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I have a 05 wagon with 4matic....(pls excuse my ignorance on this subject)
the driver's side rear now lowers when I park for a long time, it comes back up when I start the car...but the car is still a little tilted to the left when looking from rear
1. How do can I determine if my car have Rear Airmatic only?
2 Whats the best option for me?
I've read in here that people are installing ARNOTT's air struct...are this same
as airmatic?
3 Do I need to replace both left and right air struct? OR can I install only the
damaged part.
4. I use my wagon to carry heavy equipments that weighs about 400Ibs... I try not to leave them sitting in a car ...only during tanspotation to and fro about 2ce a week....
Should I just convert to a spring as oppose to airmatic.
Do you have front struts? You should see it with a look into wheel wells.
Rear bags are not consider airmatic as you don't have any control of it.
When the car lowers a bit overnight and comes back fast, I would not worry about it too much, just do recommended service.
My wagon sits lower on one side and I learned that MB allows 29mm difference, while mine was only 21 mm.
So being within specifications I did not worry about it and looks to me that after rebuilding the compressor the wagon got even. Will have to measure to confirm.
400lb is the weight of single "good looking" person, while wagons are design to carry 7 and some luggage.
How old are the bags? You don't have strut replacement for rear of wagon
The rear bag is beginning to slow leak and it will eventually not inflate as time goes on. Right now its not a problem but if you let it go too long it will wear out the pump. Depending on what set up you have, it may require lowering the rear sub-frame a bit to sneak the air bag reservoirs over the cross member. If they have already been replaced once, it is likely the replacements have detachable air lines from the reservoir. In that case the sub-frame does not need to be loosened or removed. The way you can tell is if the hose clamps on the hose that connects the air bag to the reservoir, will be crimped on. If you are replacing air bags with updated detachable hoses, you do not need to lower the sub-frame. Just cut the air line out. I always recommend both because if one is bad, the other can't be long before its toast. Otherwise its a gamble how long the other will last.
I'd have to agree, over time (wear/tear) will be the culprit. Pretty sure your wagon has
adjusted to the 400lb payload she's carrying. Inspect the underbody, lines, and spots on the ground in the morning for possible fluid (if coming out). Maintenance is really the key for the life of our cars, those whom don't take care of it will Ultimately pay hefty price later.
GL
Thanks for your feedbacks....I appreciate.
I looked and didn't find any leaks on the floor.
I saw someone posted about fixing the pump using http://r.ebay.com/sLGGqa
I also called Arnotts and they told me to get their A-2726 as my car only have rear airmatics.
How do I determine the exact issue with my car? if its an airbag leakage or a pump leak.... Once again thanks for your inputs and suggestions ...
If there is good way to troubleshoot the system -nobody posted it.
You can take soapy water in spray bottle and spend quality time under the car, but if you don't find anything obvious, I think spending $17 on compressor rebuild is good start.
Don't forget to service the drier as per my experience the lousy design is beginning of most of the problems.
@Katjek1 thanks for your response...where is the "drier" to be serviced located? thanks
Originally Posted by kajtek1
If there is good way to troubleshoot the system -nobody posted it.
You can take soapy water in spray bottle and spend quality time under the car, but if you don't find anything obvious, I think spending $17 on compressor rebuild is good start.
Don't forget to service the drier as per my experience the lousy design is beginning of most of the problems.
Should I buy the Airsprings directly from Arnott OR save $40 each from an online shop like Shockwarehouse.com, Partsgeek.com, JCWhittney.com, Carid.com ?
I asked because of the replacement warranty. thanks
Thanks ALL for your inputs and suggestions....
I purchased the Arnott's airsprings ... and got them installed today.
Below is the image of the bad and the good ones...I had to replace both. If anyone resides in the Baltimore DC corridor, check out "Jack the Greek Repair Shop" in Annapolis he gave me the best price and great service too....He's going to be my INDY of choice.
the bad one on the left and the good one on the right
Thanks for reporting. All I can see on both bags are external covers.
Would be interesting if you could remove the cover on bad bag and try to find the damage.
I am monitoring those issues and trying to figure out if lot of bags are replaced due to valve failure.
So far I found reports about only couple of actual blow ups.
Mine might not be blown...because it will occasionally stay up for hours and sometimes overnight up to 10 hours till I drive it again...then it will go down...and back up once I start the car....
I will love to participate in your research for others to benefit from...
**out of curiousity** if it's a valve issue....is the valve replacement and easy job, OR just a cheaper replacement?
Cutting off the plastic ties on the end should enable sliding the cover off and inspect the bag itself.
It is rare, but I hear about crack in the bag that developed in the fold, so it was only leaking at certain raise and hold in others.
Valves are not sold separately and knowledge about them is still low, but I can't imagine bag leaking intermittently for months.
My suspension is that water in the system is fooling delicate valves, but there is no simple way to test it.
04-20-2016, 01:18 AM
