Front wheel removal of 1998 Prevost XL

[Ben Neumann]

I own my 1998 Country Coach for three years and I decided to change all air bags, they were never changed before. I built myself a pit in order to go safely under the bus. The chassis of the bus is as high as it goes and the front wheel is hanging approx. three inches above the ground. I have trouble getting the front tire out of the wheel well. The tire is about 3/4" larger then the wheel well opening. I have tried to turn the tire in an angle but that did not help. Is it nescessery to remove the fender flare every time you take the tire off? I hope not, that is a lot of extra work. I am hoping that I am doing something wrong and there might be someone out there to straighten me out. Any help will be very much appreciated.
Ben

[Gil_J]

Ben,

Hopefully Joe will chime in given he is a suspension expert.

I've had the front wheels off of my 99 CC and I didn't have any problems. This may be a dumb question, but are you jacking the coach at the jack points in front of or behind the independent front suspension? If you are jacking on the jack point on the lower A arm you probably can't get the wheel off.

[Ben Neumann]

Thank you Gil,
I jacked the chassis in front and behind the wheel to the height that the wheel was three inches above ground. The seller of coach told me, to try to move the bottom of the wheel out of the wheel well first. This finally worked, but still was very tight and I am concerned about putting it back.
At this point, I am trying to remove the old air bag. I loosened all screwes and removed the air fittings. The bag will not come out without removing the upper a-arm. I just looked at the 8 air bags I got from Prevost. All new bags are approx. 9"X 12 1/4". The old bag up front measures 10 1/2" high and 11" wide. I might have to check with Prevost to get an answer. It just does not look wright to me. I will keep you up how the project is progressing. Thank you again Gil
Ben

[Gil_J]

I'm pretty sure the same bags are not used in all positions. There was a change to the recommended front air bag due to the weight on the front axle of most conversions. I would verify with Prevost that you have the right bags.

Yes, the tires generally need to be tilted out from the bottom unless the coach is lifted.

The front bag will come out without removing the A arms. I forget the magic twist that needs to be followed. Keep looking. You can also call any of the Prevost centers or Prevost PASS and a tech will tell you the routing of the bag.

[Joe Camper]

Ben I will see if I can help u. When I first support the chassis I don't jack anything. Go to level low or hwh and go all the way up with all 3 corners, and even if u r not going to do anything with the other 2 corners always up all the way all around. BE PATIENT DO NOT USE HIGH IDLE. If the bus is at 120 psi already, pump the brakes down below 100 to ensure the compressor has started pumping and then continue to remain in the up position on the front at LOW IDLE untill the air dryer pops off. This is the only way to ensure u have the front all the way up with Indipendent front suspension. THE ONLY WAY.

This is quite possibly where u went wrong. U thought u were way up in the front but in reality were not. That's why the tire was not clearing for u.

Once u get to know your bus u will learn if your chassis requires this extreme . Some r heavier than others. Some front ends r so heavy they require this process twice to get fully extended for service or repair . Other chassis preform wonderfully.

At that point go in the pit and support the chassis at the lifting points with jack stands that r within 1 in of tight or tighter. Don't need to go so tight as so when your done u have to jack the chassis to get them out but get them close.

Then dump the air out of the front and let all the air out of the front bags. The closer u set the jack stands the more room will be created between the tire and the fender. So drop it onto the stands, go down. Be patient get all the air out. At that point the tire is den neer off the ground it's just touching.

Just loosten but do not remove lug nuts.

Put a jack on the jack point of the lower a arm and just get the tire barley off the ground barley an inch. Now remove them lug nuts.

Then on the drivers side turn the steering wheel 1 turn towards the pass side and pull out on the bottom of the tire while turning/pulling the front of the tire towards u. Once uve done it a couple times its a sinch. Do not get way off the ground there is no good reason in fact it just makes getting the rim much more difficult to get on and off. When it's barley 1in off the ground it practically tilts right up to the studs.

The air bag if u position the a arm just right u can get it in and out however removing the upper a arm bushing bolts is not too bad a job and allows greater access. The way the geometry is on that mount all 4 bolts need to be all the way out to pull and replace that arm.

Usually there r no alignment shims on the top arms. Usually, but I have seen some up there. Probably because the fit up there is so close even with only 1 shim on 1 bolt and bam, the holes for all 4 bolts barley line up and become a bitch. If a shim is present put bolts first then insert shim and ull have to tap it in, thats way easier .

Incorporate these things and u will be rewarded. May the force be with u.

I think the IFS bags end in 59 but not sure. The bottom bell is steel not plastic. They do look quite a bit different new and old.

The upgrade on the front bags Gill is referring to is for the straight axle front ends. To my knowledge prevo has been using the same front bags for IFS since it's inception.

[billbunch47]

An other trick on the front air bags is to use a vacuum cleaner to suck down or compress the bag to gain clearance, works on the new install also.