95 Mark manual air ride

[tmackviii]

Here's what I did to gain manual control over my air ride system. This all began when the factory compressor took a dump on me and forced me to install a set of coils for awhile. During that time I read every writeup that had to do with aftermarket air management on our cars. I chose paddle valves because they are cheap and reliable. They mount inside the car and use 1/4" air line. The do not freeze and are less sensitive to debris. Electric valves are cool too but they would have exceeded my promise to my ol lady budget. In the end I decided on the following:

4 manual paddle valves
1/4" air line
Nickel plated ptc fittings
2 dual needle gauges
5 gallon aluminum tank
Viair 144c
Drain
Pressure relief valve
1/4 ball valve and chuck for air tools
Schrader valve just in case of comp failure
4gauge power wire
Inline fuse
Distribution fuse block
Various terminals



Okay first up was figuring where to mount the paddle valve setup. After numerous hours of sitting in my car and planning how I was gonna plumb 6 airlines to feed it...the only natural place was in the center console. I made a card board template and cut a piece of plywood for the panel. I sanded the edges to get a perfect fit then stained and glossed it.

 

[tmackviii]

Next I had to mount the tank. I chose to mount it kinda deep under the package tray because I knew I'd lose some trunk space. I used two fairly large L brackets and some 3/8" nuts bolts and washers to secure it.

 

[tmackviii]

So then wanted to get the tank outfitted with its fittings so I can begin running air line and set up the manual fill, compressor feed, and line outs. Even threw on a provision for an air hose that way I can use my mini impact or air up a tire.

 

[tmackviii]

Once that was taken care of I moved on to routing my first air lines from the tank to the inlet side of the valves. It would take awhile to explain how to plumb it but....
I have 4 valves and two feed lines from the tank. Each of those feed lines split into a Y ptc fitting. My then I had to route air lines from each valve to its perspective air bag/strut.
I ran line under the carpet and up thru the center console. Note....I had to do some surgery to the center console in order form this to work. I removed the storage bucket and cut the bottom out of it. I also had to remove the air vent out of the console to gain some more room.

 

[tmackviii]

Once the feed lines were routed I then ran air lines to the rear bags. I basically followed the path of the stock air lines. I made a small slit in the grommets that pass through the trunk floor and zip tied the new lines to the factory lines. To make sure there will be no chaffing I also slid some thick rubber fuel injection hose over the air line for protection. The rubber hose also allows you make some pretty tight turns with out kinking the line.

 

[tmackviii]

As far how the bags get air there are few options. In an old writeup Kale drilled and tapped his metal front struts to accept the fitting of his choice. My air struts are the plastic ones so I had to do something different. What I did was cut the lip off that locks the factory solenoid in place. I went to my local hardware store and grabbed 4 1/2" mip to 1/4" fip bushings. The bushing screwed in to the hole perfectly but wasn't air tight. So when in doubt...JB weld. I used jb weld as a thread sealer between the bushing and the hole. Then I installed the 1/4" mip to 1/4" ptc swivel fitting for the new air line. I aired up the struts to 90 psi and let em sit for 3 days....no leaks.

note***** do not over pressurize the front struts when they are not mounted on the car. My air leak test ruined one of my struts by over extending the shock cartridge. If you choose to do an air leak test do so at your own risk....but try to only air it up to like 40 pounds or so.

Routing lines from the front struts to the console was easy as well. I ran the air line through the wheel well and passed it thought the sound deadener between the fender and the door. I used a 12" long 1/4" drill bit and drilled a hole through the door wiring harness grommet. I greased the air line and passed it through there, under the dash, and then down to the console.

 

[tmackviii]

After ruining one strut I searched for a replacement. A local member had one with a leaky bag but the strut was good but wasn't all good because I needed the opposite side. So what I did was switch my good upper housing and bag to the good strut cartridge.

 

[tmackviii]

Next up was installing the viair compressor. This is my temporary setup until I redo the trunk next year so I used a piece of plywood and cheap vinyl from Joann's fabric to make this I added a fused distribution block so that I could add another compressor and amp next year.

 

[tmackviii]

To make sure the relay had a keyed 12v ignition source I bought a piggy back add a fuse kit from vatozone. I then looked at a the fuse panel diagram and picked a non essential component to tap into. Once this was done I routed the main power wire back to the trunk like you would in any standard aftermarket amp installation. I hooked it all up and the compressor turned on as expected. I chose to run this system with a 145 on 175 off pressure switch. The paddle valves are designed to run at a max pressure of 150 but numerous users have 200psi systems with the same part I used so I chose a happy medium. Just in case one fails I keep an extra in the car as a backup. At 20 each it's a no brainer to have a spare plus they are in my center console so swapping one out takes like 10 minutes.

 

[opalescent 96]

Pretty amazing! Great innovation and workmanship!

 

[tmackviii]

With everything mounted and the compressor wired up I tested the system and checked for leaks. All was good. The front begins to rise at 80 psi while the rear will begin to rise at 40psi. Max lift for the front is around 110 and the rear is about 80 or so. I was surprised at how much lift the factory bags have. I havnt measured it yet but there's about 8" of distance between the fender and tire in the front and about 6" for the rear. From laid out to max height there's about a foot of travel which is excellent. Let's just say there is no speed bump or driveway I ever have to worry about.
I want to say thank you to Kale RIP for the inspiration to take on this project because without his ideas I would have been in the dark about how to use the factory bags in this application. More than a 1/3 off the budget would have been consumed by bags, mounts and aftermarket custom air struts.

The entire project cost me less than $500 granted I have a commercial account with an air ride company. Normal cost would have been around 700 without it. In my opinion if you're convinced that you want to keep your air ride but have the option to truly control it then this may be a project worth doing. It was totally worth it to me and I hope this semi detailed writeup can help someone else like Kale's helped me. If you have any questions just ask and I will be happy to help out.

 

[tmackviii]

Pretty amazing! Great innovation and workmanship!

Thanks man. I just took my time and did everything in sections so the car never saw any down time. I'd say the hardest thing to do was assembling the fittings under the switch panel. It took me a week to make it in a fashion that is serviceable while on the road. If one of the valves fail all I need is a razor knife or line cutting tool. I also keep two ptc unions in the car for ultra quick line repairs if needed. I keep a good size run of extra line just in case.

 

[thaywood]

That is really cool. Excellent idea. But you said the word "strut" waaaaaaaaay too many times :lol: But seriously, that's an amazing setup you've got there. Are those Mustang wheels?

 

[tmackviii]

That is really cool. Excellent idea. But you said the word "strut" waaaaaaaaay too many times :lol: But seriously, that's an amazing setup you've got there. Are those Mustang wheels?

Lol yeah i did wear the ass out of a few words lmao. But yeah those are 2006 v6 mustang wheels. The previous owner had them redrilled. They look good but I'm considering buying something bigger soon. There's a few factory wheels I like from the MkZ and the Focus which share our bolt pattern.

 

[Roadboss]

Nice write up. Looks neat.

 

[Lownslowlsc]

Excellent work tmack!

 

[danielmillermark8]

sooo sweet man! Good job.

 

[tmackviii]

Thanks guys. Here's some additional info on the exact diagram I used to install my kit.



bagriders.com/modlab/tech/install_manuals/bag_riders/BR_manual_kit_install.pdf

 

[tmackviii]

I've made a few changes to my air ride setup. Since the last time I posted I added larger air line, electric valves, and new fittings. The system is at 180 psi. I still have my first version in there too all plumb to the factory bags.
3/4" fill 1/2" dump on the front
1/2" fill 1/2" dump on the rear
Six switches front back and individual corners
[video=youtube_share;SXTLwtZzZQM]http://youtu.be/SXTLwtZzZQM[/video]

 

[tmackviii]

A few build pics

 

[tmackviii]

Here's the switchbox I made using 4 three prong switches and 2 six prong. I installed the valves in the spare tire area.