DON'T KNOW SQUAT ABOUT AIR RIDE

opiewann

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Just like the subject line says, I don't know what the air ride is all about. I just bought a 93 Mark 8 and it has no owner's manual or service manual. Do all the cars have air ride and is air ride just to bring the back end up when loaded with a lot of weight? How do you know if it is functioning? Any help is appreciated. Another thing that was weird today is I jacked the car's front end up to attempt to change out the 0-2 sensor and when I lowered the hydrolic jack, it bottomed all the way down and I couldn't get the jack out. It went under the car no problem, but when it was lowered the carcame down further than it sat before it was jacked up. Kinda weird.Is this something to do with the air ride? Was I supposed to disconnect something before jacking up the car? I had an 85 Towncar with load leveler suspension in it, and I seem to remember reading it in a manual that the suspension had to be turned off before jacking or towing. I didn't know if the same thing applied in this car.
By the way, I am getting an owner's and service manual soon from a friend of mine.
Brad
 
RE: DON'T KNOW SQUAT ABOUT AIR RIDE

Some here like our mod Kale can write books about our Air Ride.

I will try to answer your questions as clear as I can…

Yes, the car does raise and lower every time you start the car, and when turn it off and shut the door. You can notice the car rise up and down after you start it and close the driver’s door. It also lowers about 1.5inches at 65Mph to provide better aerodynamics. And again, YES the car is on air bags from all 4 corners. Also, YES you really do need to turn off the air ride prior to jacking it.
 
RE: DON'T KNOW SQUAT ABOUT AIR RIDE

Thanks a lot for the info. You guys do seem to go out of your way to help. Now all I need to do is find out how to clean my headlights. i posted a question in the electrical section but no responses. i know they have to be cleaned while sealed up still and prefer to be mounted still, but how do you get the inside of the lens cleaned? Thru the bulb holes?
 
RE: DON'T KNOW SQUAT ABOUT AIR RIDE

The final answer is that I wired a light to my vent solenoid and the second I hit 65mph it came on. This could be repeated consistently. The manual says 105kmh which is ~65mph. Consider speedo errors and my info is dead on with the manual. Check out the brocures and they say 55mph, but that's when the speed limit was 55 - a little creative marketing if you ask me...

Kale
 
RE: DON'T KNOW SQUAT ABOUT AIR RIDE

There's really no good way to clean out the lenses from the inside. You have a couple options though. 1...go buy new lenses from the dealership and they should last another 5-10 yrs. Or 2...switch them out with '96 model HID lenses, bulbs etc. for a more enhanced driving experience at night. By "enhanced" I mean you can actually see when you drive. I have a '93 and luckily the lenses are still good. But many here have complained about the lack of light emitted from these lenses. The problem is primarily the chrome reflector surface wearing off from the high heat of the bulbs. The other is the crappy plastic Ford uses to make the lens. The HID's are a bit pricey and you have to have some electrical skill or some sizeable cajones to cut and splice your headlight circuit to make them work. If your curious about the HID's just ask someone here to direct you to more info on the job.
 
RE: DON'T KNOW SQUAT ABOUT AIR RIDE

Turning off the air ride before jacking up the car will prevent that slamming action from happening.
The switch is in the trunk,left hand side behind the access door.
Not hooking the height sensor up after sensor lowering the rear end will also produce those results :)
 
RE: DON'T KNOW SQUAT ABOUT AIR RIDE

The HID's are a bit pricey and you have to have some electrical skill or some sizeable cajones to cut and splice your headlight circuit to make them work.

Hee hee. I've got "sizeable cajones"! Hee hee!

It's more like having some disposable income, some patience when working on the car, and the ability to read directions...but only thanks to the Mark VIII websites. The rather expensive headlights do not come with instructions.

Oh, and a Dremel tool would have been helpful.
 
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