Anybody ever experience this?

[N40GL]

I have noticed that, when parked overnight, the MM's air springs deflate almost all the way. They used to stay inflated for three to five days if the car wasn't driven. Anyone else experience this "premature deflation?"

Maybe I ned Viagra for the car, to help it stay up longer. :shake:

Seriously - how long should it be before the car sags down?

[duhtroll]

If it stays up for more than 4 hours, consult your doctor.

-A

[MMM2003]

If it stays up for more than 4 hours, consult your doctor.

-A :rofl:

Mark:

Seriously, I'll see how long my air springs stays up.

No complaints so far :D

Man, this is just to easy to get out of hand.

[MERCMAN]

Mark, I had the same problem with my lincoln, took it in and it had a bad valve in the air line. I leave my '03 for a week at at time without running it, airbags always stay up. They have NEVER been deflated to the point where I could notice a difference.

[Mike Poore]

Seriously - how long should it be before the car sags down?
Hey, Mark. Mine stays up all the time, unless I don't notice. How far does it sag, and is it the same on both sides?

BTW, did you mount a UHF/VHF antenna? I like the larsen KulGlass but am wondering about all the wires in the rear window. de W3CAR

[Bluerauder]

They used to stay inflated for three to five days if the car wasn't driven. Anyone else experience this "premature deflation?"

Wasn't driven for three to five days --- how can you stand it?? :confused: Mine will usually sag down overnight; but I have never actually timed it. I can see her lift the following morning in the rear view mirror by looking at an object in the distance.


If it stays up for more than 4 hours, consult your doctor.
That is funny .... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
:hmmm: :nworthy: :cloud9: :high5: :wflag: :D :rofl:

[marauder307]

Mine usually release pressure after every drive...same as my grandmother's '92 TownCar. Should hear a click, and the rear should drop about 2 in, give or take. They reinflate after every start; cold mornings seems to take longer (or maybe it's just me...can't stand cold, being from Daytona...)

[N40GL]

I'm inclined to agree with Dan (MercMan) that it's a valve issue - I just thought I'd poll the forum to see what other people experienced. As for me, the next day it's all the way down on the bump stops.

This didn't start until I had to disassemble the right air spring to get the Metco Watt's Link in there, and I can't help but conclude it's related somehow. I've got to take 'er in for an oil change and to replace a bad oil pressure sensor, so I'll add this to the list of things to check out.

Mike Poole: I put a Terk cellular antenna on the rear window (looks like a little black pancake about 1/2" thick and triangular) and the wires don't seem to interfere. The coupler box sits above the topmost wire, and the radiating element isn't affected by the wires on the inside of the glass. Since the real estate for window antennas was taken, I put an Antenex dual band antenna on the trunk with a low profile Antenex mount (the antenna doesn't even slap the roof when I open the trunk). The GPS patch antennas went under the CHMSL (3)and under the dash (1), respectively. The cellular patch antenna for the alarm is also under the dash.

I do know someone that has put a dual band antenna (now horizontally polarized) behind the urethane rear bumper cover, mounted to a bumper strut, but I have no idea how well it works. In a metro area, pretty well I imagine. That's one of the places the FCC uses in their Suburbans when they replace the steel bumper with Fiberglas.

[Cobra25]

I for one have never had that problem. It should automaticaly stay up. I for one if I were you should bring it back to the dealer to get checked.

[Bigdogjim]

Mark: Mine Marauder sits for at least 2 weeks and no air loss.

Check the valve's:)

[Tallboy]

Mark: Mine Marauder sits for at least 2 weeks and no air loss.

Check the valve's:)
what he said. mine don't deflate at all.

[Merc-O-matic]

The air shocks (air suspension) should never deflate!
I have them on my 1994 Lincoln Town Car
and on my 1997 Grand Marquis, and have driven over
200K with them.
When the air pressure gets low, or you add more weight
the motor automatically goes on and
restores air pressure. (works even when the engine is off)
You need to see the dealer for repairs.

73, N3LOL

[MENINBLK]

I have a 2004 Marauder and it works just as N40GL states.
I visited the Service Manager in my dealership and he told me that when the Marauder sits parked for a period of time,
and immediately after you exit the vehicle, the Air Suspension will release a small amount of air.
Over a longer period of time, more air will release to lessen the load on the air springs.

Also when I load my trunk, the Air System doesn't level the car until the ignition has been turned on.

I've been told that the system is working correctly, and I've verified it EVERY WEEKEND when I load my trunk with gear for work.

[Merc-O-matic]

Interesting information.
So far my Marauder (air suspension) has never
lost any air. In fact I went 6 months without
driving it or starting it and the air suspension
was right where it should be (normal/level)
when I cranked it over.

Gotta Love It!

[Marauder]

Mark: Mine Marauder sits for at least 2 weeks and no air loss.

Check the valve's:)

Mine too. I was on vacation for 2 weeks and it was fine. For the most part, I only drive my car on weekends and the car sits all week and it stays the same height.

[N40GL]

Well, this certainly has been an interesting day in the ol' Mercury Marauder's life.

The air springs problem seems most likely to be a bad valve (kudos to Dan for the accurate remote diagnosis) in the top of the driver's-right-side 'airbag.' After it went down twice at the dealer, they measured it and it was lower on drivers-right than drivers-left. So as they got into it, it turns out that the valve at the top of the bag needed replacement (and is on order with delivery scheduled for tomorrow). What I can't help but wonder (and will ask) is whether this somehow is related to the installation of the Watts Link. which needed to have the drivers-right-side airbag deflated before it went in there. More on this story later.

Also of more value is to have a great relationship with a dealer like Sessler Ford (sponsor of MVII). :bows: I can just see what sort of discussion I'd have with a dealer more hostile to mods than these guys. If you are up in North Lake County, Illinois (and probably worth a drive from southern Wisconsin as well), these are the guys to go to! :banana:

(Yeah - it's a commercial. They've earned it.) :P

Perhaps the more interesting part of this visit is what happened to the front tires. I had pretty much expected the rears to be worn out and already had a standby set in the garage waiting for installation. What I had noticed (and asked the dealer to check) was sort of a squirmy feeling in the front end. On rough roads, it felt like I had a flat tire. Kinda sloppy.

My initial conclusion was that, at 27K, the steering rack had loosened up and needed tightening, and an alignment would be good anyway. So that's what I asked them to do.

As the technician (and Service Manager) examined the front tires, they noticed a pronounced ridge circling the tire about an inch in from the inner edge of the tire. This is on both wheels. The tread is worn off on the ridge, but pretty much good to go on the rest of the tire. So they call a tire guy in from the nearby tire store. Everybody comes to the same conclusion - the inner belt has slipped inside the tire.

:confused: Huh?! :confused:

Okay - so Tire Rack overnights two new ones to the dealer, and they'll go on and get rebalanced and 4-wheel aligned tomorrow morning. I asked the dealer to set the fronts aside, and called Brad over at Kenny Brown to see if Pirelli wanted those tires for engineering evaluation. No answer there, yet. All four tires went on at the same time and each have 27K on them. Except for size (front v. rear) differences, they are all P-Zero Assimetricos. I would guess that they all came from the same production run.

What I can't figure out is what would cause the belt to slip inside the tire? Rich, at Kenny Brown, asked me whether I've been drifting in the car. Well, I 'drift' as much as I 'drag-race.' But it does suggest that lateral tire forces can push a belt around, I suppose. I do know I love flinging that car into and through corners and hard transitions, but I wonder whether that's enough to cause this sort of shift inside the carcass.

So this is my interim report. If the highly evolved :rolleyes: engineering minds on the board want to venture their opinion, go for it. I'm interested in what you have to say.

Also - any other "Kenny-car" owners experience this? Anyone with other tires (BFG, Yokos. Contis)?

[Badger]

I've had an air suspension on my 98HPP and now the 04MM. The air suspension system should only vent when the height sensor reads that the back end is too high. IT DOES NOT VENT TO OFFLOAD THE SPRINGS DURING EXTENDED PARKING. If your system is lowering the airsprings overnight to the point the rear of the car is significantly drooping...you have a problem. I can leave my HPP and MM sitiing for over three weeks and return to find them still trim.


N40GL: Have you read the threads on abnormal front inside tread wear issues. I think it is alignment spec related.

[MENINBLK]

I checked the rear height to see where I'm at, in comparison to the rest of you...

After sitting overnight, the fenders measured LH 28.75", RH 28.25" @75 Deg F.
I am contributing the small difference to the road not being absolute level.
I'll have to take another measurement in a level parking lot.

[FiveO]

Well its good to see you're getting the help you need to keep it up longer....


The Marauder that is :D

[blown & bad]

Yes, I've experienced this condition,but not with the car !!! LOL

[FiveO]

Yes, I've experienced this condition,but not with the car !!! LOL
Welcome to the :party:

[blown & bad]

I have experienced this problem,but not with the car !!! LOL

[N40GL]

A couple of you have sent me private emails noting that their MMs experienced the same "premature deflation" that my car did, and that their dealer's have ignored the problem, or said "they all do that" or something similarly uninformative. In an effort to give you guys some ammunition to take to your dealer, here's the tracking information for this problem on my car (2003 300B):

Contact Identification: 213-533-167
Contact Report Number: 4JEC6019

My service writer says that these numbers are kept by the parts department and are used, against which to record the cost of replacement parts. It should be recoverable by another dealer, perhaps through OASIS.

Maybe theDealer can pull these up and tell us what they say?

The problem sourced to a bad 'O' ring in the top of the right airbag which prevented a seal and allowed the bag to deflate over time. Actually, it also probably made the pump run all the time replenishing the air that leaked out of the top when the car was running, so there is a chance that, depending on how bad your problem is, you may have some pump wear too.

One the valve with the bad 'O' ring was replaced, the car stayed inflated and at the same height both sides. Prior to this it deflated all the way down to the bump stops overnight.

I would imagine Mercman also has a similar tracking number (although it may be too far in the past) that he could post, giving you TWO pieces of information with which to confront a recalcitrant dealer.

Anyway - no further problems and all replaced under warranty, which also provided a rental car for the three day visit (no, the job didn't take three days. It went in late one afternoon so it could sit and deflate for the service writer, and stayed an extra night to prove the problem was corrected and it stayed inflated. The job took, at best, an afternoon).

Cheers.

[MERCMAN]

I would imagine Mercman also has a similar tracking number (although it may be too far in the past) that he could post, giving you TWO pieces of information with which to confront a recalcitrant dealer.

Sorry, I don't think I can be of much help, I had the problem with my Lincoln which is much older than my MM. However, the problem was the same, and they replaced not only the valve, but both airbags as well(under warranty)

[SergntMac]

As the technician (and Service Manager) examined the front tires, they noticed a pronounced ridge circling the tire about an inch in from the inner edge of the tire. This is on both wheels. The tread is worn off on the ridge, but pretty much good to go on the rest of the tire. So they call a tire guy in from the nearby tire store. Everybody comes to the same conclusion - the inner belt has slipped inside the tire.

Okay - so Tire Rack overnights two new ones to the dealer, and they'll go on and get rebalanced and 4-wheel aligned tomorrow morning. I asked the dealer to set the fronts aside, and called Brad over at Kenny Brown to see if Pirelli wanted those tires for engineering evaluation. No answer there, yet. All four tires went on at the same time and each have 27K on them. Except for size (front v. rear) differences, they are all P-Zero Assimetricos. I would guess that they all came from the same production run.

What I can't figure out is what would cause the belt to slip inside the tire? Rich, at Kenny Brown, asked me whether I've been drifting in the car. Well, I 'drift' as much as I 'drag-race.' But it does suggest that lateral tire forces can push a belt around, I suppose. I do know I love flinging that car into and through corners and hard transitions, but I wonder whether that's enough to cause this sort of shift inside the carcass.

So this is my interim report. If the highly evolved :rolleyes: engineering minds on the board want to venture their opinion, go for it. I'm interested in what you have to say.

Also - any other "Kenny-car" owners experience this? Anyone with other tires (BFG, Yokos. Contis)?
Yep...Pirellis, same unusual wear, and close on the mileage. Checked the rack specs and it was in spec, but also got an offer to "click it up a notch." New tires, 4 wheel alignment, road force balance...Problem gone, but being monitored.

Kenny's early alignment specs were very aggressive for improved control, but the side affect is increased wear. Considering the wear factor of Pirellis at large, I stepped away from that. Used OEM alignment specs and 36 PSI, and I'm seeing much better wear and handling.