Not Another Air Suspension Question....
10-17-2010, 01:28 PM
#21
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Just added a bit of air tool oil. It gurgled like you mentioned. I'll keep an eye on it to see how this works and plan on repeating the process 3-4 more times to ensure the compressor is well lubricated.
10-18-2010, 03:33 AM
#22
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Looks like I may have been overly optimistic. After oiling the compressor, level functions seemed to be working well so I got bold and left the AR parked at L2 last night. Of course, this AM when I went outside, the rear was still @ L2, front passenger side @ L1 and the front drivers side at the bumpstop.
At this point I *think* I can be fairly confident that my drivers side spring has a leak and will likely be ordering a pair of Arnott Gen I's this week. While I realize that I can probably just replace the drivers side, I'd really just like to get the suspension working and not have to worry about it. It seems like the tire slime might be a decent temporary fix, but despite the number of people who have done it successfully, it still concerns me that I have read several posts about the dangers of the slime working it's way back into the air hoses/valves/compressor I'm just not 100% confident that there won't be any negative effects in the long term.
Question: Does it make sense that a leak in my drivers side air spring would cause the passenger side to lower as well? I know that the suspension deals with one axle at a time (Front vs Rear) and my assumption is this: The rear is staying at the proper level as it is not leaking. As the front drivers side begins to leak, the passenger side releases air to keep both sides level. The passenger side comes down to L1 as the drivers side leaks, then stays at L1 as the driver side continues to leak until the car reaches the bumpstop on that side. Is this logic correct?
At this point I *think* I can be fairly confident that my drivers side spring has a leak and will likely be ordering a pair of Arnott Gen I's this week. While I realize that I can probably just replace the drivers side, I'd really just like to get the suspension working and not have to worry about it. It seems like the tire slime might be a decent temporary fix, but despite the number of people who have done it successfully, it still concerns me that I have read several posts about the dangers of the slime working it's way back into the air hoses/valves/compressor I'm just not 100% confident that there won't be any negative effects in the long term.
Question: Does it make sense that a leak in my drivers side air spring would cause the passenger side to lower as well? I know that the suspension deals with one axle at a time (Front vs Rear) and my assumption is this: The rear is staying at the proper level as it is not leaking. As the front drivers side begins to leak, the passenger side releases air to keep both sides level. The passenger side comes down to L1 as the drivers side leaks, then stays at L1 as the driver side continues to leak until the car reaches the bumpstop on that side. Is this logic correct?
10-18-2010, 09:29 AM
#23
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Just ordered a pair of Arnott Gen I's for the front. Hopefully that'll fix the problem, and I should have a good spare OEM shock on hand for 'emergencies' as I suspect that my passenger side front is still leak free.
10-18-2010, 04:01 PM
#24
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Question: Does it make sense that a leak in my drivers side air spring would cause the passenger side to lower as well? I know that the suspension deals with one axle at a time (Front vs Rear) and my assumption is this: The rear is staying at the proper level as it is not leaking. As the front drivers side begins to leak, the passenger side releases air to keep both sides level. The passenger side comes down to L1 as the drivers side leaks, then stays at L1 as the driver side continues to leak until the car reaches the bumpstop on that side. Is this logic correct?
The same logic applies to the rear of the car.
My front right side air spring was leaking air around the large o-ring at the top of the Arnott air springs installed by an indy. That indy had not installed the new o-ring provided by Arnott. This leak cause the entire front of the car to droop overnight. Interestingly, however, the right side did not fall all the way down. This is because the controller stopped lowering the left side at one point. And since the car is so torsionally stiff, even though the front right air spring/shock assembly had very little pressure, that corner fell just a little below level 1.
Once I replaced the o-ring with the proper thickness, the system works perfect. No codes at all. I was getting the G291 code on occasion before the repair.
10-19-2010, 03:11 AM
#25
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Yes, the controller keeps tabs on both front height sensors and will automatically lower the side opposite a leaking air spring. If you place the air suspension in "Jack Mode" the controller will not lower the other side.
The same logic applies to the rear of the car.
My front right side air spring was leaking air around the large o-ring at the top of the Arnott air springs installed by an indy. That indy had not installed the new o-ring provided by Arnott. This leak cause the entire front of the car to droop overnight. Interestingly, however, the right side did not fall all the way down. This is because the controller stopped lowering the left side at one point. And since the car is so torsionally stiff, even though the front right air spring/shock assembly had very little pressure, that corner fell just a little below level 1.
Once I replaced the o-ring with the proper thickness, the system works perfect. No codes at all. I was getting the G291 code on occasion before the repair.
The same logic applies to the rear of the car.
My front right side air spring was leaking air around the large o-ring at the top of the Arnott air springs installed by an indy. That indy had not installed the new o-ring provided by Arnott. This leak cause the entire front of the car to droop overnight. Interestingly, however, the right side did not fall all the way down. This is because the controller stopped lowering the left side at one point. And since the car is so torsionally stiff, even though the front right air spring/shock assembly had very little pressure, that corner fell just a little below level 1.
Once I replaced the o-ring with the proper thickness, the system works perfect. No codes at all. I was getting the G291 code on occasion before the repair.
Really looking forward to being able to leave the car parked in what ever level I like!
10-22-2010, 06:06 PM
#26
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Wow. I guess it's been a long time since I've been operating without a leak in the front end. Suspension raises levels *so* quickly with the new bags. Keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't settle when parked overnight, but things are looking much better.
10-22-2010, 06:17 PM
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Fingers crossed for you!!!
10-22-2010, 09:08 PM
#30
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Good for you 05allroad! Ain't it nice to have a properly working system?
BTW...I took off my driver's side Arnott tonight because I suspected that the indy who had installed it 6 months ago had not used the proper o-ring, had not located the strut piston upper spacing washer correctly, and had not tighten the six air spring mounting bolts properly. I was right on all accounts. The entire job took a couple hours, with the major headache being slipping the bottom of the shock off the lower front control arm after the bolt was extracted.
The great thing was that the pinch bolt simply slid out...probably because the indy had loosened it previously, and I learned that lifting the bottom control arms to the proper height relieved stress on the pinch bolt area.
I replace the pinch bolt and nut with a new set. And I replaced the passenger side as well...without even taking the passenger side wheel off the car. The two bolts and two nuts cost $5.76 at the VW dealer.
Then I drank beer. Several bottles.
Which is why I'm typing all this unimportant info.
Goodnight Gracie.
:-)
BTW...I took off my driver's side Arnott tonight because I suspected that the indy who had installed it 6 months ago had not used the proper o-ring, had not located the strut piston upper spacing washer correctly, and had not tighten the six air spring mounting bolts properly. I was right on all accounts. The entire job took a couple hours, with the major headache being slipping the bottom of the shock off the lower front control arm after the bolt was extracted.
The great thing was that the pinch bolt simply slid out...probably because the indy had loosened it previously, and I learned that lifting the bottom control arms to the proper height relieved stress on the pinch bolt area.
I replace the pinch bolt and nut with a new set. And I replaced the passenger side as well...without even taking the passenger side wheel off the car. The two bolts and two nuts cost $5.76 at the VW dealer.
Then I drank beer. Several bottles.
Which is why I'm typing all this unimportant info.
Goodnight Gracie.
:-)