HELLP WITH AIR RIDE

I have a 93 Mark 8 That I bought to replace my fathers car I crashed you may have seen my questions about the keyless problems, well now im working on the suspension, when I bought the car it had a bad passenger side front air strut (I sprayed it with soapy water and found the leak) I finally got one from the junk yard out of a 94 and replaced it this morning after turning the key on and letting the compressor cycle about 4 times the car lifted and said the airride was ok. I then checked all the other bags including the one I replaced with soap and water and none of them leaked so me and my dad got in the car to take a test drive and the compressor cameo n as soon as we got in and kept running until it said check air ride on the control center screen then it shut down. So I turned the car off at the next light and started it again this time the compressor ran and I heard hissing the whole time and the front dropped all the way down. So I brought it home started it and the front came back up I checked for leaks again and still no leaks however I hear a hissing sound while the compressor is running and it lifts the car up almost all the way and then the check air ride message comes on and if i start it again to try and get it to fill it hisses and runs the compresser and the car drops to the ground in the front only. Does anyone have any ideas? Also is the valve mounted in the air bag different from 93 to 94 when I had both out the one from the 94 had a black end with a piece of sponge under it but the 93 was just open on top when I took it out. Sorry about the lengthy post I'm trying to explaine as well as I can.
Thanks
Anthony

RE: HELLP WITH AIR RIDE

It sounds like the airspring from the 94 was replaced with a gen 2 (97-98) airspring. The gen 2 airspring case is plastic and the gen 1 is steel. I think the gen 2 solenoid is like what you described.

Did you replace the O rings when you replaced the solenoid valves? You should find out where the hissing is coming from, if you can't get it to pump up.

Also, you should check for leaks when the vehicle has lowered to parked height. This will expose any cracks in the rubber fold area of the airspring.

Here's a link to Eddies procedure for finding a leak. Check out the whole site for great troubleshooting info.

http://www.americanairsuspension.com/MARK VIII LEAK TEST.htm

RE: HELLP WITH AIR RIDE

I did check the bags for cracks and leaks with soapy water wand they didnt seem to leak however that hissing sounds like its coming from the front of the passenger fender so im thinkin maybe the compressor is leaking how do I check for a stuck vent? Also the I did not replace the solonoid rings because i kept the solonoid in the 94 spring I did not switch them should I have? Also what was plastic on the second Gen so I could try to identify it for you?

RE: HELLP WITH AIR RIDE

If the hissing is coming from the pump area, the vent valve in the compressor might be sticking open. Try to get your hand in there and feel where the air is coming from.

Also, I've heard of problems with the dryer leaking where it connects to the pump. Another thing to check would be where the airlines go into the dryer.

Sorry, I thought you said that you removed the solenoid valves from the airsprings. If you never removed them, the solenoid O rings should be OK. If you find that the your leak isn't at the pump, you might want to check where the airlines go into the solenoid valves.

RE: HELLP WITH AIR RIDE

No need to appologise, I did check where it goes into the solonoids in the front those seem ok, should I remove the inner fender well to check the compressor parts or the front bumper. I tried to look through the headlight adjuster door but could only see one of the bolts that holds the compressor on. By the way the car is not lifting at all now I tried to squeeze the bags in the front the get hard but never lift. I am going to try and check the rest of the leaks on wed.

RE: HELLP WITH AIR RIDE

Something with the compressor. a leak or a stuck vent solenoid.

good luck, it shouldn't be too hard to solve, just a bit of a pain in the rear

RE: HELLP WITH AIR RIDE

hi, noob here... first post. i just bought a 95 mark 8 and mine has exactly the same problem. even the hissing noise. i ended up tracing the noise to the compressor after checking everything with soapy water and have come to the conclusion that the leak is inbetween the dryer, and the compressor. i reached my finger in there, and i can feel air leaking out.

1. what i dont get is there is 4 lines coming out of the dryer, and only the front of my car is dropped? shouldnt the whole car be dropped? why is it like that?

2. how is the dryer connected to the compressor, and how do i fix/tighten it?

thanks muchly guys.

RE: HELLP WITH AIR RIDE

Anthony, did you ever solve your air suspension problem?

4.6powa, all the airlines are connected to the dryer but each airspring has it's own solenoid valve. The airspring that inflates or vents, depends on which solenoid valve is opened by the control module.

If you have a leak at the dryer, the module was probably trying to pump up the front but the leak was too big for the compressor to overcome, and the leak caused the front to drop. Once this happens the "check air ride" message appears and shuts down the system before the rear solenoid valves have a chance to open.

Check out Eddies website. He explains this better than I can:

http://www.americanairsuspension.com/MARK VIII AREA.htm

RE: HELLP WITH AIR RIDE

Here's a photo showing the dryer connected to the compressor.

If the dryer is leaking, it can be removed by first removing the bottom screw that connects it to the pump housing. Then push in and twist the dryer to disconnect it from the compressor head. There will be an O ring that should be replaced there also.

Make sure your leak isn't coming from the vent outlet. If it is, your vent valve is leaking.

http://www.mark8.org/users/billcu/compressor.jpg

RE: HELLP WITH AIR RIDE

i ended up pulling the dryer out, come to find out that both tabs that lock it in were snapped off, and previous owner tried to fix this by smearing some silicone glue over it. new dryer should be at the tasca dealership tomorrow.

thanks guys...

so this should completely fix the issue right?

RE: HELLP WITH AIR RIDE

"so this should completely fix the issue right?"

Yes, you should have no more dryer leak problems.

Just make sure that you use a new O ring and insert the airlines properly. I had an airline pop out once.

When I took that photo, I couldn't beleive how tiny those tabs were on the dryer.

RE: HELLP WITH AIR RIDE

Nice pic Bill!