Air suspension help!

well, my car was riding extremely high in the back and the air ride system would shut itself off after a 90sec , so i took out the air hoses and let the whole car drop, put em back in and it seemed like the problem was solved car was sitting normal and no check air ride message, until afterr driving for about 10 minutes, that nasty check air ride notice came up again, it seems like the back started pumping up to much in the back again but it still isnt as high as it was, and now the car is doing the 90 second thing again. there seems to be a leak somewhere in the front, im not sure where i havnt done the soapy water test yet, but what would be causing the back to pump up so much, please any help on what i need to get to fix my air ride, i really dont wanna do the conversion.

oh ya ps, the struts are shot on the backend, im putting new ones tommarow, could that be a reason why its pumping up to high?

RE: Air suspension help!

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well, my car was riding extremely high in the back and the air ride system would shut itself off after a 90sec , so i took out the air hoses and let the whole car drop, put em back in and it seemed like the problem was solved car was sitting normal and no check air ride message, until afterr driving for about 10 minutes, that nasty check air ride notice came up again, it seems like the back started pumping up to much in the back again but it still isnt as high as it was, and now the car is doing the 90 second thing again. there seems to be a leak somewhere in the front, im not sure where i havnt done the soapy water test yet, but what would be causing the back to pump up so much, please any help on what i need to get to fix my air ride, i really dont wanna do the conversion.oh ya ps, the struts are shot on the backend, im putting new ones tommarow, could that be a reason why its pumping up to high?
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Are you saying that the "COMPRESSOR IS RUNNING" for the entire 90 seconds...then the check suspension message comes on and the compressor shuts off?....Or are you just getting the Check suspension message after 90 seconds after startup?

Also, when you said...."there seems to be a leak somewhere in the front". Why do you say that? Is the front end on the ground in the morning?

When the light is on, the rearend is high, what does the front end look like?...is it normal height?....or really low?

Keep in mind that if the front air struts are leaking and the front end is not exactly where its suppose to be "after 90 seconds of trying", (maybe because of a leak and/or weak compressor) the module will give up and not even try to do anything with the rear. The module will try to make adjustments to one end or the other...but never the front AND rear at the same time. Also, if the front is low and the system timed out, it won't even try to vent the rear down.

If the front end is low, it'll kind of act like a see-saw and bring the rear up. If the system was able to pump up the front to normal ride height, it would then try to vent down the rear.

You said......"the struts are shot on the backend, im putting new ones tommarow, could that be a reason why its pumping up to high?" You don't have struts on the rear, you have air springs. You said you thought there was a leak in the front....but your replacing the rear springs? I'm confused.

I would recommend doing a leak test, but make sure you get the car as close to normal ride height first, then shut off the car and let it vent down to curb height, THEN turn the suspension switch off. Drive the car for "up to" a few days. If the car goes down, you have a leak in that corner(s). You can also go here for detailed instructions on how to do this leak test here: http://www.americanairsuspension.com/MARK VIII LEAK TEST.htm

If your sure you want to stick with the air suspension no matter what, I would do the leak test, replace any/all leaking parts....then go after the other problem(s). If the front struts are leaking, this "could be" your whole problem or just where the problem started. Who knows, you very possibly could have more than one problem. A problem could have started with a leak, but because of all the excessive moisture produced by the compressor running all the time, you could have a venting problem now as well.

Clear up the questions I had for you and we'll get you straightened out real soon.

RE: Air suspension help!

The car will pump up to normal before the 90 seconds, and the air compressor stops, but then a minute later the car will have the check air suspension notice.

the car doesnt drop down while its just sitting, it seems to drop when im driving on bumpy roads

the rear end will stay high, never goes down or does anything, the front end will stay up for a few minutes of driving, then slowly drop down

i thought there were struts on the rear, the guy at murrays even looked it up on the computer for me and i got some new ones ?


im not totally fixated on keeping the air bag system, but i think it would be easier to just replace the existing system, i am not all that mechanically inclined, and one thing i have never done is shocks.

could this just be a bad dryer?

RE: Air suspension help!

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The car will pump up to normal before the 90 seconds, and the air compressor stops, but then a minute later the car will have the check air suspension notice. the car doesnt drop down while its just sitting, it seems to drop when im driving on bumpy roadsthe rear end will stay high, never goes down or does anything, the front end will stay up for a few minutes of driving, then slowly drop downi thought there were struts on the rear, the guy at murrays even looked it up on the computer for me and i got some new ones ?im not totally fixated on keeping the air bag system, but i think it would be easier to just replace the existing system, i am not all that mechanically inclined, and one thing i have never done is shocks. could this just be a bad dryer?
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It really does sound like leaking front struts was the original problem, but a new one surfaced because of it.

The front losing air while being driven IS texbook air suspension. Fairly early in the stages of a leak anyway. Eventually, it will leak all the time...and eventually, you won't even be able to drive it. An air spring/strut will always leak the worst while being driven. Look at the bottom of this link: http://www.americanairsuspension.com/why does it leak one day.htm This sums up why it leaks while being driven and not "YET" when sitting.

You may be able to put your knee(weight) on one corner and hear a hiss noise coming from a strut. This is because a crack is being exposed on the fold of the rubber.

Anyway, it sounds like the front struts are leaking and the system is having troubles filling it back up within the alloted 90 seconds. The check suspension light maybe from a problem that Mark VIII's are notorious about. MOISTURE. Go here for an explanation of this: http://www.americanairsuspension.com/MOISTURE.htm

BTW, there are definately not struts on the back of this vehicle....only air springs and conventional shocks. The information you got from the parts guy is wrong. If you have purchased struts that supposedly fit the rear, keep your receipt.....you'll be bringing those back.