Ok....i'm stuck now...whats next???

Alright everyone...I am really needing some of my favorite group of peoples wisdom. Recently while driving my 1993 Mark 8 I had a problem. I was on the highway and when I slowed to make my turn the rear end of the car sank. I drove the 1/4 mile home and pulled in the driveway. I got out to see what was up and the front started to vent to curb height like normal, but never stopped. So now all four corners are slammed. The next day I started trying to find my problem. I started at my sickly sounding compressor. After getting it out of the car we dissasembled it and found that the rubber ring around the piston in the compressor was cut to pieces, and the teflon type tape wrapped around it was also shot. Since the compressor has previously been replaced with an Arnott unit, I called Arnott and ordered a new piston assembly. It arrived yesterday and we put it back on the compressor, I replaced the O ring for the dryer, and put it back on the car. The pump sounded excellent for a few minutes and I thought problem solved. But after a few 90 second cycles...no movement in the shocks. All of the air bags are firmly full of air, but the car just will not raise. I think I can hear a leak coming from around the compressor but can not find it. If anyone can give me any idea of what to do next, I would greatly appreciate it.

All I can say is...i've been Marked...

RE: Ok....i'm stuck now...whats next???

Sound like the vent valve at the compressor is stuck open.

RE: Ok....i'm stuck now...whats next???

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Sound like the vent valve at the compressor is stuck open.
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Driller is probably right (its a Mark VIII thing), but do a leak test to make sure with a soapy water solution. Who knows, you may have a leak where the dryer goes into the compressor.

RE: Ok....i'm stuck now...whats next???

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]Sound like the vent valve at the compressor is stuck open.[/div]Driller is probably right (its a Mark VIII thing), but do a leak test to make sure with a soapy water solution. Who knows, you may have a leak where the dryer goes into the compressor.
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I replaced the O ring where the dryer goes into the compressor. I checked what I thought was the vent valve on the compressor and found nothing. I cant get the rear bags to check them with the soapy water because the back is so low, and I can not get a jack under it back there. I'm just short of dropping the money to convert it... Getting ready to be commuting and hour and a half on the interstate every other day or so, and really dont want this to happen again at 75 or 80 mph.

RE: Ok....i'm stuck now...whats next???

[/div]"I replaced the O ring where the dryer goes into the compressor. I checked what I thought was the vent valve on the compressor and found nothing. I cant get the rear bags to check them with the soapy water because the back is so low, and I can not get a jack under it back there. I'm just short of dropping the money to convert it... Getting ready to be commuting and hour and a half on the interstate every other day or so, and really dont want this to happen again at 75 or 80 mph."
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Well, so much for thinking it was something simple. I think its the compressor. Like driller said, it could be a stuck vent solenoid. If this happens, no matter how long it runs, it'll never make more than 30 p.s.i. (The shop manual says it needs 120 minimum)

From what you've described, it looks like you need "at least" a Compressor/Dryer. If the problem is a stuck solenoid, excessive moisture is probably going to be the culprit. This usually means a leak has gone unnoticed for some time. Making the pump run and run....producing lots of moisture which WILL find its way to the vent solenoid by way of gravity.

While a compressor may get you going again, the "root cause" is probably going to be a leak in the air struts and/or air springs. I say this because I've found that a leak usually goes unnoticed for "at least" 6-8 months. In this time, excessive moisture is accumulated, which causes countless problems in the compressor.