Ok airmatic experts, I didn't see this exact issue so I'm looking for what to do next. I had a chineseium pump installed as the oem pump bit the dust. The oem pump was running alot due to the front drivers side air strut constantly going down. I have had that air strut replaced as well as the valve assembly replaced. All worked well after installing the new pump for a few months but now the vehicle will only go all the way up to service height and stay there. It will stay there without the front left going down for weeks and then it will drop overnight. Turn vehicle on, pump engages, lifts the front left little by little and vehicle goes to service height again.

I had a friend bring it to his Land Rover Dealer shop and they read the codes. The only code being shown was " unable to deflate". Now we are trying to see what we need to replace. Is the valve bad again, pump, air strut? All of them? Where would you begin? By the way, the drivers display reads either airmatic rising or lowering and eventually shows "malfunction". Let me know where you would start. Thank you!

 

Check all connections for leaks using leak detector spray. If none, then put the old valve block back on and repeat test.

Sounds like it is one of these two.

 

Why did you change the valve block? They are very reliable. Sometimes when people overuse the pumps, the dessicant in the pump gets overwhelmed and the pump starts pushing moisture into the valve block, the valves corrode, and then you get what you got. If you saved it, that is one of the first things I'd try.

I'm guessing if you installed a cheap pump you also installed a cheap valve block. I put in a chinesium valve block and literally none of the valves inside worked. Like I don't think there even are solenoids inside.

The intermittent deflation could be a problem in the valve for that strut on the block. However, that seems unlikely.

Max is right (again!): first thing is to find out where the air is going. A cheap strut could have leaky fittings. Spray your soapy wooder everywhere and look for spit bubbles. Valve blocks kinda don't leak by themselves. If the valve to that driver front strut sometimes sticks open, and the valve to the pump also sticks open at the same time, the pump could bleed air past the piston. But you see that's kind of a stretch. Anything's possible with a crap valve block, though.

Second thing (ONE of the first, lol) is to swap that old valve block back in. If you don't see corrosion when you peek inside, the valves are probably still fine. You can spray a little silicone in each just for fun.

Third, I hate to say it, is to get a good pump. Get an AMK (original but also Bilstein and I think there's one other rebranded). Keep the chinesium around as a spare if it still sorta works.

Fourth, put in an Arnott front strut. That is, unless you find a leak. None of the parts in Airmatic should be chinesium. AMK pump, Arnott or Bilstein front, Bilstein rear, and I don't know about the valve block. When it comes to Airmatic, there are no cheap solutions that won't come back to haunt you. At least none of us have found any.

 

There's a lesson here: Never live with a leaky air bag. It will probably kill your pump and possibly your valve block.

 

You could try fully deflating all the air struts manually, then see where the ride settles once you start the ignition.

.

1. Pull the airmatic fuse (#108 under the hood).
2. Place some jack stands under the rear jack points and set to about 12 inch height (for safety purposes since you will need to get UNDER the vehicle), but ensure the wheels remain in contact with the ground and have weight on them. The vehicle will settle on the jack stands as you release the air.
3. With a 10mm wrench, slowly loosen the air line at each air spring until it starts to hiss air at a decent rate.
4. Let the weight of the vehicle empty the bags.
5. Do this on all four corners (rear from under the vehicle, front from top/under hood).

Wait about 30 minutes for the bags to fully deflate. Re-tighten all the air lines. Make sure the rear bags are seated/attached properly (the rears might shift a bit or lose contact with the vehicle if they were not installed properly). Remove the jack stands. Re-seat the fuse and start her up. The vehicle should then rise to NORMAL driving height.

If you are feeling adventurous, press the [raise] button and see if you go back to square one. Otherwise, you're good to go.

GL.

 

as an update, the valve block was replaced with an oem part about two years ago when I had the rears done at a Mercedes specialty shop I really trust. I'm really just tired of throwing parts at this thing hoping that fixes the issue. I'll let you know what the shop recommends but I'm not replacing the valve block, that seems pretty complicated. If we need new parts, I'll have them use the recommended brands. Thanks for the advice, was hoping that their was a simple fuse or sensor that I should try first.

 

Ok, the plot thickens. If that valve block has been in there for two years, I’m not sure I have pieced your story together.

what was the last thing you did or changed with the car, and when?

 

last thing that was replaced was the air pump in October. After replacing, everything worked great for several months. The front drivers side would drop occasionally but pump would raise it when needed. Then the dash read "malfunction" in January and the vehicle went into the service height and has stayed there for a few weeks, no leaks no dropping. Read the codes and only code is "won't deflate"

 

Like I said, it's a little hard to imagine a valve block causing leaks, unless you messed it up with all kinds of moisture from running the pump constantly. The valve to the pump would have to be sticking open, and the valve to the "leaking" spring partially open.

Probably there is a leak on your new air spring, possibly a fitting not tightened, or possibly it's just a crap air bag, and very possibly even that leak was too much for the chinecrap pump to handle.

So (a) find the leak, and (b) put in an AMK pump.

Airmatic is frustrating if you don't keep on top of it, proceed methodically, and use good parts. Coil springs last until the heat death of the universe; air bags not so. They are a preventive repair item. Unfortunately, they take the rest of the system down with them if you don't catch the issue promptly. If you do not put in good parts, you will drive yourself crazy trying to figure out what is wrong.

Case in point: I installed an Arnott chinapump. It failed at 17k miles. I couldn't believe it was the pump's fault; it had to be the valve block. So I put in a Ebay chinese valve block. System still didn't work. I couldn't diagnose anything without a tool to actuate the valves, so I spent $800 on an Autel MP808, which I don't regret. While I was waiting for that to arrive, I bought a chinesium pump, just in case. I put that in; still no worky. The Autel arrived, and I used it to figure out that the valve block didn't work. Put the old valve block back in; the whole system now works fine. And I'm literally doing all this in my buddy's driveway on winter days in Boise.

I now have two new pumps in my storage; I'm going to sell the Arnott pump and install the new AMK I bought, and keep the working chinesium as a spare should the AMK die. I'm going to monitor the air bags, and when the rear Arnotts go, I'll swap in the Bilsteins I bought, and sell the new Arnotts they send me as a replacement. I'll continue with the Arnotts on the front because they are under less, and less variable, load. Probably should get a spare valve block, maybe get a used OEM. Dunno.

So I feel your pain, brother. The system drives you nuts if you don't keep on top of it, proceed methodically, and use good parts. I hate to tell you this, but you broke all three rules. Don't worry; everyone makes these mistakes, and there is redemption. Find the leak, fix it, put in an AMK pump, and see where you stand.

 

that's why I go to Mercedes and let them do the job-I pay, but I have a warranty and the troubles are gone. Anytime I go to some other cheap "masters" I always regret and then go back to Mercedes>If you have money to buy Mercedes, then you must have money to keep it well maintained

 

If I lived in Tenerife and was unable to do the work myself, I would probably do the same - or, rather, sell the thing for parts and buy a nice Toyota.

Your wisdom applies to 0.00000001% of the guys on this forum.

 

you’re not wrong, but there is also a middle path of using quality aftermarket parts and DIY help, in order to make owning an older GL not a financially ruinous event.

if I had a long term warranty or a newer under warranty GL , heck yeah take it to the dealer at the most minute of sniffles and have them shoot a parts cannon at it.

 

Nice to have the luxury of taking your ride to MB for every little thing that goes wrong! You must love those $300.00 oil changes, or is it the Starbucks coffee in the customer lounge?!

 

Dick comment.

 

Why would you be on this forum with a 10 year old luxury vehicle unless you were looking for advice on how to repair it reasonably? A bit pompous reply in my opinion. Enough said.

 

Alright, Ladies. Unbunch those panties and get back in the kitchen - the Men are talking. Oh! And fetch me some of that fancy lounge coffee, pronto!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming....

 

Copy that Miguk. You guys and gals have a glorious day!