1/4" SMC Valve PROBLEM

Ok I have had my front bagged for a few months now and everything has been great. I have water traps, check valves, a water drain on my tank, everything needed to run my setup just right. I started having slow leaks through my 1/4" dump valve in the right front. If I lifted it up and then dropped it hard it would stop but only after I did this a few times. That happened on Thursday and Friday. Friday night I went to lift my truck and the right front dump valve stuck at full open. We tried everything to get it to close but it just stayed open. So I let my compressors fill up all the way and then hit the lift and lower switches very quickly several times and it finally closed. Nowww...it dumps like I have a very small reducer on it, the driverside drops faster than the passenger side. I bought these from Suicide Doors a few months back, should I hit them up to see if they will send a new one or hit up whoever the manufacturer is? I haven't pulled it off to see if anything is in it because the way it has been acting just doesn't make any sense. If I need to pull it apart and clean it then ok, but like I said, it has only been installed for a few months and I have water traps that I drain religously. What do you guys think? Anyone else have these problems with SMC valves?

i have this same problem. bought mine from the same people also. not sayin its Suicide Doors but who knows. i said the hell with smc cause they are junk. parker valves solved the issue for me:XL:

Where are they installed? Just because its a dump doesn't mean it still won't get shit in it, I would take it apart and clean it.

Most valves take 5psi of back pressure to seat the the Diaphragm. Try ataching a piece of tubeing or muffler on the dump valve?
Other then that try cleaning it. Some people never have a promblem and some do when the valve just dumps into the atmosphere.

The front dumps are installed on the frame rail near the front tires. It is possible that it got trash in it, I was just wondering how many people had problems like this and it was something else. I did a search on here and saw that a few people had pulled theirs apart and cleaned them and the valves still did the same thing but no one had a reason why. So I was hoping to find out why and what to do to fix the problem. I will pull the valve off this weekend and clean it up and see if that fixes it but the way it has been acting is just a little wierd. I will probably relocate the front valves this weekend as well, hopefully after I relocate them to a "cleaner" place I won't have any problems.

Like Nate said, some people have had this happen with SMCs when the dumps dump straight into the air. After they added a short length of tubing to the outlet of the dump valve it solved it.

Edited: 1/5/2011 9:09:32 AM by Marcos_65

Before I bought mufflers, I added these to the valves so crap wouldn't get in after I had a pebble find its way into my valve. So yeah, anything to keep crap out will work.

You don't have to take the valve off to clean it. Just unscrew the 4 screws. I found that most need the "mufflers" or a length of tube. The tube helps keep them clean as well. You could have a small tear? As it does suck sometime if a tiny piece of debres gets in it can tear the diaphram. I like them cause the are easy to clean.

i had the same issue with my last truck. i bought 8 new smc 3/8 valves from suicide doors and they would dump when hit the up switch but i got to playin with em and figured out u could hold ur finger over the dump and hit the up and it worked perfect. So i just went to the local "lowes" bought some 3/8 to 1/4 reducers and put in my dump valves which slowed droppin the truck way down but duh... 1/4 ha

ok now i have a question and im new to forum and dint know where to ask...but i have 4blitzluft 1/2 valves front and back and i started my truck up this mornin and the front aired up as the truck built pressure and it still doin it even after drivin it...it was like 22 degrees this mornin though anyone who could help me out i would really appreciate it thanks....