Svashtar
08-26-2017, 10:18 PM
Thought I would try and contribute something for once. Should have taken more pics, but these three kind of cover it. Sorry for the length.
I ordered two of the "Arnott Heavy Duty Rear Air Spring - 90-11 Lincoln Town Car - Left or Right" item # A-2220, and two of the companion K-2122 Solenoids. The springs were $126.90 each, and the solenoids $19.99 each. Total with shipping was $305.
The HD bags are nice units, with an aluminum piston at the bottom. They each come with a pack of O-rings, a large one for the air spring inlet that the solenoid seats on, and 3 smaller ones for the solenoid. I ended up not using any of them, because the solenoids also come with the 3 small O-rings mounted, and the larger one for the inlet as well.
The install steps are outlined on the Arnott site: Pop off the solenoid retaining clip, turn the solenoid counterclockwise and pull it out of the air spring inlet, remove the top clip on the air bag, then pop off the bottom piston clip where the piston clips / seats onto the axle.
On reinstall, don't do it in reverse order, but in the same order, solenoid first. Once you get in there you'll see why.
The PITA tasks were getting the old solenoids out of the inlet, getting the solenoids off the power connector and the airline connector that inserts into a compression fitting inside the solenoid, then getting the solenoids back into the air bag. The second was the worst. I made mistakes on the first bag (passenger side) and the drivers side went much faster. Removing the top and bottom clips takes 30 seconds. The other problem I had was getting the first bottom clip back onto the axle.
Step 1: Air suspension off, rear wheel off. With a long slotted screwdriver reach up to the narrow access point and pop off the solenoid retaining clip. Reach over the watts link and up into the chassis access cutout, following the solenoid power lead till you feel the solenoid body. Push it in and turn it hard a quarter turn counter clockwise, then try to pull it out of the top of the bag. If it seems hung up, turn it back a fraction clockwise and try again. Wiggle and curse for a while, till it comes out. Remaining air in the old spring will vent. Pull it back through the access point in the body and let it hang down.
2) Take some long handled pliers and reach in from the side above the wheel well and grab the retaining clip at the top of the air spring and pull it off. The clip was really rusty so I cleaned it up before reinstalling.
3) Use a big flat bladed screwdriver, and put it under the piston sleeve where it meets the axle, then shove it in further until you feel it climb up on top of the axle mounting point and pry up. The piston retaining clip will pop off. Then pull out the airbag, down to the front right (facing the rear wheel).
4) On the new spring, insert the large O-ring into the inlet for the solenoid, making sure it's pushed back all the way, all around. Collapse the piston a little to give yourself room, then feed it into place, and get the solenoid inlet up through the chassis and into position.
--> Option A) If you're not changing the solenoid (what I recommend after today), just change out the O-rings, and guide it back into the air spring. It will be harder to push in, both because of a slightly larger OD because of the new rings on the solenoid, and a "fatter" new O-ring in the inlet that you have to compress. Use the dielectric grease I mention below on the solenoid O-rings if you have trouble getting it to seat enough so that you can turn it clockwise back into place.
--> Option B) If you also want to change out the working OEM solenoids just in case, which was my idea, then you have to get the old solenoid off the power connector, and off the air line.
The power coupling is held on with two side retaining clips. Use care, after 14 years above the exhaust they're brittle, and I broke off one side of the first pressing it too far outwards to free up the connector. That left a single side clip, which should be OK considering the tight fit of the power connector into the receptacle.
The PITA is the white airline connector that goes into the bottom inlet of the solenoid, thorough an outside orange washer. It feeds into a compression fitting inside the solenoid. I got my other arm up there to take the strain off the line, holding it tight against the chassis and pulled on the solenoid till hell wouldn't have it. (See note below on how easy this could have been.)
I called Arnott twice about the install, both times mentioning the difficulty in removing the air line, and the second time the tech recommended lubing it with non-petroleum based spray, stating it would then "come out easily." Bull$(*t. I shot silicone spray into the line inlet, and after another half hour what started to come out of the solenoid wasn't the line, but the brass compression fitting! Another 15 minutes of pulling while trying to keep the strain off the line, and the solenoid came loose, but it left the compression fitting on the air line.
I used a mini screwdriver to pry the petals of the brass fitting open, then pulled it off the line with pliers. I was concerned that I might have damaged that line, but it looked OK.
The new solenoid came with a red washer I installed inside the electrical connection to keep it watertight, first removing the old one with long nosed pliers. Feed the white line into the new orange compression fitting, then push the electrical connector into place.
Then I tried to push the new solenoid with it's new O-rings into the air spring inlet; for 30 minutes. I got it into the inlet, and could feel the O-rings start to go in, but couldn't get the last 1/4"
The reason you want the bag loose while you do this is that when you're taking the solenoid out, you don't have to see the connector, but putting it in you want to be able to see how far it's in, and when to turn clockwise. With the bag loose you can pull it out and down a bit and get full view of the solenoid and inlet.
I ended up using the tiniest amount of dielectric grease on the O-rings, enough to cover a tip of a nail, and that did it. The solenoid slipped in easily. I couldn't believe that tiny bit of lube was all it took. :confused: Just didn't occur to me new parts would need that. Then new retaining clip popped over top of solenoid connection, again easier when the airbag is loose.
Top clip pushed in from the side over the top of the air spring, then all that's left is to pop the bottom piston clip down onto the axle. The axle is rusty, so I used emery cloth and rubbed it down to clean bare metal, all around the axle mounting hole, where the new clip has to fit, on the inside edges of the opening, but it wouldn't go. Lube didn't seem like a good idea, but I finally added a thin layer of synthetic chassis lube around the axle mounting hole, and after another 10 minutes I felt the piston clip snap in place. (At least that's what I thought, as it was firmly mounted, and I couldn't pull it off the axle.)
The drivers side had the same issue with the white solenoid air line, and it also pulled out the compression fitting.
This side I used a wire wheel on a drill and cleaned the inside of the axle mounting point 360 degrees. Took 3 minutes, and the bottom piston clip snapped on positively in less than 30 seconds of leaning on it and rocking it back and forth over the axle opening. If it weren't for the time spent fighting the solenoid line, I could have done the drivers side bag in less than a half hour from jacking up the car
So, simple tips:
-- IMO, don't change the solenoids unless you have to. Even Arnott mentions they seldom fail. Change out the O-rings, and lube them with a dab of dielectric grease.
-- When you pop off the solenoid retaining clip, make sure it falls through. If not, you need to feel for it on top of the body cutout or it will rattle around up there.
-- Use a wire wheel and polish the axle mount inside where the new axle piston clip will go.
-- If you change the solenoids (new info added a day later): according to Arnott, all you have to do to remove the white airline is to push in the orange washer hard, while simultaneously pulling on the line. Of course, when I called twice on Friday they didn't reveal that little tip, so instead I put God knows how much stain on the line because I'm a dumbass. [emoji35]. The guy told me to spray non petroleum lube in the fitting and "pull hard," so that's what I did. There was some play in that washer, but not a lot, so I didn't figure it out.
Filling the new bags: I turned the air switch on and started the car. Half way thru filling I heard a very loud pop come from one of the bags. The sound was exactly the pop/bang you hear when a tire sucks up to the rim and pops into place when it's being mounted. (Kind of an "oh $%^&!" moment!) The bags inflated, everything looked good, so the only thing I can figure it was the first axle piston clip snapping into place when the weight of the car pushed down on the piston? It must not have been all the way down. I don't know what else it could have been. (?)
I drove it for an hour, and everything seems OK, with the compressor only coming on once briefly.
Pics (sorry, one loading sideways for some reason):
New air spring in place; retaining clip at the bottom of the old piston; a shot under the axle mounting point showing the new gold colored clip locked in place.
I ordered two of the "Arnott Heavy Duty Rear Air Spring - 90-11 Lincoln Town Car - Left or Right" item # A-2220, and two of the companion K-2122 Solenoids. The springs were $126.90 each, and the solenoids $19.99 each. Total with shipping was $305.
The HD bags are nice units, with an aluminum piston at the bottom. They each come with a pack of O-rings, a large one for the air spring inlet that the solenoid seats on, and 3 smaller ones for the solenoid. I ended up not using any of them, because the solenoids also come with the 3 small O-rings mounted, and the larger one for the inlet as well.
The install steps are outlined on the Arnott site: Pop off the solenoid retaining clip, turn the solenoid counterclockwise and pull it out of the air spring inlet, remove the top clip on the air bag, then pop off the bottom piston clip where the piston clips / seats onto the axle.
On reinstall, don't do it in reverse order, but in the same order, solenoid first. Once you get in there you'll see why.
The PITA tasks were getting the old solenoids out of the inlet, getting the solenoids off the power connector and the airline connector that inserts into a compression fitting inside the solenoid, then getting the solenoids back into the air bag. The second was the worst. I made mistakes on the first bag (passenger side) and the drivers side went much faster. Removing the top and bottom clips takes 30 seconds. The other problem I had was getting the first bottom clip back onto the axle.
Step 1: Air suspension off, rear wheel off. With a long slotted screwdriver reach up to the narrow access point and pop off the solenoid retaining clip. Reach over the watts link and up into the chassis access cutout, following the solenoid power lead till you feel the solenoid body. Push it in and turn it hard a quarter turn counter clockwise, then try to pull it out of the top of the bag. If it seems hung up, turn it back a fraction clockwise and try again. Wiggle and curse for a while, till it comes out. Remaining air in the old spring will vent. Pull it back through the access point in the body and let it hang down.
2) Take some long handled pliers and reach in from the side above the wheel well and grab the retaining clip at the top of the air spring and pull it off. The clip was really rusty so I cleaned it up before reinstalling.
3) Use a big flat bladed screwdriver, and put it under the piston sleeve where it meets the axle, then shove it in further until you feel it climb up on top of the axle mounting point and pry up. The piston retaining clip will pop off. Then pull out the airbag, down to the front right (facing the rear wheel).
4) On the new spring, insert the large O-ring into the inlet for the solenoid, making sure it's pushed back all the way, all around. Collapse the piston a little to give yourself room, then feed it into place, and get the solenoid inlet up through the chassis and into position.
--> Option A) If you're not changing the solenoid (what I recommend after today), just change out the O-rings, and guide it back into the air spring. It will be harder to push in, both because of a slightly larger OD because of the new rings on the solenoid, and a "fatter" new O-ring in the inlet that you have to compress. Use the dielectric grease I mention below on the solenoid O-rings if you have trouble getting it to seat enough so that you can turn it clockwise back into place.
--> Option B) If you also want to change out the working OEM solenoids just in case, which was my idea, then you have to get the old solenoid off the power connector, and off the air line.
The power coupling is held on with two side retaining clips. Use care, after 14 years above the exhaust they're brittle, and I broke off one side of the first pressing it too far outwards to free up the connector. That left a single side clip, which should be OK considering the tight fit of the power connector into the receptacle.
The PITA is the white airline connector that goes into the bottom inlet of the solenoid, thorough an outside orange washer. It feeds into a compression fitting inside the solenoid. I got my other arm up there to take the strain off the line, holding it tight against the chassis and pulled on the solenoid till hell wouldn't have it. (See note below on how easy this could have been.)
I called Arnott twice about the install, both times mentioning the difficulty in removing the air line, and the second time the tech recommended lubing it with non-petroleum based spray, stating it would then "come out easily." Bull$(*t. I shot silicone spray into the line inlet, and after another half hour what started to come out of the solenoid wasn't the line, but the brass compression fitting! Another 15 minutes of pulling while trying to keep the strain off the line, and the solenoid came loose, but it left the compression fitting on the air line.
I used a mini screwdriver to pry the petals of the brass fitting open, then pulled it off the line with pliers. I was concerned that I might have damaged that line, but it looked OK.
The new solenoid came with a red washer I installed inside the electrical connection to keep it watertight, first removing the old one with long nosed pliers. Feed the white line into the new orange compression fitting, then push the electrical connector into place.
Then I tried to push the new solenoid with it's new O-rings into the air spring inlet; for 30 minutes. I got it into the inlet, and could feel the O-rings start to go in, but couldn't get the last 1/4"
The reason you want the bag loose while you do this is that when you're taking the solenoid out, you don't have to see the connector, but putting it in you want to be able to see how far it's in, and when to turn clockwise. With the bag loose you can pull it out and down a bit and get full view of the solenoid and inlet.
I ended up using the tiniest amount of dielectric grease on the O-rings, enough to cover a tip of a nail, and that did it. The solenoid slipped in easily. I couldn't believe that tiny bit of lube was all it took. :confused: Just didn't occur to me new parts would need that. Then new retaining clip popped over top of solenoid connection, again easier when the airbag is loose.
Top clip pushed in from the side over the top of the air spring, then all that's left is to pop the bottom piston clip down onto the axle. The axle is rusty, so I used emery cloth and rubbed it down to clean bare metal, all around the axle mounting hole, where the new clip has to fit, on the inside edges of the opening, but it wouldn't go. Lube didn't seem like a good idea, but I finally added a thin layer of synthetic chassis lube around the axle mounting hole, and after another 10 minutes I felt the piston clip snap in place. (At least that's what I thought, as it was firmly mounted, and I couldn't pull it off the axle.)
The drivers side had the same issue with the white solenoid air line, and it also pulled out the compression fitting.
This side I used a wire wheel on a drill and cleaned the inside of the axle mounting point 360 degrees. Took 3 minutes, and the bottom piston clip snapped on positively in less than 30 seconds of leaning on it and rocking it back and forth over the axle opening. If it weren't for the time spent fighting the solenoid line, I could have done the drivers side bag in less than a half hour from jacking up the car
So, simple tips:
-- IMO, don't change the solenoids unless you have to. Even Arnott mentions they seldom fail. Change out the O-rings, and lube them with a dab of dielectric grease.
-- When you pop off the solenoid retaining clip, make sure it falls through. If not, you need to feel for it on top of the body cutout or it will rattle around up there.
-- Use a wire wheel and polish the axle mount inside where the new axle piston clip will go.
-- If you change the solenoids (new info added a day later): according to Arnott, all you have to do to remove the white airline is to push in the orange washer hard, while simultaneously pulling on the line. Of course, when I called twice on Friday they didn't reveal that little tip, so instead I put God knows how much stain on the line because I'm a dumbass. [emoji35]. The guy told me to spray non petroleum lube in the fitting and "pull hard," so that's what I did. There was some play in that washer, but not a lot, so I didn't figure it out.
Filling the new bags: I turned the air switch on and started the car. Half way thru filling I heard a very loud pop come from one of the bags. The sound was exactly the pop/bang you hear when a tire sucks up to the rim and pops into place when it's being mounted. (Kind of an "oh $%^&!" moment!) The bags inflated, everything looked good, so the only thing I can figure it was the first axle piston clip snapping into place when the weight of the car pushed down on the piston? It must not have been all the way down. I don't know what else it could have been. (?)
I drove it for an hour, and everything seems OK, with the compressor only coming on once briefly.
Pics (sorry, one loading sideways for some reason):
New air spring in place; retaining clip at the bottom of the old piston; a shot under the axle mounting point showing the new gold colored clip locked in place.