Ideas for my air ride cause

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BILLBOATS

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I have 96 mk 8. The air ride worked fine for 4 years but yesterday it suddenly dropped out meaning it didn't pump back up and the message said air ride problem. later that afternoon i restarted the car and air ride came on pumping it back up Today the exact same thing happened and restarting it caused air ride to pump up. I need answers and or Ideas as to the possible causes for it to stop and start working. thanks in advance
 
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Like does the suspension leak is it on the ground in the morning ?
Have you tried parking it than turning off the suspension before it goes into park hight?
Then the next night the same think abet it goes to park hight?
 
1/ no it is at full hieght2/ In the morning I have not tried turning off the switch before it rises/ The next night I assume you mean with the switch on it goes full up.I am getting a good scan this week too
 
How soon does the check air ride message come up after car is started?
 
If you go to American Air Ride Systems, Eddie has a wonderful self help section. Our air ride system isn't that complicated once you understand the basics. Save yourself some time and grief and visit his sight.
 
Thanks whitey, I appreciate your help. Thats a very hot and good looking mk . I had a boat for several summers in and around the Islands and porrt clinton. I used to ride the port clinton ferry when it ran to the Islands. No longer running as I hear the owner lost it over family disagreements that were serious. I will check out your advise as I would want to do the repair with a friend who is a mechanic but not heavy on hi teck./ As you say theres not much once I can understand the system. I do miss the port clinton times and i rode the tin goose and we chartered a cesna out of port clinto airc port many times. Best times of my younger life. Thanks and I will write back when I know something. Bill Boats
 
Today i got a lesson. The air ride system has 4 parts although i can't remember them all. I start with the ride height pegs I call them. The cars too much up or too much down sets off the pegs when it rises or fals too much sending a signal to the computer which has the capacity to run the compressor and direct the air to a selanoid valve . The valve opens letting air into the bag . This corrects the ride height . The compressor then can stop if needed. The air ride depends on the pegs, the selonid , the computer and the air bags all directed by input signals to the computer which makes the adjustments... Now my car dropped all the way down while driving. I went home and then after re start , the rode went back up and stopped at level. Write back and I can Intelligently talk with you since I know a little now.
 
awesome
If the car dropped all the way down when driving it's most likely a bad bag or 4.
If not bags you may have a bad solenoid o ring.
 
Today I drove 10-15 mules and it came on twice . I placed the transmissiom im neutral, shut off the car, then restarted and message went out with car pumping up .
 
I must get the car on a rack and let it run while inspecting it with a soapy spray along with a scan for coded too. If the rack is not open, I guess I can jack it up and use stands.
 
~I drove it today and after say 1-2 hrs the message came on. I put it in neutral , shut it off and restarted, then it went back to air ride OK and car inflated
 
~Thanks slowmkv111, I guess if its a bag, its not a large tear. A large hole would make re inflation hard , near impossible. I guess its a small slower leak allowing more compressor air to enter than escapes the hole would allow the bags to hold more air than the amount escaping the bag or bags. How can one tell if a selenoid is a cause/ Thanks . I feel the matador red is one great color making these kind of marks more headturners
 
I guess I will be the first one to chime in....Change to springs lol. I really didn't have the money to keep up on the air. Changed to springs like how the car sets, and rides very decent.
 
Soap and water will be your friend
A common place for the fronts to leak is at the top of the air spring where the shock comes through this you can see with the hood open.
As for switching to springs
I have one I hate (95) one I like (98) and one still on air that I love (97).
 
Ok everybody, It's as simple as this. KEEP the air ride if at all possible! If you can't afford to replace the air shock (s) if & when they go bad, maybe you should of just bought a Thunder -Chicken in the 1st place!
Yes the bags may leak after years of use. Go on Car-Parts.com & locate another one. I had to do just that. Got one last week, it still leaked. Luckily the yard did credit me thou. Now I'm waiting for the next air shock to show up in a day or two. Frustrating, hell yeah, but well worth the time & hassle to get the car back to it's proper equipment. Complete brand new front suspension along with it as well.:wrench
Moral of the story. The AIR RIDE is really what makes these cars so damn unique! I had Coil-Overs on my last Mark Vlll, the ride was sub-par, then when I sold the car I threw in a pair of air shocks as extras. Wish I would of kept 'em!! Definitely regretting it now!
 
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