Air suspension question

[leafsrule531]

Hi everyone - I have an 07 x5 3.0 with 3rd row seating so definitely have air suspension in my car. The rear of my car feels very harsh while driving (I don’t have rft tires either). The front feels fine over bumps. I recently changed the shocks on the car but never changed the air bags for the suspension.

I also have been noticing for the past few months when I leave the car overnight and come back the next day - it sags to the bottom but then when I turn the car on it seems to pump up and come back to level.

My question is, does this mean I have a failing rear air bag suspension? Would replacing the bags improve the ride quality in the rear or do the air bags have no correlation with ride quality on only self leveling ?

[andrewwynn]

Yes you have leaking air springs.

It's about 1 hour job to replace each side. I think shock options more likely to change the firmness of the suspension (at the cost of handling).

[leafsrule531]

You don’t think replacing the airbags will give me a smoother ride in the rear ? Right now it’s very bumpy / bouncy

[andrewwynn]

Airbags are in the dashboard and steering wheel for collision safety. Air spring is what you are wondering about.

Bumpy/bouncy is a shock thing not a spring thing.

[leafsrule531]

Sorry. Meant air springs.

[andrewwynn]

Don't feel bad, the vast majority of people call them air bags. If there wasn't a vastly different thing with that name I'd be ok with it, but I'd like to work on reducing that majority to a smaller percentage

[bcredliner]

The leak is not necessarily the bags. Use soapy water to test for bag leaks before purchasing new bags.

[andrewwynn]

Definitely what he said. Is 95% chance it’s the air spring but before you cut a hole in it to take it out definitely Spray some soapy water and confirm

[leafsrule531]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

Yes you have leaking air springs.

It's about 1 hour job to replace each side. I think shock options more likely to change the firmness of the suspension (at the cost of handling).

Would leaky air springs cause the the suv to droop on one side over night ? After I turn the car on it automatically levels and then drives fine. I do hear the pump turning on but it turns on, levels the truck and then turns off and works fine. What could be the issue ?

My understanding is leaking air springs would either keep the pump on or eventually the cad would drop back to one side.

[andrewwynn]

The M.O. is exactly like you described.

The pump won't run when the car is not in use.

The leak in the rubber spring is rarely fast enough the pump will run much. Usually if that happens it's a pipe leak. (though it can be a catastrophic failure in the spring).

If you remove the wheel, jack up the car (other order I suppose is important). Then spray some spray cleaner on the rubber spring. If you see foam you've confirmed the leak.

Of the 20-25 cases I've witnessed on xo, 2 perhaps were not the spring so that's the way to bet.