I've searched myself crazy, and I am -this- close to ripping out Airmatic for coil springs. I need diagnosis help: Someone local to Dallas with Star software?
Originally all four corners were stuck raised (no ADS option, just standard Airmatic.) I replaced the compressor because of the a9/1y1 error. That didn't seem to correct it. I disconnected he battery and removing fuses and relays for days and that didn't deflate it. Reconnected after a week, and resumed driving. A few days later the left front dropped low, and the right rear was still raised. The right front and left rear appear to be normal height, so the truck is leaning. Codes vary between 5506, 5507, 5172, and I am suspecting the valve block. The cost to convert to springs is about $500. If I replace the valve block for $250 and still find that I have a bad left front strut, that's another ~$200. To have a dealer recalibrat elevels is another $200. If the problem persists after that, then I've spent more than the cost to remove Airmatic. I did not replace the relay when I swapped out the compressor, but now the only code is 5506 as of 1/10/18. So I guess I could spend the next $30 and see if a new relay fixes it. I'll post photos of the truck when I get back home, but I'm perplexed. The left front strut seems firm, but low. I can't squeeze the bag, which seems to indicate that it's not leaking. It's an Arnott replacement from before I bought the truck but their warranty sadly isn't transferable. I've put about 8000 miles on the truck (now at 74,000.)

I wonder if it just needs a recalibration of the Airmatic levels? All four level sensors appear to be functional; I just don't know where to turn to fix the problem at this point. Please chime in.

Way low on the left fron, way high on the right rear, and about normal on the opposite corners.


Says the position is locked? Not sure how to address this. In prior weeks, this was set to "No" or "Off" I don't recall which.
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Driver side. Front bag seems stiff.


Right Rear has been high for a couple months.

So this is the stance, leaning diagonally. Trying to figure out the best money move either to ditch Airmatic (its on its second compressor and second left front strut. WIsh ARnott's warranty was transferable.

 

The first thing is to not replace things without positive diagnosis. Codes and internet searching is not positive diagnosis - you end up replacing things that don't need to be. Those things simply get you into the ballpark - this is where a trained technician is worth the money.

Couple thoughts, though, that might help (hopefully the first one is the ticket)...

-- Pop the height sensor nylon-thingys off, clean the *****, clean the cups, make sure the sensor arms move freely, grease the *****/cups and reattach. If they don't move freely on the *****, it can affect the reading the sensors record.
-- Bags can leak, even though they feel tight. They can leak at certain heights, but the hole can seal at other heights. I only mention this because a hard bag is not definitive criteria to whether a bag is leaking, or not.
-- If no luck, it might be worth a couple bucks to have a trained tech look it over

 

I attached my scan tool which shows the live data stream from the Airmatic system. I was able to confirm fluctuating values for all 4 level sensors, indicating that they aren't stuck. However, I suppose I should still do the physical check you recommend, so I can confirm that the left front sensor still has its full range of motion.

 

Oh, I see. I didn't realize they were actually fluctuating. I agree, if they are constantly fluctuating, their range of motion might be just fine. But, yeah, it doesn't hurt to quick pop them off, clean and grease. That's a good thing to do every so often, anyways. After that, yes, re-cal the sensors. I do not know much about the process - only that it can be done.

 

I wonder if the relay could be bad? The onlt current code is the 5506, after I cleared codes. The "Lock" status was also reset. I have coil springs on the way, but if there's a way to save Airmatic, I could always resell the coil springs.
Any other suggestions to fix my lean? I'd hoped someone local could read it with teh Star system.

 

The relay just means the compressor will continue to run. It's still up to the valve block to open/close the ports to fill/deflate the bags. If a dealer or independent can possibly fix this by spending an hour on it, wouldn't that be worth it? Have you tried (able to) recalibrating the level sensors?

 

Valve block is bad. That's probably what burned up your compressor, the truck was fighting to re-level all the time, eventually the block stuck open and the vehicle pumped up all the struts.

I'd agree that you probably have a weak/leaking L/F strut, and they usually fail in pairs. so I'd assume doing both fronts in the near future after you do the valve block.

Level calibration shouldn't change, unless you move the sensors or arms.

 

Thanks for weighing in, and I'll explain my dilemma. First, the struts all went way up. I came to find that the relief valve on the compressor was not working (a9/1y1 code), so I replaced the compressor and I thought I needed a rear bag because the right rear was higher than the left rear. Anyway I came to find that the rear bag wasn't leaking so I haven't replaced it. I did see that the rear left shock was leaking so I replaced that. So I'm into it for a compressor ($250), shock ($200) and unused bag ($80) and now I get the diagonal lean. I was thinking ok so what else could it be? A recalibration is $200. If that didn't work, a left front strut would be $200. A valve block would run about $250. So then other parts could fail and I'm in for even more cash. However, for $400 for the conversion kit, I eliminate future problems. If I had the ADS system with more advanced capabilities, I might try harder to retain airmatic, but I have the standard airmatic system. Actually I've ordered the conversion kit, which ended up costing about $320 with shipping off ebay. Being already in for $500 in replaced components, I don't want to be nickel and dimed to death to be able to lift and lower the truck a couple inches.

 

You'll definitely loose the "plushness" of the airmatic ride (it's not just about raising and lowering it) - but that's a personal thing and if it's not important to you, then that's all that matters. I have the standard airmatic system and the ride quality was one the things I noticed within the first 30 seconds of the test drive. Sure, there are more parts to this system than plain-Jane shocks, but that's the name of the game with this stuff. It still seems like some of this could have been nipped in the bud with a proper diagnosis, though. But, that aside, does it really only cost $320 for all the components needed to switch over to old-style shocks? That seems awful cheap - are the ebay items quality parts? You don't want to end up with junk and have to pay again to replace it with good stuff. Good luck with whatever you decide - nice thing about this stuff is you can do whatever you want - it's your car!

 

​​​​​​https://www.suncoreindustries.com/pr...it-gl-ml-class
And there's a core refund when you send in your OEM struts.

 

It's funny, I know I've heard of the brand Suncore, and it goes back quite a while - like probably 10 or more years - but I can't quite place why I've heard of them. It's definitely not in regards to Mercedes, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I wish I could remember more to try and help in terms of it being a quality product or not. Good luck!