Air suspension issues..

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gearhead291

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so this has me confused. i picked this mark about a week ago for >2K. and since ive rebuilt the front suspension with new ball joints, upper control arms, sway bar links, strut rod bushings, etc. the car will pump up the front suspension and then say check air ride. but if it pumps it up and i shut it off. and let it sit, it doesnt sag back down. this is only happening in the front.


so, it will sit all night and day, and not sag back down once its pumped up. BUT when i get in the car the compressor will run and say service air ride, then i can hear it leaking out, almost like its releasing the pressure from the front bags.(passenger side) i replaced the o rings in the front solenoids. and it doesn't make a difference.


it will sit all night and not leak out. ill come out in the morning and it looks like this.

IMAG0250.jpg


IMAG0251.jpg


no sag. and to me, it looks like the whole car is sitting high.

so im thinking its not the bags, but maybe the solenoid.

looks like this when it sags,

IMAG0055.jpg


any help would be appreciated
 
I think it's mad because of the wheels you have on the car. :D

J/K. Dude, sounds like your ride height sensors may be causing the issue but then again, don't listen to me. I went through 3 years of dealing with air ride issues on my Marks & finally converted to springs on both my cars.
 
LOL nobody like the wheels but me. i like these better but eventually ill get different ones

are the rears adjustable?
 
You have one height sensor in the back, drivers side. It should have two bolts holding it in place but there may only be one. Loosen and take a long flat head screw driver and barely tap the sensor upward about 1/4". Make sure the air ride is off when adjusting.

Your front sensors can be adjusted with the wheels on. On the drivers side, turn the wheel all the way to the left. Turn the car off, turn off air ride. Loosen bottom nut on the height sensor. Loosen just enough to move the bottom of the sensor up. I personally would go all the way up as far as it will allow you allow you and then tighten the nut back down but don't over tighten it. A little over hand tightened is enough but no need in making it very tight. Those studs will break off easily if over tightened.

Passengers side, turn the wheel all the way to the right, do the same thing. When done, start the car, turn the wheels back straight, open trunk, turn the air ride back on while it's running. It's not going to hurt anything. Let it run for a few minutes or even take it for a short little ride and then park it on a level surface. Turn it off and get out. Shut your door and see if it vents down into a nice parking height. Measure your front after it vents and it should be in the 27" range, possibly close to 28".

It might take a couple of adjustments on the rear before you get it level with the front. Make sure you turn the air ride off anytime you are under it and adjusting the sensor.
 
NoLimit95 said:
You have one height sensor in the back, drivers side. It should have two bolts holding it in place but there may only be one. Loosen and take a long flat head screw driver and barely tap the sensor upward about 1/4".
Click to expand...

Tap the sensor BRACKET upwards, not the sensor, it'll break. :rolleyes:
 
UltimateSVT said:
I think it's mad because of the wheels you have on the car. :D

J/K. Dude, sounds like your ride height sensors may be causing the issue but then again, don't listen to me. I went through 3 years of dealing with air ride issues on my Marks & finally converted to springs on both my cars.
Click to expand...

It could be the Conti wheels....or the 2 tone paint , or the cataracts :p

Its like the perfect Condo car tho, one color over here, another over there..lol
 
yea the multi color paint drives me up the wall every time i see it. im not real worried about it tho its getting painted anyways. so there all suppose to be in there up-most position? ill adjust them. is it possible one of the sensors are bad?
 
I wouldn't think so, they probably just need to be adjusted. The rear one doesn't need to go as far upward as possible. You're going to have to work with it little at a time. Make sure to turn off the sir ride between each adjustment. The fronts can be pushed all the way up and tightened down. Bottom nut, be easy with tightening it. It just needs to be tight enough to stay in place, that's all.
 
it looks like your mark was in 4X4 mode sittin all up high like that, that would show that system is not venting properly, and the pic with the front end on the ground looks exactly like my mark did when i had a leaking front bag.
 
new air bags, and sensor lower it.
maybe a stuck vent? but definitely leaky bags.

side note, better than snowflakes.
 
Ok so I tried adjusting it all the way up. No change. Then all the way down, and it seems to ride smoother, but it could just be in my head. Still says service air ride. Still not leaking once its pumped up.still sits up high. Only leaks when its pumped up and the compressor turns on anyway.
 
420ss said:
it looks like your mark was in 4X4 mode sittin all up high like that, that would show that system is not venting properly, and the pic with the front end on the ground looks exactly like my mark did when i had a leaking front bag.
Click to expand...

^ what he said.
 
Try adjusting the rear sensor bracket all the way down as far as it will go. And adjust the front sensor lower mount up as far as it will go. If that doesn't work, jack the front end up with the air ride switch left ON and let the front solenoids vent. Then let the front end down again and see if it settles at a more reasonable height. It may or may not work. But it's worth a shot. The 4x4 mode just looks so wrong:D
 
Got new height sensors and still no change. I'm about to say f*ck it. And convert it. Am I right in thinking that the front struts are exactly the same in a Thunderbird? I also heard the rears will work but will have to be welded.


The only way I would do this would be if it wouldn't sag, and if somehow I could turn off the service air ride warning. Please tell me there's a way to disable it all together without just switching it off?
 
Do you have the money to get your hands on a good working compressor? I think your vent solenoid is stuck closed. It happens but I started with you on the height sensors being set to the highest setting. When they were adjusted and no change happened, I wouldn't have replaced with them with two more.

It's something simple and now I'm really thinking it's all in the compressor and I would agree that at least one of your front bags is leaking. Some people have money to work with and some don't so this is why I ask. If it's possible, call Eddie at American air and get one of his compressors for $135 + shipping and send him your old one back so that he doesn't charge you the additional $50 core charge. He is nice enough to front you a $50 core for 30 days and then if he doesn't get your compressor or any compressor, he will tack on another $50 to your credit card / check card.

Or, good luck with your conversion.
 
Thanks I apprichate it, but I don't have the extra money, and honestly, I'm done with It. I feel like it would be a waste to put more money into it just for it to have more issues in the future.
 
gearhead291 said:
Thanks I apprichate it, but I don't have the extra money, and honestly, I'm done with It. I feel like it would be a waste to put more money into it just for it to have more issues in the future.
Click to expand...

and another one to coils. that's ok. more air ride parts for me! :D

but really, my air ride has been very good. had i encountered as many problems as some people on here, i probably would have gone to drop springs and firm shocks long ago. still might. these arnotts suck.
 
Well, you have plenty of options when it comes to a conversion. I can't say or suggest what's best because I have never owned a converted Mark but have drove one. Don't know what they used but it was bouncy and to me. It just didn't feel the same. I wanna say the springs were red. Maybe some of the others that have converted can suggest good riding shocks and springs, lowered look or a normal looking ride height. If any suggestions are made, those people should put a ballpark figure next to each piece you'll need, depending on how high you want the car to sit. Once it's put in, it's there to stay pretty much unless you start swapping shocks and or springs to finally get what you want. Just remember, those parts, whatever they may be will also wear at some point and need to be replaced.

I would at least pull the compressor and if you're mechanically inclined, take it apart and clean it up and lubricate anything that looks like it might be sticking. Put it all back together again and just see what happens. It might just start venting like it should. It appears you're in an apartment complex or something like it. Some places really don't like work to be done on cars in the parking lot but if you have access to a garage to work in and remove the front bumper cover, it would give you a much easier approach at the compressor. Your air ride computer might even have flipped it's lid for all I know. I still think it's something fairly simple that's causing it to do what it's doing.
 
chris2523 said:
and another one to coils. that's ok. more air ride parts for me! :D

but really, my air ride has been very good. had i encountered as many problems as some people on here, i probably would have gone to drop springs and firm shocks long ago. still might. these arnotts suck.
Click to expand...

How much are Arnotts now Chris?
 
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