Help Diagnose my Air Ride Prob :)

[Andyg213]

i hate to do this but im a college kid and im tryin to save some money and maybe some one on here has gone through the same problems that i am having with my air ride. i have a 1993 lincoln mark viii and the check air ride light has been coming on since the beginning of the winter. at first nothing seemed to be wrong but now my rear end is jacked up and stuck there and the front bags will deflate when driving and sometimes when parked over night. also the compressor works when i first start it up but wont keep the bags inflated while driving...i dont know whats up...any help?

 

[Blackout]

I had the same problem with my 1995. Most likely its a height sensor for the air ride suspension gone bad. But I never diagnosed the problem with mine and just did the coilover conversion instead

 

[Andyg213]

I had the same problem with my 1995. Most likely its a height sensor for the air ride suspension gone bad. But I never diagnosed the problem with mine and just did the coilover conversion instead

how much does a conversion usually run? see mine has about 162,000 miles on it and i basically just dont want it looking like its doing a nose dive while im driving for as cheap as possible

 

[Blackout]

Well with mine it jacked up all the air bags and caused the struts on the front to break and the strut is all one piece with the airbags and to replace just the fronts it was going to cost me $1200. But I got the conversion for $500. I recommend it to anybody. It saves you a lot of money down the line. But if you want to keep the air ride be expecting to pay out nice money to get stuff fixed for it. Here are some before and after pics. And BTW the coil over kit I got is the 1.5" lowering kit so here are some pics.

Before:

After:

 

[MrWilson]

your front bags are gonna go within a few months, completly( that is if a leak is your problem) just weld a skid plate to the bottom, and sensor lower it all the way down, invest in some new tires too...and call it a day

 

[Markviiiedrea]

your front bags are gonna go within a few months, completly( that is if a leak is your problem) just weld a skid plate to the bottom, and sensor lower it all the way down, invest in some new tires too...and call it a day

I like that idea, but causing sparks to fly past my gas take scares me a little.
I would have to agree with the other guys you will have to buy a new suspension soon so just go with the coil over 2" drop and save some money in the long run. I'm going to do that when my bags blow. It seems like all the people that do the coil over seem to like it.I have not herd anything bad with it.

-Eric

 

[GMAN]

I myself am a fan of the "Air Ride" system. You can go to Strutmasters or Arnot, and the front bags are going to cost around 180.00 each, and the rears are $100.00 each. All in all, it is roughly $100 more to stay with the Air Ride. Besides, changing to coil over springs will cause the Computer to always show "Check Air Ride System" in the screen. You would then have to go an clip a wire in the glove box to disable it. Me I am just a stickler for keeping things original.

 

[Cubster]

i hate to do this but im a college kid and im tryin to save some money and maybe some one on here has gone through the same problems that i am having with my air ride. i have a 1993 lincoln mark viii and the check air ride light has been coming on since the beginning of the winter. at first nothing seemed to be wrong but now my rear end is jacked up and stuck there and the front bags will deflate when driving and sometimes when parked over night. also the compressor works when i first start it up but wont keep the bags inflated while driving...i dont know whats up...any help?

Go to Struts-r-us, ( one of the sponsors here ) buy a coil coversion kit, 399.00 + 24.00 shipping, the cheapest around for a quality product, I did it, you won't regret it

 

[Andyg213]

okay so who would be able to install the coil conversion kit? i might be able to but im not very confident in fixing my own car lol...should i bring it to a dealer? local place? im from michigan by the way

 

[Matthew_14]

You should be able to go to any local mechanic shop. I would start with the brake and muffler shops in your area, they are a little more familiar with suspension problems than a regular mechanic. Remember the conversions are just bolt off bolt on and several people have done this themselves in an evening and saved themselves the expence of paying labor.

 

[Cubster]

okay so who would be able to install the coil conversion kit? i might be able to but im not very confident in fixing my own car lol...should i bring it to a dealer? local place? im from michigan by the way

After you get the new struts & coil springs ( you might want to lower it at the same time, comes w/ the kit, but you have to ask )go to a front end shop , you'll need a 4 wheel alignment afterwards, fortunately for me a friend owns a front end shop. gl w/ your car !!!

 

[MrWilson]

There is definatly no comparison btwn coil and air. The air provides such a nice ride while crusing, and excelent handeling when cornering.

 

[Strutmasters]

Andy, I read your post and would like to let you know that we are offering a speacial this month for ALL LVC members. The Mark VIII 4 wheel conversion kit is now available to you for $350. I am also doing a search for shops in your area that have installed our product before to try and ease the load a little. If you have any questions either reply here, visit us in the Vendors forum, or give us a call toll free at 866-597-2397 and we will be glad to assist you in any way possible.

Thanks,
Strutmasters Team

 

[67Continental]

if i sensor lower my car, is it going to adversely affect ride and handling? if the bags are completely deflated, as i think they would be, then what purpose do they serve? i am a bit new to air suspension, but i want to keep air in my car because i think it's part of what makes these cars unique.

 

[Blackout]

okay so who would be able to install the coil conversion kit? i might be able to but im not very confident in fixing my own car lol...should i bring it to a dealer? local place? im from michigan by the way

After I purchased my kit I called some local places and only one place I called did the conversion before and Meineke wanted $1100 to do the conversion. I said F that and did it myself *with Kathshot's help. But it really is a straight forward easy install. It took us about 2 1/2 hours all together to get it done. But if your looking for the most cost effective way then the coil conversion is the way to go. But if your looking to keep the car true to its roots then stay with the airbag. Me personally I don't notice a difference between the two rides. And I was in the same boat you are in. I'm 21 and in college so at this point in my life I'm looking for the most cost effective and the coil conversion is definatly it

 

[Blackout]

if i sensor lower my car, is it going to adversely affect ride and handling? if the bags are completely deflated, as i think they would be, then what purpose do they serve? i am a bit new to air suspension, but i want to keep air in my car because i think it's part of what makes these cars unique.

Yes it will make the car have a softer ride which will make the car handle worse but it will give you a nicer ride. So its all in what you are looking for and if you are willing to scarifice handling in the process

 

[Cubster]

Andy, I read your post and would like to let you know that we are offering a speacial this month for ALL LVC members. The Mark VIII 4 wheel conversion kit is now available to you for $350. I am also doing a search for shops in your area that have installed our product before to try and ease the load a little. If you have any questions either reply here, visit us in the Vendors forum, or give us a call toll free at 866-597-2397 and we will be glad to assist you in any way possible.

Thanks,
Strutmasters Team

I have to say, I'm very impressed, its very nice of you to go out of your way to help an LVC member out.
Cubby

 

[Sifrino3]

if i sensor lower my car, is it going to adversely affect ride and handling? if the bags are completely deflated, as i think they would be, then what purpose do they serve? i am a bit new to air suspension, but i want to keep air in my car because i think it's part of what makes these cars unique.

I have lowered my MVII. By the sensor and did not affect it in any way. Maybe around corners. (Better) But nothing really. The bags will still have air in them. Just less. . .

 

[67Continental]

is there any way to install a system that gives me full control over ride height?

 

[Sifrino3]

Aftermarket Air Ride or I believe there is something uut there you can install to control your factory air ride. Search this site. Its been posted a few times. . .

 

[1wykdmk8]

Yes it will make the car have a softer ride which will make the car handle worse but it will give you a nicer ride. So its all in what you are looking for and if you are willing to scarifice handling in the process

HUH??? You are the first and only person that I have ever heard that said that the car handles worse after lowering it. I have owned 2 and have sensor lowered both of them, and other than a cushier ride on the highway (but just a bit) the car handles WAY better, and the gas mileage also went up (lower center of gravity lowers the coefficeint of drag....means better gas mileage)....but to each their own. :Beer

 

[1wykdmk8]

is there any way to install a system that gives me full control over ride height?

Why do you want full control? The factory system does a decent job by itself actually. If you want to lower it, you can sensor lower it (about a 30 minute job) and you will have a lowered car, and it will still lower at speed. Then you can add the kit that I offer to have that 'parking lot' stance. Or you can get the other kit that Henri makes and it allows you to change the stance to whatever you like. :Beer

 

[67Continental]

Why do you want full control? The factory system does a decent job by itself actually. If you want to lower it, you can sensor lower it (about a 30 minute job) and you will have a lowered car, and it will still lower at speed. Then you can add the kit that I offer to have that 'parking lot' stance. Or you can get the other kit that Henri makes and it allows you to change the stance to whatever you like. :Beer

by full control i meant the ability to raise and lower the car from the inside of the vehicle. What are these kits that you are describing?

 

[1wykdmk8]

by full control i meant the ability to raise and lower the car from the inside of the vehicle. What are these kits that you are describing?

My kit only lowers the car. The other kit I am not so sure about, but I think it does both. The only downfall with the factory suspension the way it is, is it is totally useless to try to get it to raise up without some sort of boost. What I mean is, if you have ever seen how long it takes to raise the car from any point you would understand what I am talking about.

What you would need is to add either another compressor, and/or a reserve tank. If you do not add one or both it will take forever to raise the car up from any point. Then you will have to add bigger lines, the lines that are on the car from the factory are WAY too small to handle any kind of extra volume of air. The factory suspension is not condusive to any kind of 'extras' like that.

You would have to redo at least a portion of the factory suspension for the raising of the car to be effective.

I hope that helps..... :Beer

 

[Andyg213]

Andy, I read your post and would like to let you know that we are offering a speacial this month for ALL LVC members. The Mark VIII 4 wheel conversion kit is now available to you for $350. I am also doing a search for shops in your area that have installed our product before to try and ease the load a little. If you have any questions either reply here, visit us in the Vendors forum, or give us a call toll free at 866-597-2397 and we will be glad to assist you in any way possible.

Thanks,
Strutmasters Team

thanks for your help...let me know what you find out about any places around here...im definately interested.