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Hey guys
Couple of days ago I bought 2011 Mercedes E550.
It’s been 3 days car sitting in garage, I didn’t even started engine. Rear side of vehicle went down so much(see picture) especially left rear side. Front end is still on level. Is it okay or there is some problem with suspension ?
When I started car it was on level under 1 min.
Hey guys
Couple of days ago I bought 2011 Mercedes E550.
It’s been 3 days car sitting in garage, I didn’t even started engine. Rear side of vehicle went down so much(see picture) especially left rear side. Front end is still on level. Is it okay or there is some problem with suspension ?
When I started car it was on level under 1 min.
You need to do a little search on "Airmatric" on this forum as there is plenty of information for you how to fix an air leak on the air spring that you obviously have. It could be leak on tubing or valves too but 99% sure it is your rear left air spring. If you are a DYI at all this is an easy fix with part cost about $280 from Arnott but my advice is to change them both as the other one will go soon if it has not been replaced yet. And the front ones will follow where the part cost is a bit higher at around $1200 each. Still easy job to do if you are DYI guy.
I bought car from auction And couldn't check anything like that.
I can change it just can u please give me a link where u buying from that airsprings
thanks guys
Last edited by Georgia Georgia; Feb 7, 2020 at 01:09 AM.
I put this on mine. Worked for about 6 months, now its drooping again. Its a secondary car so im thinking about diving deep into the air system and pressure testing all four corners with a isolated leak down test to see if there are any line or components leaking. Your kinda lucky its the rear. I had to replace the front air/strut as well($1000). And i replaced the air manifold ($300). Before i replaced the manifold it would bleed down randomly while driving and i would have to pull over, turn the car off then back on the push the air lift button. Dont take this lightly. Depending on the severity of the leak, if the compressor continues to run while driving, it could fail prematurely fail and then you would have to be towed. From what i've noticed, cold weather accelerates the bleed down on some cars.
I bought car from auction And couldn't check anything like that.
I can change it just can u please give me a link where u buying from that airsprings
thanks guys
You already have links to Arnot bags posted.
When Arnot gives lifetime warranty on some products, they cut corners and not only ask you to transfer old valves, but also they delete air reservoirs that sedans are using in the rear.
Meaning not only partial replacement (when you have bad valve, new rubber will not solve it) but also less comfort.
Than you can buy aftermarket for $67 a piece https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-Rear-A...4383.l4275.c10
But we do reverse logics here at this point.
I would advise you to get a scanner who can troubleshoot/pinpoint the problem, then inspect what fails before dumping your time and money in it.
Chances are PO replaced the rubber already, but a connector leaks.
You already have links to Arnot bags posted.
When Arnot gives lifetime warranty on some products, they cut corners and not only ask you to transfer old valves, but also they delete air reservoirs that sedans are using in the rear.
Meaning not only partial replacement (when you have bad valve, new rubber will not solve it) but also less comfort.
Than you can buy aftermarket for $67 a piece https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-Rear-A...4383.l4275.c10
But we do reverse logics here at this point.
I would advise you to get a scanner who can troubleshoot/pinpoint the problem, then inspect what fails before dumping your time and money in it.
Chances are PO replaced the rubber already, but a connector leaks.
Scanner will not help any with this system other than it can show how much the compressor runs and it can show the car level sensors signals that is helpful if a sensor is bad. For leaks it is useless and won't pinpoint anything.
For example, when I had the leak going on I checked the pressures. The system shows the air reservoir pressure nd then it has a pressure reading for each air spring separately. My car had the left rear down but the scanner still showed the same pressure for everything. The truth is there is no individual pressure sensors for each air spring, just one for the main air reservoir.
If the OP suspects air leak in the fitting then he should take a spray bottle of soap water and spray it all over the fitting at the air spring and then at the valve block at the rear just behind the rear bumper. Leaking air would show bubbles at the fitting. If no leak at the fittings then two options: The valve in the block or the tubing itself. I bought new valve block as my car is 10 years old and it could easily be the issue as the valves are mechanical and do wear out but my valve block was fine, no difference with the new one. The tubing I did not pull out to check, I went and bought both rear air springs thru Amazon. They are Arnott and for me look as good quality as the originals that came out. The only visible difference is the OEM spring has the bottom made of steel that is quite tightly fit in the lower control arm. Had to hammer it hard to get it out. Arnott part has plastic end that fits much easier. I don't see this difference being a problem.
Scanner will not help any with this system other than it can show how much the compressor runs and it can show the car level sensors signals that is helpful if a sensor is bad. For leaks it is useless and won't pinpoint anything.
For example, when I had the leak going on I checked the pressures. The system shows the air reservoir pressure nd then it has a pressure reading for each air spring separately. My car had the left rear down but the scanner still showed the same pressure for everything. The truth is there is no individual pressure sensors for each air spring, just one for the main air reservoir......
that's why it takes some skills and brain to interpret the data. When you don't have individual pressure sensor for each bag, you do have individual sensors for levels, so straight leak is easy to figure out.
Point is that by observing the system pressure you can figure out the size of the leak and interpret if the leak is on main line, or in airbag. When pressure drops, but levels stay, you have leak on compressor or main lines.Than by observing the levels you can figure out troubled corner.
Unfortunately air bags have shields and spraying them with soapy water is not much efficient in finding leaks.
that's why it takes some skills and brain to interpret the data. When you don't have individual pressure sensor for each bag, you do have individual sensors for levels, so straight leak is easy to figure out.
Point is that by observing the system pressure you can figure out the size of the leak and interpret if the leak is on main line, or in airbag. When pressure drops, but levels stay, you have leak on compressor or main lines.Than by observing the levels you can figure out troubled corner.
Unfortunately air bags have shields and spraying them with soapy water is not much efficient in finding leaks.
I politely disagree with your opinion about the scanner. The only thing it tells you is the level, which obviously OP can see just looking at the car.
The other useable data could be the scanner noticing the compressor is dead but OP says car comes up in a minute so compressor is good.
It could also tell if solenoid has open circuit but that is obviously not the case as car comes right up when started.
But the scanner does not tell where the leak is. It can tell level sensor is out of range and tell the code for that like it did for me but you can see this without scanner when car is flat down.
With AirMatic scanner is pretty much useless other than it can show a bad level sensor it that was the case but in OP’s case this is not the problem. It is a leak in fittings, tubing, solenoid valve or the spring itself. Scanner will not tell you which it is. My bet is the spring.
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