary tank, was pretty cruddy and just started leaking. The front wasn’t so bad. Water and a toothbrush brought them back to life.

Originally Posted by javamon

Hi Mark,

Haven't had mine apart yet but I did purchase a spares kit awhile back just in case.

Bendix DV-2 282134

https://www.finditparts.com/products.../bendix-282134