replacing front air suspension

T

tommiswizzle

Registered
We are ordering parts to replace front air suspension (struts, compressor, solenoids, etc). The front dropped in December, check air ride came on, we parked it and haven't moved it since. What are the chances that the rear will fail, once we get the new parts in? Is it common to replace only the front and not the rear at the same time?

We have a 97 Mark III, with about 78k miles on it. It spent 8 years of its life in Michigan, then moved to Oregon (where it rains 8 months of the year!) about a year and a half ago.
 
Tom, first off, welcome to the site!
Thanks for stopping by!

tommiswizzle said:
What are the chances that the rear will fail, once we get the new parts in?
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The likelyhood of the rears failing in the next 40k+ are pretty slim. Since you're replacing the front air struts and compressor, you're off to a good start as far as common failures. I'd highly recommend getting a Spider Extreme, this will prevent any moisture in your system and will make that compressor last a loooooong time. Someone will chime in with the link :)

tommiswizzle said:
Is it common to replace only the front and not the rear at the same time?
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This is VERY common since the rears hardly ever fail.

BTW, where are you getting your parts from? Eddie at americanairsuspensions.com is an excellent choice and loved/used by almost all the Mark owners.
 
Why are you ordering a compressor? They usually don't fail unless you ran with broken struts for a while.
 
Thank you for the welcome!

We would like to buy parts from American Air Suspension, but they don't accept Discover card, which is what we are paying with.

We are replacing the compressor "just in case". The last few times it raised the car, it sounded burbly and was cutting in and out. Also in two weeks I am going overseas for a year, and don't want to leave my wife with a car that will need more work. So we are replacing all the parts.
 
We would like to buy parts from American Air Suspension, but they don't accept Discover card, which is what we are paying with.
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same here I just orderd my sping kit and would of liked to go with American Air Suspension but they don't take american express so had to order with someone else
 
Do what you can to get your parts from AAS......maybe see if you can write a "bonus check" or get cash(check APR%) and pay with your ATM card. He/parts are worth it :)
 
I would not get American Air suspension rebuilt struts for a gen 2. He uses rebuilt gen 1 struts which aren't as good as the gen 2 struts... order from Max at Five Star Ford or Torrie at Fast Parts Network for brand new Lincoln gen 2 struts.
 
Both of my 13 year old Mark VIII's still have the original rear airsprings. No leaks yet.:)
 
Oh I stand corected I checked my paypal acount and I did buy from AAS useing my American express card MY BAD
 
I have a 1995 Mark VIII and the air suspension has gone completely. The compressor doesnt even come on now. Where can I get a book for the wiring to check a fuse? No book came with the car.
 
Welcome! :)

Ebay would be the best bet for an owners manual. That is where you'll find the fuse diagrams. Meanwhile...

fuse1.jpg
 
Nothing beats new OEM front struts. Do not go rebuilt unless you want to sell the car soon and are looking to improve resale value.

American Air I believe is still a no-go on rebuilds anyway. Last I check he was not selling them at this time. Do not go Arnott or Suncore whatever you do (for fronts) - you WILL regret it.

My setup is new oem Ford fronts with Arnott rears and an American Air compressor. I think that is the best, most economical setup one can go with if you plan on keeping the car for more that a year.

Just my 2 cents...
 
I know somewhere I saw a write up on replacing the front suspension, but for the life of me, can't find it. Anyone have a handy link?
 
You should be OK with the rear air bags. I had over 300,000 miles on my Mark before the rear bags went bad. If you do have to replace them, there easy to do, much easier than the front. When you replace the solenoids, make sure you install new O-rings! Use a dab of grease, not oil, to lubricate the O-rings before installation.
 
"Use a dab of grease.."

No to disagree, but regular grease is just like oil - a petroleum product. It will degrade the rubber o-rings almost as fast as using oil. ANYTHING made of rubber is best protected and lubricated with silicon. I pick up those small containers of silicone that plumbers use in faucets on the rubber seals.
 
My 95 Lincoln's ass is still on the ground. I am talking to alot of people. some tell me that I should put a kit in. does the kit contain just air shocks or is there coil springs too? Some tell me not to have some mechanic that has never dealt with conversion before. They tell me I should take it to the Local Lincoln dealer.
How much are we talking with conversion?
 
cdtowns said:
My 95 Lincoln's ass is still on the ground. I am talking to alot of people.
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Possibly the wrong people. Get a hold of Eddie at www.americanairsuspension.com - at least peruse the site, especially the diagnostics.

Do NOT take it to a dealer. Your chances are better at winning the lottery than finding a dealer with the expertise that will not gouge you. It's not necessarily the dealer's fault, it's all they know - if they can't get it to work, it's hours upon hours of diagnostics or just throwing parts at it at OEM prices.
 
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