Yet another Air Suspension Question - 96 Continental
tankgrrl29
11-12-2012, 05:53 PM
hello!
i am hoping someone can help keep me from spending any more money than i need to...i should probably start with a little history...
i bought this car from my uncle a few years ago. he has most of his receipts, and i know he bought a new suspension compressor in 2006 or 2009. since that time, i had one front bag go bad, so i replaced it. at that time i was told the other (front) one had a slight leak. that seemed to go all the way bad pretty quickly, but it took a year for me to save the money to replace the 2nd one, which i just did.
when i got that fixed, the compressor was still engaging, but wasn't pumping enough to fully lift the car. my mechanic said the compressor had worn out from endlessly trying to fill the bad system. he manually filled the bags & disconnected the solenoid; the plan was to see if it would stay up long enough to where i could just come in and get air every so often, and not have to get a new compressor.
well, the front stayed up for about 5 or 6 days. the back is still up. which brings me to my questions:
1. does the fact that the front didn't stay up indicate that there's still a leak? or was this to be expected?
2. assuming there's no leak, could the problem be the dryer rather than the compressor? (i heard that can become problematic if you drive around with a leak for a while.)
3. how can you tell the difference between a weak compressor or a dryer that needs replaced? or with the time/labor involved, should i not risk it and just replace the whole assembly?
i'm looking at a difference of about $150 so if there's a way to be sure, that would be helpful. any thoughts on this would be very, very much appreciated. thanks in advance! ~chris
i am hoping someone can help keep me from spending any more money than i need to...i should probably start with a little history...
i bought this car from my uncle a few years ago. he has most of his receipts, and i know he bought a new suspension compressor in 2006 or 2009. since that time, i had one front bag go bad, so i replaced it. at that time i was told the other (front) one had a slight leak. that seemed to go all the way bad pretty quickly, but it took a year for me to save the money to replace the 2nd one, which i just did.
when i got that fixed, the compressor was still engaging, but wasn't pumping enough to fully lift the car. my mechanic said the compressor had worn out from endlessly trying to fill the bad system. he manually filled the bags & disconnected the solenoid; the plan was to see if it would stay up long enough to where i could just come in and get air every so often, and not have to get a new compressor.
well, the front stayed up for about 5 or 6 days. the back is still up. which brings me to my questions:
1. does the fact that the front didn't stay up indicate that there's still a leak? or was this to be expected?
2. assuming there's no leak, could the problem be the dryer rather than the compressor? (i heard that can become problematic if you drive around with a leak for a while.)
3. how can you tell the difference between a weak compressor or a dryer that needs replaced? or with the time/labor involved, should i not risk it and just replace the whole assembly?
i'm looking at a difference of about $150 so if there's a way to be sure, that would be helpful. any thoughts on this would be very, very much appreciated. thanks in advance! ~chris
wimpy88
03-31-2013, 09:37 AM
If you're still looking at a solution: Go to a salvage yard and purchase a compressor that looks like yours. Typically will cost less than $15. It is a simple removal & replacement. Explore the Lincoln forum for instructions. There are after-market airbag solutions also which are cost effective.
I've got a limo service and have several compressors obtained in this manner in my spare (reserve) parts bin.
I've got a limo service and have several compressors obtained in this manner in my spare (reserve) parts bin.
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