Air Suspension issue

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93mkviii

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I know there are countless threads about air ride issues and I did a search for air ride and it's the common leaking bag issue. This issue is somewhat different. The air compressor comes on and sometimes i will get the air suspension light. So to find out if i had a leak in the system I drove the car 2 weeks without the air suspension. It was off for 2 straight weeks and it didn't leak at all. So I turned it back on now and after a month or two it has been fine. The past two days however the front went down. It is as if the car is on lowered springs. It's not completely deflated. So when it came home today I checked around. The rear vented but the front didn't probably because it was already low. I turned it back on and the compressor came on but the front didn't lift at all. Now could this be the front solenoids are stuck? But both of the front are sitting exactly the same height so what are the chances both are stuck? So I don't think it's a leak and the compressor is lifting the rear(since it vented out) but the front has been low for the past 2 days. The only culprit i can then isolate is the solenoid. Any thoughts?
 
What is the height from the concrete to the fender opening, just above the tire? Try adjusting the front height sensors. Just loosen the top bolt a little and set the bolt about a half inch to 3/4 from the top and tighten a little. Don't tighten too much because the stud will break if you go too far. Snug is good enough. Have the air ride switch turned off when adjusting. No need to remove tires for this either. Just turn them to gain access to the sensors. I highly doubt both solenoids are bad but one air shock is not going to hold up the front of the car. Measure both sides and see which is lowest. Turn air switch back on and then just turn the key on and don't get in. See what happens. If the rear rises and not the front, get in and shut the door and see if the front comes up any. We like pics too if you can get us some on here.
 
The bolts where moved up by me a long time ago. About 2-3 years. The car was still a good 1-2 inches higher. I turned the car on and there was no lift in the front from either side. I heard a slight hiss on both sides but that might be normal. The rear wasn't lifting either(probably because the rear lifts after the front is leveled).

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I moved the sensor down and tried seeing if the car would lift. Nope. I hear clicks on both sides of the car when the compressor comes on so does this mean the solenoids are opening? Can a weak compressor cause this issue of no lift? A bad sensor would not cause this issue since it would either lift or vent the car to a irregular position and begin to lift the rear right?
 
Yes, the clicks are the solenoids. Sounds like a bad compressor. It runs but not pumping air. I've had several like that.
 
chargerxr said:
Yes, the clicks are the solenoids. Sounds like a bad compressor. It runs but not pumping air. I've had several like that.
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Agreed, I would say the compressor has seen it's share of lifting but at least it's not slammed in the front. It's sitting about where mine sits at when the car is running. If you can, get you another one from American Air that Eddie has rebuilt better than the factory made it when new. Send yours in to him within 30 days and you won't be charged the additional $50 on your check card or credit card. Got mine from him 3 years ago and it's still quiet and pumps quickly. For the price he charges and the warranty, kinda hard to beat. I'd get the fresh new dryer and all.
 
Thanks guys. I was thinking that a long time ago that the compressor might be going bad on it. I defiantly will get my compressor from eddie if he has any available. Do you know if he is open on saturdays because I can't order it online(out of stock). To remove the compressor it's just a quick removing the four bolts and the plug correct? It can all be done with just the inner fender cover removed?
 
93mkviii said:
Thanks guys. I was thinking that a long time ago that the compressor might be going bad on it. I defiantly will get my compressor from eddie if he has any available. Do you know if he is open on saturdays because I can't order it online(out of stock). To remove the compressor it's just a quick removing the four bolts and the plug correct? It can all be done with just the inner fender cover removed?
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It can be removed that way but removing the front bumper cover helps get you in there a lot better and really check things out. The lines going in are usually a pain to get them loose. This is Jamie installing the new compressor that I sent him before I flew down to buy the car. He tore these cars down daily and it was his choice to remove the front bumper cover to remove and replace the compressor. I'm sure he has his reasons.

NewMark005.jpg
 
NoLimit95 said:
It can be removed that way but removing the front bumper cover helps get you in there a lot better and really check things out. The lines going in are usually a pain to get them loose. This is Jamie installing the new compressor that I sent him before I flew down to buy the car. He tore these cars down daily and it was his choice to remove the front bumper cover to remove and replace the compressor. I'm sure he has his reasons.

NewMark005.jpg
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Jamie might sue you. Shiny head rights are being violated + he's wearing an LOD shirt!
 
Thanks for this thread...my compressor seems to be working properly after replacing air shocks on the front, although it sounds noisy to me when it does run, its 20 yrs old and my Mark VIII has 218K miles on it...if and when it fails...it would be proactive of me to try and rehab the spare one I have off a 95...but I am not that proactive! Interesting!
 
I would send your old one to Eddie at American Air and have him rebuild it for you and get it shipped back to you so you will have it ready to go. He had no cores available a couple of weeks ago so I had one sent to him and he got it back to me with in a week.
 
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