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2 Questions by a newbie

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Posted by: ivorymrk

Just bought a 98 mark 8 lsc with 85,000 miles on it, and a week ago the front suspension collapsed! Took it to the sqealership and they said i need a new compressor and relay at a cost of 1100 big ones. The service manager aired up the front and turned off the air ride. The problem is the front is all jacked up in the sky and it pisses me off, is there anyway to vent some of the air out till i buy a new compressor? Also my driver's side door speakers keep cutting in and out. Is this common and are there any fixes?

Posted by: unity

Welcome aboard!

First off, NEVER go to the dealership. Odds are you compressor is going, but I bet the relay is all that NEEDs to be replaced right now to get things working.

You can steal the ABS relay, or since you have a 96+, steal the AIR emissions relay for now and run the system with that.

But please explain exactly what was going on before you took it in. Can I assume the air-ride switch is off right now?

Posted by: JC1994

there are lots of affordable places on here to get air ride parts from, American air is one, strutmasters is another. call Eddie at american air-ride for a quote on those same parts and you will be shocked how much cheaper they are than the dealership is.

Posted by: turborich

Yep, Much better prices to be had!

Posted by: Nitrobasher

1100 or about 500 to switch completly over to coilovers,

I think they are probably my best investment so far, that compressor got sooo annoying after a while. I almost ripped it out before the conversion

Posted by: JC1994

I also have converted to 1.5 inch drop non-air ride on my Mark VIII's with absolutly no regrets.

Posted by: unity

The air-ride will NEVER leave my car. I love it. It worked fine for the last ten years and my new system will last another ten once I have it on. All I need is the new rear bags ($200) and everything I need it here. I like being able to adjust he height anytime I want, I like the fact it lowers on the highway too.

Novelty? Maybe, if it was added on but the car came form the factory with it. Its one reason some may look to getting a Mark. Your re-sales value may go up or down depending on what a prospective buyer wants.

$1000 is a very fair estimate on total replacement form front to rear, if you do the labor.

From stuts, $600 for both
Rears, $200 for arnott - never get Arnott for ANYTHING else though
Compressor, $200 for rebuilt from American Air.

However, if only your fronts are leaking - $600. Thats not much more than the conversion.

Posted by: Iszi

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivorymrk

Also my driver's side door speakers keep cutting in and out. Is this common and are there any fixes?

Anyone want to answer this one? I've got a similar issue myself, and haven't had a chance to fix it or figure it out.

Posted by: Frat-man-du

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iszi

Anyone want to answer this one? I've got a similar issue myself, and haven't had a chance to fix it or figure it out.

My 95 the drivers door speakers would be on /off on off all the time worse when it was above 60' outside. Used amp for $20 off eBay fixed it.

My 98 LSC the speaker would turn off (rarely) and if I smacked the top of the door panel - just above the upper speaker they would come on. I found a wire had rubbed off on the harness as it passed through the door into the fender.

free and easy

Posted by: devilchild

Quote:

Also my driver's side door speakers keep cutting in and out. Is this common and are there any fixes?

i had the same.. turns out the factory amps like to crap out after a while.. so.. i replaced the amp ( aftermarket.. not a factory) and all is well

Posted by: ivorymrk

Quote:

Originally Posted by unity

Welcome aboard!

First off, NEVER go to the dealership. Odds are you compressor is going, but I bet the relay is all that NEEDs to be replaced right now to get things working.

You can steal the ABS relay, or since you have a 96+, steal the AIR emissions relay for now and run the system with that.

But please explain exactly what was going on before you took it in. Can I assume the air-ride switch is off right now?

Yes the air ride is off now, I front was slammed to the ground when i came out, and i could hear the compressor running but the front would not rise. I thought the bags were bad so i started pricing them, being a Ford employee i got a good price quote for them. I decided to take to the stealership just to make sure it was the bags, when they hit me with that quote. Ive already ordered a compressor, dryer and new o-rings from Arnott Inc, but im tired of that jacked up in the air front end, any temp fixes? By the way thanks for all the help people, i see im going to enjoy being part of this family!

Posted by: unity

Ouch... Arnott. Good luck with that, literally. Keep all your paper work and its pretty much a fact that the Arnott compressors are soooooo slow.

There really is no temp fix - what they did, get it to pump up and kill the air-ride, is the temp fix. The leak is now sealed, for the most part. If you drive a lot it may still drop.

Last price I saw was $288 per front strut for new Ford. BUT, you can get rebuilts for cheaper - DO NOT GET ARNOTT - I would go with American Air but I dont think her is selling them at the moment

Posted by: turborich

What is wrong with the arnott air struts???

Posted by: MediumD

Quote:

Originally Posted by unity

Last price I saw was $288 per front strut for new Ford. BUT, you can get rebuilts for cheaper - DO NOT GET ARNOTT - I would go with American Air but I dont think her is selling them at the moment

Maybe try Suncore. IIRC they're $150/ea, and they're the only place that had them (other than Ford itself, didn't check there) when I last checked.

Posted by: mespock

Best Place to get air ride parts is american airsuspension... My opinion never had one like of problems and great service...

Arnott... on welll... there name is stamped on all aftermarket air bags..

American Air Suspension sells refurbished OEM...

And seems like Strutmaster makes all the conversions... Eddie sells them all and it's his experience and service that I like most... he's always been there for me, calls me back when I leave messages, if I have issues he'll spend the time and talk me through them while I'm working on the car.

Eddie's been very good to me....

Posted by: unity

Arnott do not seem to hold up very well. The failure rate is high, and thats been proven. Granted it will solve your problem of leaky bags, but your taking a gamble. It sucks that OEM are so pricey, but NOTHING beats new OEM.

Arnott seem to have a two year life span. OEM, at least 8.

Rears though, I'm getting Arnott. The rears are less critical and even though OEM may last the longest, after-market seem fine.

Compressor - again, go with American Air or OEM. The compressor I got from American is faster then OEM and rock solid. He does a great job of rebuilding them.

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