Rear Air Springs

[ledzilla]

Ok, so I finally ran the new air line for my air ride to replace the melted line, and patched it into the existing lines for each spring using a t-union quick connect. Ran a test of the system from my shop compressor at 90psi with no leaks. Get the car lowered, fire up the compressor under the hood, begin watching to see if the rear end starts to lift... Pop and hiss.

I don't have it in me to lift the car up again and crawl underneath to inspect tonight. I figure if one of the lines running to a spring popped out, I'll replace the existing lines with the extra air hose I have on hand. On the other hand, if the new line popped out or an air spring popped, I'm scrapping the air ride and converting to coil springs. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180226/84d812b30f15822ce0314c478e1f14 82.jpg

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[Turbov6Bryan]

10 bucks says that white hose popped off. Use sand paper and scuff it up, then put a dab of super glue on it and push it in, and pull the hose out to lock it right? Let it cure

the air ride system is so nice to have on these cars, dont quit yet

[ledzilla]

Yeah, the two white ones are the factory lines to the springs. The black line is the new one (got it from Suncore). And I'm trying not to quit, but I've been fighting with this for almost five years.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the white ones popped out, though. They have ridges on them to lock them into the factory y-union. I'm not certain if those ridges are preventing them from fully connecting.

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[ledzilla]

Maybe I'll just order a pair of new air springs from Suncore, and a pair of new solenoids from RockAuto. Supposing a spring blew. Less than half the cost of an OEM air spring.

It also occurs to me that maybe the solenoid wasn't seated correctly in the driver side air spring. I had that one disconnected from the spring and didn't check to see if it was positioned properly before lowering the car.

I just really don't want to crawl back under the car. It makes my head feel all woozy while under a car.

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[Turbov6Bryan]

We had a dyi shop here and you could rent lift space by the hour. Might try a not too busy muffler shop.

[ledzilla]

That sounds ideal. The car isn't exactly roadworthy right now, though, so I'll just have to grin and bear it. At least I'm no longer doing parking lot repairs like I was this time last year.

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[RF Overlord]

Just curious why you're buying the air bags from Suncore and the solenoids from RA? Suncore sells both, as does Arnott.

[ledzilla]

Just curious why you're buying the air bags from Suncore and the solenoids from RA? Suncore sells both, as does Arnott.Because the solenoids weren't listed under Marauder offerings at Suncore and I forgot to look at Ford parts in general. They changed their parts compatibility listings, so not everything that should be listed for Marauders is there. I ran into that a month or so ago trying to buy new air line. Forgot all about it checking their current parts offerings earlier today.

So, in short, because I'm an idiot.

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[ledzilla]

Confirmed... Need new air bags. The driver side popped. Don't think I'll need solenoids, so I'll just order the springs. With the manual control on the air ride, the solenoids aren't worked very much.

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[1Marauder]

Keep after it! You are almost there! We are all with you in spirit. If I lived nearby, I'd come help hand you tools.

[ledzilla]

Hehe. Thanks for the offer. Hopefully the new springs will arrive by the weekend. Shouldn't be too tough to get them swapped out. When done, there won't be much of anything original left to the air suspension. Either way, I'll just be happy that the four and a half year long battle with it will finally be over.

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[ledzilla]

New air springs should arrive Thursday. Kind of exciting.

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[ledzilla]

The new air springs arrived last week, but I got sick. So, they got installed last night. Wasn't tough to swap them. I finally reached the end of this saga. New air springs, new line... It's all working wonderfully. It feels so much better with my car no longer looking like a dog with worms scooting across the lawn.

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[lifespeed]

Maybe I'll just order a pair of new air springs from Suncore, and a pair of new solenoids from RockAuto. Supposing a spring blew. Less than half the cost of an OEM air spring.

It also occurs to me that maybe the solenoid wasn't seated correctly in the driver side air spring. I had that one disconnected from the spring and didn't check to see if it was positioned properly before lowering the car.

I just really don't want to crawl back under the car. It makes my head feel all woozy while under a car.

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The OEM air springs are better than Suncore, they changed the spring rate. I have a new set if you're interested.

[ledzilla]

The OEM air springs are better than Suncore, they changed the spring rate. I have a new set if you're interested.I've already swapped in Suncore air springs. Got it done late last week. Thanks for the offer, though. I would have preferred OEM, but I didn't have $500-$600 for a pair of air springs. I got a pair of Suncore springs for $80 shipped, they had a sale going on.

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[Turbov6Bryan]

Glad you finally got it squared away!

[ledzilla]

Me, too. I spent too many years fighting with it, it's nice to finally have it completely resolved. And at this point, I'm not sure I can even tell the difference between the Suncore and OEM springs. It just feels nice to not need pain killers by time I reach a destination.