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Air suspension issues

Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2019 3:37 pm
by Tcollis
Dear members,

I have had a fault with the ride height of the car for some time and my mechanic showed me a work around whereby when you hear the compressor cut out, you switch off, start again and it cuts back in raising the car to the correct height.

I have been doing this for some time now, but this morning, probably exacerbated by the recent cold weather, the car is not rising to the correct height. It is driveable, just, but you can see it's too low and not good over bumps.

Having done some research it looks like probably being the compressor, which may well be the original and the car has now covered 205k miles.

Can anyone advise whether they think this might fix it, or could there be other issues as well? Is there a way of analysing this? The suspension height warning light has been on the dashboard ever since I bought the car. Would a diagnostic test show up all potential faults with the air suspension?

Thanks very much,

Tim.

Re: Air suspension issues

Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2019 7:15 pm
by J44EAG
Compressor rings are generally on their last legs at around 75K miles. Bagpiping Andy`s relife kit can help restore bore compression if the bore is not worn. If it is, then Andy has had a load of cylinder heads made to get round the compression issue. If the motor is ok, then a kit will generally get you out of trouble.

With a compressor that has covered 250K miles, then frankly, it is living on spare time. Replacement would seem to be the best option. Buy only a genuine Wabco compressor/pump.

Also note that the compressor has silica gel in a canister. This can be sopping wet and very smelly. The idea is the media mops up condensation but it can only absorb so much. It can be dried out or est replaced with new. Go to 4x4airseals for that.It could be that an excess of moisture has accumulate and frozen in the cold weather. That would certainly stop system airflow.

Go to the suspension section on this site and look for my overhaul thread on compressor rebuild.

Mike

Re: Air suspension issues

Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2019 7:56 pm
by ptjs1
Agree with Mike's observations. Also scan the car for fault codes on the suspension. I think most EAS faults are caused by dodgy height sensors.

Paul