air ride wont lift.

[BlackMark8]

Okay, i know a little about the air-ride system. A friend of mine has a 1st gen mark 8 and its slammed to the ground. I looked at it for about 10 min and i found this

The compressor DOES come on, and sounds relatively healthy.
She says the front lifts up sometimes, just not the back - but i havnt seen the front pump up. Nor do i hear the valves opening.

What controls the valvs from opening / closing ? And how can the compressor run with nowhere for the air to go?

I thought the dryer bottle poped out, until she said the front lifts up sometimes.

Any ideas? This lady needs this fixed, she is driving in the rain like this with kids in the car

 

[Roadboss]

Sound like the bags need replacing. The solenoid valves get their commonds from the suspension computor which is recieving signals from the (3) ride height sensors. (2 in the front, 1 in the rear). Go to Eddie's site below for some info and the parts you need, as he gives great service.

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

 

[unity]

Check the dryer anyway, even if snapped it can lift the car, VERY slowly and if too slow only the front will lift before it times out. A revised dryer has stronger tabs that prevented this.

 

[J]

You could also jack the car up to ride height and then turn the key (compressor) on to see if it fills up. If you jack the car up, it will temporarily "seal" the cracks in the bags allowing them to hold pressure. If they hold pressure once you help them out then you know you just need new bags.

 

[jamies98lsc]

tow it over to tarpon springs and i'll convert it to coils so she never has to see it on the ground again!

 

[BlackMark8]

haha Jamie, thats funny, It wont ever ride like a lincoln again either !!

will the compressor even come on if the valves dont open? If so where does that air go? Im sure the bags leak, though i havnt confirmed that yet, but the compressor came on and she didnt budge .

Thanks for the help ! Im going to look at it now ill tell you how it turns out !

 

[jamies98lsc]

yes it will come on but only for a shot time once it realizes the valves arent opening it will shut down.

 

[J]

Like I suggested before.......JACK the car up to "normal" height and the bags will fill up with air. Then you can check for leaks. You may have to cycle the key several times to get the bags to fill because the compressor will turn off after 30 seconds.

 

[driller]

...You may have to cycle the key several times to get the bags to fill because the compressor will turn off after 30 seconds.

That should be 90 seconds.

 

[J]

That should be 90 seconds.

Shoot...that long! X) Sorry...I never had air suspension.

 

[Roadboss]

As J said you need to get the car up off the ground. The best way I have found is I took two 2X4's and used them as ramps to get the fron high enough for my floor jack to get under the cross member and then lift up both front sides (must lift both front sides). It will take several times of the compressor timing out to fill the bags (providing there is no leaks in the bags). With the Driver side window down, door closed, just turn the key on and off when Check suspension light comes on to re-cycle.

 

[BlackMark8]

Well, i jacked the car up, turned the key forward, i heard the valves open,and compressor come on,but i heard nothing. no sound no hissing, nothing, so i reach up and feel the bag with my hand, and the front passenger side, i discovered , it was torn, as if it was slashed with a knife. So anyone know where i can get cheap used airbag near orlando ?

 

[budpytko]

Jamie over in the Tampa area.

 

[jamies98lsc]

i have a left and a right.

 

[J]

See...that was easy. Jacked it up and found the problem.