new member needs help w/ride control

[karens]

Hi, this is my first time on any type of forum. Please bear with me. I own a 1995 Continental and am hoping someone can help me with my ride control. It is leaking oil from somewhere and will not pump up at all. You can hear it trying to but nothing happens. Any ideas???????? :feedback

 

[pepperman]

:W to :V :Beer

 

[napoleon1072]

Welcome glad to have another Conti owner on the boards. Contact aristo1963@hotmail.com inform him of your problem he might be able to help you :dj:

 

[Conti94]

First of all :W to :V . Sounds like the compressor has had it. You will probably have to buy a new one. A few questions is the car sagging? If it is check the bags with soapy water and see if there is any bubbling. If there is there is a leak in the bags and you will need new bags.

 

[Cubster]

:W to the LvC Karen, someone will surely let you know whats wrong. Theres a gr8 bunch of guys & gals in here. GL w/ your car !!!!

 

[karens]

First of all :W to :V . Sounds like the compressor has had it. You will probably have to buy a new one. A few questions is the car sagging? If it is check the bags with soapy water and see if there is any bubbling. If there is there is a leak in the bags and you will need new bags.

No i have not tried to check the bags thanks for your ideas. Do both the compressor and bags have oil in them????

 

[Conti94]

No the bags don't have oil in them. The compressor may have a type of lubricating oil in it I am not sure never took one apart, just replaced one. As I said before the compressor probably needs to be replaced with a new or rebuilt unit. Do the bag check and let me know what you get.

 

[aristo1963]

No the bags don't have oil in them. The compressor may have a type of lubricating oil in it I am not sure never took one apart, just replaced one. As I said before the compressor probably needs to be replaced with a new or rebuilt unit. Do the bag check and let me know what you get.

hello karens and welcome to our motley bunch :W
no the compressor does not contain oil.it uses a teflon type ring to lubricate and seal the aluminum piston and cylinder.it is a very good setup but is not made to withstand extreme use(big leaks constant running).if you keep trying to run it without pumping up the system you will burn out the pump and also burn out the relay that runs it(85-130 bucks dealer only).



ok if you see oil you have an oil leak from either the engine,a/c compressor,power steering pump,or the transmission.color of oil and location from where it is dripping will help alot.
as for the air ride is the car up at any wheel or is it a low rider all around.when you turn the key on have someone listen for soft cliks from the front and rear wheel wells this is the selinoids opening up at the airbags.listen for hissing air this would be a cracked air line.
what warning messages are you getting from the message center?
if you get a check ride control after the pump tries to run for 90 seconds then its in the lines selinoids or bags.if you get the message right at key on then you have a short in the wiring.also does the compressor run very noisy?
if you will check these for me and post back the results i will help you out.
welcome again
john

 

[Conti94]

D'oh :slam Thanks aristo for the correction. I had no idea if there was a type of oil in the compressor. :I Need to know which side is down. Usually the side that is down has the air leaks.

 

[bigdog1279]

welcome to LVC
its great to be Building up the Conti family Man

 

[mark0101]

welcome to LVC. I had to replace my bags and the compressor too. Just letting you know that it would cost about 2500$ from the dealership. Not trying to scare you but I am just letting you know that if you want to keep your air ride. this is the price from the dealership but you could get cheaper parts and labor some where else. You could also do convertion to coil. that would run you about 500-600.

 

[Conti94]

:iconcur: The dealer is expensive. But you can buy new air bags from arnott or strutmasters, their on the side of this page. They cost at the most 200 for each air shock. I suggest getting the bags and compressor from them and bring the car and parts to a local shop you trust and have them installed to save some money. Or you could change them yourself.