Recently my Air Suspension has been giving me a lot of problems and I have a crazy story that I just had to share.

1st. I kept hearing my air pump turn on while driving and when passengers would get into my car. So I took it to the Ford dealership. They charged me $100.00 to tell me nothing is wrong with my suspension, no leaks, truck is just getting old.

A month later with the same problem took it to another Ford Dealership they told me the same thing.

A month later I said F-it I will just replace the pump myself. Neither dealership wanted to do it and both said it would be a 2-4K dollar fix to replace the pump.

I found the pump on line for 360.00. I fixed it myself in less than hour and the reason for the noise was the pump has rubber washers where it is bolted on to reduce noise and vibration.

Noise went away.

A month later I noticed my truck was making a hissing noise from the rear.

I went through the same ordeal with the dealerships and this time they pressed really hard to sell me a new vehicle instead of getting it fixed.

I said f-it again. I bought a new air spring from the dealership. With a military discount it cost 460.00.

The dealership told me 4 hours minimum for labor. Once I got the tire off I replaced the suspension in less than 10 minutes with nothing else other than a flat tip screwdriver to removed a clamp.

F-the dealerships and fix it yourself is what I learned.

My truck has 110,000 miles on it. I don't think I can replace the timing belt myself but I am thinking about it.

If anyone has any questions about the rear suspension of a Lincoln Blackwood let me know I am a specialist now :)

It has a timing chain. Only timing belts need to be changed around 100k.. I wouldn't think the blackwoods would be any different.

But yeah, right around 10yr's/100k the air starts to have problems(atleast on marks). I think you've learned your lesson about taking it to the dealer and you seem to be pretty capable of fixing it yourself if you come across anymore problems.

Thanks, I think I should also go back to the dealership and ask for my money back or at least get a credit towards the other air shock that will be going out next :D

I love those things! Very rare truck, I think only like 3000 made or something?

Okay so apparently nobody makes an aftermarket air bag for the rear suspension. I was trying really hard not to throw down another $400 on a rubber part that probably cost $10.00 to make but I just admitted defeat and threw the money down.

What I tried to do:
I took the old boot and used rubber strips the kind used to fix car tires and industrial glue. I glued over the old boot with some new rubber. It was still very flexible. I was really proud of myself the way it looked and thought for sure I saved myself a bunch of money. I swapped the old boot out (less than 15 minutes) and turned the truck on. The boot lasted only 10 seconds before the air leak.

My OEM part should be in the mail in a few days.

its too bad american air doesnt have anything for the blackwood. they have everything else!