Suspension Woes...

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MatthewDavid

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I have another thread goin but nobody's answered it and there is nothing I could find about this... I think my air bag might have a leak or something... everytime I hit a bump it makes a little Tss Tss noise... it stays up and everything and it vents fine... it sounds like it might be when it sucks air back into it... it's really annoying it really happens every little bump... EVERY LITTLE BUMP!
 
You have a leak. Replace the bag now. When a bag leaks over a period of time, it can cause your compressor to work excessivly. You may end up replacing your pump as well.

Been there.
 
Are you sure?... cause it's kinda weird since it started my car doesn't vent... so it stays up all the time... so I would think with a leak it would drop... and also how much would it cost to replace it?
 
MatthewDavid said:
I have another thread goin but nobody's answered it and there is nothing I could find about this... I think my air bag might have a leak or something... everytime I hit a bump it makes a little Tss Tss noise... it stays up and everything and it vents fine... it sounds like it might be when it sucks air back into it... it's really annoying it really happens every little bump... EVERY LITTLE BUMP!
Click to expand...


MatthewDavid said:
Are you sure?... cause it's kinda weird since it started my car doesn't vent... so it stays up all the time... so I would think with a leak it would drop... and also how much would it cost to replace it?
Click to expand...

The first time you said it vents fine, the second time you said it doesn't vent.

Which is it?
 
I just read your original post. Regardless of the venting, I guess either it's a leaky bag or O-ring.

I had this problem until I replaced my front bushings, and took the valve off the bag to deflate the air to make the job easier, inspected, everything looked fine, put it all back together, and haven't had the problem since.

In my case, on higher speed and very bumpy roads such as the NE corner of the beltway in houston, the bags would deflate after so many tsst tsst leaks because i was hitting bumps too fast for the compressor to know to kick in to compensate. So I'd have to exit and stop for a minute to go back on my way.

Then I had the compressor go out.

Probably because of the O ring in the valve that I waited to fix.

So I'd check the O rings if I were you.

I could hear mine, and I feel that it was the drivers side vent. But I had both off, so ?? .. point being if you can hear it, start at that one.
 
It vents sometimes... but when I park for short time it doesn't go down by the time I get back... so it's sometimes... but it's not dropping... like I"ve had it parked for about an 4 and a half hours while I've been working and it hasn't dropped... but then when I go home by the time I get outside it's dropped... make sense now?
 
MatthewDavid said:
It vents sometimes... but when I park for short time it doesn't go down by the time I get back... so it's sometimes... but it's not dropping... like I"ve had it parked for about an 4 and a half hours while I've been working and it hasn't dropped... but then when I go home by the time I get outside it's dropped... make sense now?
Click to expand...

As for this problem, it could be moisture in the system effecting the electrical, or if your car's rusty it could be an electrical connection at the sensor or at the compressor.

Eddie at american air sells dryers, or if you get a rebuilt compressor from him that comes with a new factory dryer. Check O rings in the valves. Check electrical connections, clean them up, then add di-electic or whatever it's called.. grease, to the electrical .. and as long as your bags aren't bad, it should vent fine and never leak.
 
That could be... I don't think the car's ever been in a lot of water since it was kept in a garage most it's life and last week we had A LOT of rain... kinda started all these problems I think... and I had to drive through a big puddle... didn't think it was all that deep... but it could've been... made a big splash... that sux... how much work is it?... I'm not very savy about suspensions... specially air bags
 
I never thought I was either. But I didn't want the lack of pride by paying someone else to do it. It's all really easy. Just use common sense, put things back together the way they came apart. There's not many components to the suspension system really. It sounds WAYYYYYY more complicated than it is. If it was any easier, it'd be a coloring book.

Just detach the valve, inspect the O ring, replace if it looks broke or dry, then plug it back in, air it up .. then go for a cruise and see if the problem still exists.

As far as moisture goes, your dryer could be old and worn out. Then everytime the compressor kicks on.. a bit of moisture is able to come in.

Or, you could have a leak , that sucks in moisture at night if it's humid out.
 
My car did the same thing yours is doing... mine was on the driver side. I could park the car, let it sit for a week and it would not leak off at all. Thats because the only time it was leaking was when I was driving and hitting bumps. It eventually got so bad, the compressor had to run extra to keep up. To make a long story short, I ended up replacing the bag and compressor. In my opinion, you have a bad bag.
 
....but it's easier to see if it's just a ten cent O ring, first. Of course.

If you replace the bag, don't inspect the O ring, and put it back together, what did you solve besides making your wallet lighter.
 
MatthewDavid said:
Are you sure?... cause it's kinda weird since it started my car doesn't vent... so it stays up all the time... so I would think with a leak it would drop... and also how much would it cost to replace it?
Click to expand...

Pretty sure. Like I said, mine would not leak down at all. I could shut the suspension off for a week and it would'nt leak down.

I found used bags for $75.00. That was about a year ago when nobody had front bags to sale.
 
poniesviii said:
....but it's easier to see if it's just a ten cent O ring, first. Of course.

If you replace the bag, don't inspect the O ring, and put it back together, what did you solve besides making your wallet lighter.
Click to expand...

agree... I checked and replaced the o-rings first hoping that was the problem on mine.
 
That's poopy... I was thinkin of changing over to coils... I KNOW I KNOW they suck compared to bags... but I was thinkin of the 1.5 drop and blah blah blah... thanks for the help so far guys... I think I'm gonna check out the o-rings... are they pretty easy to find and figure out?... where is the place I should check located?... I've never actually inspected the suspension... so don't really know what to look for or what it looks like... I'm sure I could do it just don't wanna muck anything else up... I'm suppose to drive to ND in a couple weeks... like 12 hours away... hopefully it'll be up by then
 
The valve is on the side of the air bag.

The height sensor is NOT on the air bag, but don't confuse the two. The height sensor has an acordian plastic boot around it.

The valve is the only thing mounted to the bag, except for the body of the car, and the suspension of the car.

There's some kind of clip to dis-engage the valve. So find that, dis engage it, (all the air will come out so be cautious not to bump your head, because it'll startle you!!) anyways, dis engage it, find a good trouble light, and inspect the O ring inside. It's what seals the valve to the bag. So it's right there. can't miss it.
 
Sweet thanks a bunch... maybe I should use a lift?... I don't know if I'd want it fallin on my head :)... sounds simple enough... hopefully it'll help... if not is there a temporary solution?... just to get me there and back? I don't wanna mickey mouse it together but maybe something that'll make it safer?
 
No, there's no temporary solution.

At the time I had my front suspension apart it was all on jackstands.

The part that'll be the largest pain might be accessing the valve. My suspension was apart since I was replacing bushings so it was easy access while I was there.
 
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