swapped in front coils and now rear bags wont inflate

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NHRedneck

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hey guys, ive got a 98 lsc. about a month and a half ago the air ride comp died, i knew i had a slow leak in a front bag so i replaced both front bags with coil overs, i put in a used air compressor so that i could continue to run the rear bags, but now that i have the compressor swapped, the rear bags wont inflate. the compressor cycles one complete cycle, then i get the check air ride message. when i installed the new compressor, i did hook up all 4 air lines to the pump, figuring the fronts wont get air flow b/c the air ride switches for the front will show being at ride height. do i need to only connect the rear lines to the compressor now? did i loose a bag b/c of letting it sit deflated for a month an a half? is there a way to use compressed air from a large air compressor to inflate the rear bags to check them for leaks???
when the air ride comp runs the back end doesnt even lift off the ground so im kinda stumped. i do have access to a snap on scan tool but i dont believe it will access th air ride system.

thanks for any help, david
 
i'm sorry i have to say it because i deal with stuff like this at my shop but why are people half ass? its either air, or springs, not both, convert the whole car to coils, or fix the air leak. would you put brand new wipers on a busted windshield?
 
even rednecks have SOME common sense, then again, the money for rear springs was most likely blown on



PabstBlueRibbon.jpg
 
i ran front coils rear bags for awhile even though i had the rear coils in the garage... I did it for the leveling under load...eventually the relay took a sh it and i switched over.
 
its just a matter of money guys, im trying to deal with moving soon and have plenty of bills and dont need the jackassery. just trying to figure out if there is a way for me to inflate the rear bags to check for an air leak and to know how to have the compressor hooked up so that it should inflate the rear bags.
 
Try jacking the car up in the drivers rear a little and see if it responds. It sounds like you have a sensor out of range to me. Did they hold air fine before?
 
i dont know if the rears had a leak but when i bought the car my buddy told me it had a leaking front bag, so overnight the car would fall front and rear to the ground. up until the air compressor died the car would lift fine on its own. ill go out and see if i can get it to respond with a jack under the back.
 
The rears won't start to inflate until the fronts are at the correct height.

Do you still have the front height sensors on?

If so, you might be able to get the rears to inflate if you can get the front height sensors in the right position. Then you do have to jack up the left rear a bit (as was posted) to get that sensor back into a range where it will work. If the rear is slammed, the sensor can go past the range that it works.

The right way would be to just wire in a swtich, to control the pump, vent, and rear solenoids, and add or vent air when you want.

The wiring diagrams are in the manual, and the switch mod diagrams are on a couple of the other Mark VIII sites. You'll have to change a few things to control the rears only, but if you're handy with circuits, it's easy.

I've seen it done with just front coils before, and it worked great, especially with different loads.
 
just got in from jacking the car up. the ride height sensor is still in its mounts, and jacking the car up didnt help getting the bags to inflate. i did jack the carup too high and the comp shut off so i know the rear sensor is working fine. so either i have a leaking line at the compressor or a junk bag or 2 correct???

the front sensors are hooked up in the middle of the adjustment, and i had to connect the solenoids from the front bags to get the compressor to run.
 
If you're sure the rear solenoids are opening and trying to fill, then yes, you have a leak.

I'd start at the lines to the compressor. Put your fingers at the lines where they go into the compressor, when it's running. If you feel air, that line might might not be seated all the way.

That's happend to me twice.:D
 
yes bill i am convinced that the rears are trying to inflate, i just have no way of verifying what the rear solenoids are doing whether they are open or closed. ill double check the lines at the compressor.... maybe ill try the old soapy water spray to try and find where my leak is.
 
If you can find a Star II tester, you can hook it up to the suspension module and adjust the front sensors till they put out the right tone and secure them in that spot to fool the car into thinking the fronts are always at the right height...
But as mentioned, you'll need to find a Star II tester. Eddie at American Air Auspension has a rental program of some sort for one if you contact him for the details...
 
If the car was falling overnight on both front and rears, your rear bags were also leaking. I would dump the rear bags for coils and save yourself the headache.
 
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