GTA_Driver

It is sort of an ailment of these systems. Somehow the system will havea tough time raising a corner or two.

Same thing happened to my indy mechanic who has replaced many air bags. He took the air bag out and apart and put it back together and then it pumped right up.

Sometimes you just don't quite assemble things the way the system wants it.

At other times, the system is just flaky. It won't work for x number of tries, and then it will work on the next one.

603racing

I replaced one shock (passenger front) and I rebuilt the air pump. So I only removed the items necessary to complete these jobs.

I just tested it further. There is air going to the bag that won't inflate. I must have not put that spring/shock assembly back together just right. The bottom of the bag is down all the way and fully secure to the shock, the problem must be in the to somewhere. I will be taking the air spring apart on Sunday and inspecting.

On a side note, is there a generic o-ring size that will work for the top of the air spring? When Arnott sent me a new shock, they send the bottom o-ring but not the top o-ring. Maybe this is my issues?

bagpipingandy

Did you fit any o ring to the top?
This is a good chance its the issue, you can buy orings ok but affraid i don't know the top mount size off hand, should it not have been provided by Arnott? Or is it an option now, ask to see if they can at least give you the dimensions.

regards

andy

603racing

There is an o-ring at the top. I re-used the one that came with the Arnott air springs initially. I will try to find a new one locally, Arnott is not quick with their shipping.

603racing

I took everything apart... again. Everything including the top o-ring looked great. I put it back together and... same issue. I felt around the bottom of the bag where it seals to the strut, that o-ring is not leaking. HOWEVER, i then felt some air movement. The air is coming out of the the small square drain holes in the bellow of the assembly. So, I'm guessing there is an internal leak(failure) in the bag. Can anyone confirm this theory?

So I guess it was just dumb luck that the bag failed immediately after the shock failed. In the last year, I have spent at least 30 hours replacing failed parts related to Arnott air spring assemblies. It has been amazingly annoying.

GTA_Driver

Check out my bag failure. It leaked in cold weather from the start, but it failed catastrophically after a little over a year.

http://youtu.be/uIirJCGWlVc

My leak was from the bottom collar, if I put my hand there, I would feel it. Especially by the little plastic "tab" that you see on the left.

Call Arnott, ask for another bag.

Edit: both o-rings can be reused but do grease them. I checked arnott instructions today and they recommend greasing both o-rings.

Also, their warranty service was excellent. Overnight shipping from Florida to Toronto, Canada.

603racing

Well, I'm less than excited about the replacement process. Arnott will not cross-ship a new air spring to me. I have to send in the old one first. So I'm sitting at 17 days now with the car on jack stands. They did cross-ship the shock, since it was the 2nd one to blow in a year.

Basically they are not convinced the air spring is bad. They are saying the lower seal is not seated properly. I've assembled three of these previously and never had an issue like this. The air has to be coming out of the body of the bag to be leaking out the drain holes of the bellow. That section is above the bottom seal, not below it.

Very frustrating.

603racing

Follow up on this topic.

I recieved the new air spring. Installed it and the system works flawlessly. Thus far, not incredibly satisfied with the Arnott products. I have had two failed shocks and one failed air spring within 14 months of purchasing them new. I understand that the shocks are not a Arnott product, but they are made and sold as part of the Arnott setup.

If I had to pay for the work to be done to replace all these parts, I would be livid. Instead I'm just out a lot of my own time.