Firestone Sport-Rite Air Helper Springs - 2011 Chevy Silverado

Installation of Firestone Sport-Rite Air Helper Springs on a 2011 Chevy Silverado

Alright, today on this 2011 Chevy Silverado we are going to install part number F2320 from Firestone. This is their Sport-Right air helper spring kit. There are a few things we need to do to go ahead and prep the vehicle. What we have done is gone ahead and took off the tires and wheels and supported the axle in the air. Next we are going to work on the jounce stop. This is a jounce stop right here. And there is a bolt on the inside that we have to loosen up and remove. We are going to remove the hardware that is inside here. We are going to remove this bolt on the inside. We put the original factory nut on top and we are just going to tap it right out. Alright, what we are going to do is use this spacer right here. We are just going to put it on top of it. Drop in the metric bolt with the lock washer. Run that all of the way through. And to help keep the bolt pushed in, we are going to use a little extension to help hold everything together. Then we will put this back into the frame. We will use a flat washer and a nut. Once we get it started, we can go ahead and just tighten it down. 1:25

Alright, now we can do some pre-assembly on our air spring. This is our air spring right here. And what we are going to do is work with the bottom half first. We are going to a bolt into the slot, the 3/4 inch long one. In these slots here we are going to in the U-bolt. We are going to take the disc and put that on top. And then we will install our air bag. We are just going to thread it on loosely because we will have to have some adjustment later on. Working on the top half of the air bag, we will install the air valve. We will just thread that on to place. It does not need any sealant because there is a little Teflon ring there on top. We will just run it down until it stops on its own, maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of a turn after that. And this will still move. To put our top plate on, slide it over our fitting we just installed. Use two more of our 3/4 inch long bolts. These guys, we can go ahead and tighten down. 2:30

We will take our spring assembly, set it on top of the spring. And this edge of the lower bracket will sit next to the U-bolt plate. We will just center that on there. And then on the bottom we will install this clamp and two flange nuts. Now we will just take this U-bolt clamp and we are just going to tighten it down to where it keeps it from moving. Now our top half of the bracket has to be drilled into the frame. So what we are going to do is take this top edge of the bracket and even it up with the top of the frame and then mark our holes we are going to drill. We are using a 3/8 bit. We are just going to use that to mark our holes for our centers. Now, on this side here above the jounce stop, mark your holes and then they should be pretty close to the center line of the bolt of where it was before because on the inside of the frame there are two ribs that will get in the way, if you are too far forward. So you might want to double check yourself before you wreck yourself. We will drill our pilot holes first and then go back at it with our final drill bit which will be a 3/8. 4:01

To install the bracket onto the frame we will be using the something 4:07 bolts and they are about 1-1/2 inches long. Then on the backside we will be using the thick, heavy washer and a flange nut. These two bolts get installed where the frame is enclosed all of the way around. So we have to use these handle nuts that will help us reach in there and install the bolts. So it is just going to be the bolt and the handle nut. Make sure our bottom bracket is straight on the spring. And then if we have to loosen it and adjust it that is fine. If not, we will go ahead and tighten it down for good. And we will go ahead and tighten down the bolts going from the frame to the frame bracket. OK, now we will loosen this bolt on the very bottom to take out any twist we have in the air bag. Let it sit the way it wants. Then we can go ahead and tighten it up. 5:06

Our air spring is fully installed and tightened down. Now all we have to do is torque the bolts down as specified in the instructions. Alright, we will go ahead and start installing the air line. And we are going to be using a tubing cutter to make a nice, clean edge on it. And all I have to do is it into the fitting. Push it all of the way in. Give it a gentle tug back and it locks itself into place. Alright, now we will go ahead and route our airline to the back of the bumper. And you can do this any number of ways you want. I like going over the hat channel. And when you route your airline, make sure you stay away from anything hot like the exhaust or anything moving like the suspension. We ran our airlines to this area right here behind the bumper so it will be easy to get to. We have one on each side, representing the air bags. And to keep everything nice and even, we are actually going to use this wiring bracket and use the mounting holes to mark our holes. We will take our airline fitting, put one washer on the back and install it to the bumper. Another flat washer goes on the outside and then the nut. Repeat for the other side and then we will go ahead and tighten down the nuts and run its line up to the fitting as well. We are done with the air bag on the passenger side. Now go ahead and install the air bag for the driver side. Let us go ahead and put some air in the air bags and show you how it works. With everything installed, that will finish it for part number F2320 from Firestone.