Air Ride Behavior (with malfunction)

[Geerhed]

Forgive me if this has been posted already - I'm a newbie and did do a search and read many air suspension threads but couldn't find the answer.

I just purchased a 94 Conti (87K miles, new engine 16K ago) with problems in the back end. The front is up and stays up. The back is low when the car is off, but comes up quickly upon start-up and stays up while riding (although I can hear the compressor cycling on and off as I drive). I'd like to properly troubleshoot this issue before I go purchasing and needlessly replacing parts. I'd also like to stay with the air suspension bits (rather than do a conversion).

I would think that, if both rears are deflating upon shut-down (actually, they sometimes stay up for quite a while upon shut-down; up to 1/2 hour plus), then there must be a common part with a leak, otherwise I'd just lose one side in the rear. UNLESS the module is deflating the other side to compensate (so the car isn't sitting cockeyed). Is this something the module would do - deflate the other rear strut/bag to keep the back side of the car level?

When the car is shut off and "settling" at the rear, I can hear some air escaping from the driver side rear (haven't listened at the right rear) but also have heard some air being discharged from under the hood in the area of the module (which, I'm assuming, is in the front right of the engine compartment).

Any opinions are welcome, and if there is a thread which deals with troubleshooting procedure for the air ride system, I'd appreciate a nudge in that direction.

Thanks much.

 

[mespock]

Here is the best solution I can give you... I don't know about the Conti's air ride as I believe it's different from the Mark VIIIs.

But there is a member on this site. americianA1 I believe his screen name is.

He operates American Air Suspension (click for links). His name is Eddie Spinks. He use to work for Ford on the air ride systems so he knows what he's talking about.

If you explain the problem he will know what's wrong and give you advice as to what you can do to solve your problem inexpensively. He a great guy and is not going to look at you as hey here a sucker.... let's see what I can sell him. He will offer support, he will talk you through what to do while on the phone, and if you don't need any parts he will not try to sell you what you don't need.

They don't get any better than Eddie... Give him a call he will answer the phone or he will call you back. He's very reliable that way.

Good luck...

Also here are some suggestions from Eddie's Site Click Here

 

[Conti94]

Forgive me if this has been posted already - I'm a newbie and did do a search and read many air suspension threads but couldn't find the answer.

I just purchased a 94 Conti (87K miles, new engine 16K ago) with problems in the back end. The front is up and stays up. The back is low when the car is off, but comes up quickly upon start-up and stays up while riding (although I can hear the compressor cycling on and off as I drive). I'd like to properly troubleshoot this issue before I go purchasing and needlessly replacing parts. I'd also like to stay with the air suspension bits (rather than do a conversion).

I would think that, if both rears are deflating upon shut-down (actually, they sometimes stay up for quite a while upon shut-down; up to 1/2 hour plus), then there must be a common part with a leak, otherwise I'd just lose one side in the rear. UNLESS the module is deflating the other side to compensate (so the car isn't sitting cockeyed). Is this something the module would do - deflate the other rear strut/bag to keep the back side of the car level?

When the car is shut off and "settling" at the rear, I can hear some air escaping from the driver side rear (haven't listened at the right rear) but also have heard some air being discharged from under the hood in the area of the module (which, I'm assuming, is in the front right of the engine compartment).

Any opinions are welcome, and if there is a thread which deals with troubleshooting procedure for the air ride system, I'd appreciate a nudge in that direction.

Thanks much.

The compressor will always hiss after shutting off the car, it is venting excess air and leveling the car out for it's "parked" position. The leak in the rear bag is probably you're problem and it will need to be replaced. You better replace both though, it's best to replace them in pairs, so the bad one does not stress out the new bag. 9 times out of ten leaking bags are the problem. The compressors on these cars are very strong and last a long time, but if you keep driving with a leak in the bags it will kill the compressor, and cost more money to you in the long run.

 

[MichiganTeddyBear]

quick and easy test to verify a leak in the rear (or front) air struts.

start car, let it get to ride height. get out of car, (leave door open), open trunk and turn off the air suspension switch (left side of trunk). Drive car normally (ignore the warning light on dash for now. if after a day or so of driving, the car is still at its normal height, then all the struts are probably good. if one corner or end is low, there is your leak.

Like conti94 said, replace them in pairs. Just like regular shocks, they should be changed in axle pairs to prevent handling/ride problems.


The clicking and air venting when car is off and you exit is normal. car should settle an inch or so at each end from the driving height. The vent is in the compressor. the solenoid at each corner only lets air in or out, depending on the compressor running or not and whether or not the vent valve in compressor is open or shut (should be shut when compressor is running).

 

[pokeeto2]

In the case of a leak. What about jacking the rear of car in the air?, once both tires are hanging, you would here the air hissing out because the cracks on the Airspring are unfolded and are revealed therefore releiving or letting out any air. And if they are deflated you can sqeeze them while your at it to see for sure if they are bad.

This always worked for me on Town Cars with leaking issues and a 95 Continental with a leaking airspring

 

[Geerhed]

I found the leak - it's in the bag on the left rear. When the bag is semi-folded (at the "park" position) the air just runs right out.
Upon inspection, I found the other three bags at nearly the same condition, but they're not leaking yet.
Found a set of conversion springs/struts online, and I'll replace them all this weekend. Problem solved.