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Air Ride acting WEIRD
Ok, so to summarize how the air suspension has been acting lately so those of you who have experience with it and can possibly point me in the right direction. Basically, the air suspension acts like it has a leak while I'm driving. The front drivers side drops lower and you can tell b/c the steering wheel becomes crooked and the DS dips. I also hear clunking, like its a sway bar link is loose on the DS, over bumps. If I raise up the suspension and start driving again, it levels off and the clunking noise goes away. Then after a few miles, it drops again on the DS and I hear the same noise. WEIRD.
Now it gets even more weird. I park the car in the garage for a few house and the whole car is leaning to the DS. Looks like a really fat person is sitting in the driver seat. Also when I get out of the car, I hear hissing like the front airshock has a leak (as its settling down). So now I'm convinced the front airshock is bad. BUT, then after I start the car up again and raise it to the full (topmost) rideheight, the leak magically seems to disapear and when I put the ride height back to the middle position, it DOESN'T leak anymore and I leave the car overnight and 24 hrs later, it doesn't even sag or lean. WTH? I also placed a floor jack under the DS front in case the car starts to sag again so I know if it is leaning. But guess what, it doesn't even touch the jack after 24hrs. What is going?! Is it a faulty airshock or is just a bad control unit? Seems really weird whats going on. Any ideas? |
Well, i guess it is a problem almost all 4.8is have.
Mine was acting exactly the same way, drivers side would completly drop, and then after i would start the car it would raise itself up, after a month or so acting this way, it dropped completely and i had to replace both airstruts. I'am guessing you have a leak and sooner or later you will have to change both front struts. After replacing the struts mine still has a problem, Selflevel Susp Inact is constantly on and ride hight does not go up or down when i need to, or press the up or down bottons. Basicly these 4.8is SUV's are flawless except these suspention issues. I hope you don't have the same problem i did, and i'am hopefull because you don't have a constant Selflevel Susp inac message constantly and you can raise the ridehight manually. This is what makes me think you don't have a same problem i do. But then again you have a sound i did not have. and you also have same weired sound when you are standing near the car and sound is coming when car is raising itself, or even lowering Good luck, and keep us posted. Quote:
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Do a thread search, I think this problem has been discussed, diagnosed and resolved already.
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There are different causes to different cases! |
From what I can recall in reading about it the faults usually pointed to the same area.
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same exact problem here. mine does it on the passenger side..
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Can you help me out Meister, I'm only on my iPhone today at work so it's kinds hard to use the search. Thanks for any help!
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I'll do my best...tba
I have a good article on the system and how it works but it's 57 pages long and too big for the system to let me attach it. Send me your e-mail and I'll forward it to you. It's not a fix yet but it's a start. Quote:
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I just sprayed water on my driverside shock and its bubbling/leaking. Also when it was raising up one time, as I was spraying water on the shock, there was a jet of air that just sprayed out and then stopped. I'm thinking I have a bad airshock?
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i still got a set of air shocks here if you need them, they are OEM, and BNIB. 37116761443 and 37116761444. 2004-2006 4.8is
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Can I just get the driverside? How much and are you local socal?
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i'm not local, $780 shipped.
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Thanks Killcrap but I just had an epiphany moment this morning. I think I will try to patch it first since I realized the strut is no more than just a big air bellow or rubber cycle innertube. Albeit a thicker larger one, but I did isolate the leak location through spraying water up onto the strut. Its an area about 1x1 inches. Trying to locate some vulcanizing rubber cement and gonna patch it up like a rubber tire and see what happens. This should a fun experiement and if works then I saved a few $$$ and if it doesn't, it was fun trying out the theory.
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I seriously doubt it will work trying to patch from the outside on a part that bends/flexes that much... But hey, whats the harm in trying? (wonder what a small amount of fix a flat injected into it would do?)
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Update:
Today I finally got around to patching up the air leak on the strut. My buddy owns an auto body/repair shop and I was able to obtain some vulcanized rubber cement (the kind they use to patch car tires) and car tire patches. I cleaned the leaky area with rubbing alcohol and then sanded it down with fine grit sand paper (just to smooth it out a bit) and then I re-cleaned it with the alcohol. Initially I applied a thin layer of cement and let it set in after a few minutes. Then I applied a 2nd coat and let it dry. This stuff seems to cure itself after a few minutes and soaks into the pores of the rubber bladder. Finally I applied the 3rd coat and put on the patch. I rubbed it around the edges and made sure there was no unsealed areas. I'm letting it cure for a few hours and then I'll lower the ride down to the lowest height to see if it leaks over night. But so far, it looks pretty promising. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3413/...caa92444_b.jpg |
ghetto.... let me know if you still need one. also if you need anything else for bmws
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You didn't have the kneeding roller from your buddy that is used when patching tires? That ensures better bonding than just pressing by hand.
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If it works.. it's a good temp fix... long term update sounds good.
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Yeah, I hope to contribute something good to this forum so hopefully this works!
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Heck, if it works, I'll ask for your buddy's phone number!
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Heck, if it works, I'll do it for you. Its so easy! The trick is to find the leak but everything else is cake.
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Indy shop prices
Is $200 per corner a good price for replacing the springs? Just the labor.
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JT///MC - I have the exact same issue that you have/had (clunking noise, etc.) and now mine wouldn't even move anymore. It just sits on the lowest setting. I'm trying to find out how much it would cost me to replace it. Another option that I was thinking is just replacing it with springs and not worry about it anymore. This air suspension is such a headache that I want to trade in my 4.8 now. I'm going to do some more research on this. Please keep me posted about the patch that you did, I think that's pretty clever. My email is [email protected].
Thanks, Alfred |
JT///MC, please let us know how did it go on your experience. I have exactly the same leak as I did the water spray on the air spring and saw the air bubble popping out. Very interested to know the results of your work. Thanks.
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Sorry, been on vacation. The short answer is no, it doesn't work. Easiest fix is to just replace your air shock with a new one. Which side are your shocks bad? Or both?
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Btw, the air suspension is great if you use it for it's intended purpose. I'm here on the San dunes in Pismo and it's proven itself invaluable. Btw, X-drive really does work. O was able to pull myself out of soft sand. Thank god I didn't need a tow!
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Mine in on the driver side. It leaks slowly and sometime even holds up for few days, but I can still see the leak. I guess I will have to take in for a new air bag. Do you know how much it will cost to get just the air bag replaced? Thanks.
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Mine was also on the driverside too. The shock is like $800 and my friend hooked me up on the labor ($50). Replacing it is very easy so you shouldn't have to payuch in labor. Good luck.
I personally like having the air ride. It's like 3 cars in one. Mine has been great since I replaced the driverside. |
This has hit my driver side as well :(
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after when my struts have been replaced, air compressor went bad. And I was told no
Matter what u have to replace compressor |
Same issue here. Slow leak on the driver side front. I can see it when in the lower position by spraying some windex on the air bag. When I pump some air back into it by setting the higher position then lower it to the middle then it's fine for a while. Over night it will loose some to the point that when I start the car in the am it levels itself up the minute I unlock it. How much is an air bag alone? Can this be changed DIY style ? I am pretty good at tinkering with mechanics and I have a good friend of mine with the right tools to work on cars? Issue is if it needs programming then I guess I am out of luck.
Thoughts ? Suggestions? |
01 4.4 lowers in rear overnight
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Thanks, T |
9 times out of 10 it is the bags leaking down. They just get old and degrade enough to start leaking over the years.
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Same thing with mine. You will notice the leaks by lowering your car to the lowest level and then spraying something like windex which bubbles onto the air bags. At the lower setting the lower portion of the bag rolls back upwards against the shock and you will start to see some small cracks from the rubber drying out. When up raise the suspension it rolls back out and I am guessing these small cracks seal themselves as even after spraying the bags in the upper position I can't see a single leak! I suppose that the leaks are so small that at some point the bags loose enough volume that they need to be refilled hence the compressor turning on. The clunk noise stops when you "pump" some more air into the bag by setting up the system on the higher setting then lowering it back to the middle position. Apparently the actual replacement of the bags is fairly easy to mechanically inclined folks albeit they are pretty pricey.
I have to tackle the DS front one soon. I hate to see the car leaning. I hope this helps. |
It does help- thank you guys for the input. Of coarse now it is not leaking out like it did over the weekend, but I think it is the start of it! The price of the bags was not as bad as I thought ($350).
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In my case, I drive a 2002 E53 3.0d. I replaced the rear driver side air bag. after 2 months the other side leaked. I suggest to all owners with rear self levelling suspension to replace both air bags same time to avoid the inconvenience of going back to the shop again...:D
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Just want to thank everyone here. Like X5Tanya, I have the 01 4.4 with only the rear air springs. Reading all this helped me diagnose that they were leaking. Found them on eBay for $199 for the pair, lifetime warranty. Replaced them myself in about 2 hours. Easier than changing brake pads. Just need to be sure to jack up both rear wheels at once so that suspension drops enough to have room to get them out. Work only under a vehicle that is safely supported! (Or pay a shop to do it.)
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Can you share the links on Ebay where you found the bags? I need to do the front ones on my 2006 4.8is ! it's leaking badly now and I don't want to burn the compressor by overusing it. Thanks
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The eBay item number is 220800059946, listed as NEW REAR AIR RIDE SUSPENSION SPRINGS BAGS BMW X5 E53. You should be able to search eBay Motors for it. Seller is listed as arnott_air_suspension from Cape Canaveral, FL. You could also probably contact them at Arnott, Inc., 1-800-251-8993, or on web at arnottairsuspension.com. My guess is that the price will be different for your model and due to them being the front air springs, etc. Still maybe a bargain!
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Have to agree and I just finished the front set in about 1:30 this morning! Really not a big deal!
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