1998 Rear Self Leveling Air Spring Problem

I did a search here but did not seem to find anything similar. I have a 1998 Windstar with the air self leveling system. It has worked quite well up until about a year ago or so. At times overnight it would settle down to a minimum, but return to normal after it was started and driven. It may have been happening for more than a year in fact... About a week ago it stopped pumping up while driving, and stays flat. This causes it to handle poorly, and I have to fix it.

Do you have any experience with this? My Haynes manual offers little help other than check for leaks and if you can't find anything go to the dealer. Sounds like big $$'s. Both sides go down, so this would seem to suggest that a leak in one air bag is unlikely??

I found this thread with a google search, which appears to be here, but perhaps an archived section of the forum?

http://www.automotiveforums.com/t234945.html

Any help is appreciated,

Ron

http://www.suncoreindustries.com/ They sell compressors,springchangeout,
Air spring. In my opinion replace the system with new springs. $196.00 appx.
You can check for power to the compressor,check for leaks, check if compressor is running.

I got under the thing today for a look. I can hear the compressor running so electrical relay problems seem to be out. I can hear the solenoids which supply air to the top of the air spring click, and there is evidence that air bags firm up. I can't hear any air leaks, but it may have to be of some size to be able to hear it. The air bag rubber does look to be in very good condition with no evidence of cracking.

However what seems to happen is that the compressor stops running before the air bags lift the rear end up off the rubber stopper blocks. If I pull the elevation sensor off, and stroke it, there seems to be no correlation between the position of it and the starting and stopping of the compressor. So I'm taking a $200 gamble and ordered a new position sensor from Ford. I guess I should have spent a bit more time with the thing, but it does not look rebuildable.

Ron

No luck with the new position sensor. Everything behaves the same with the new one. The air compressor must time out if it does not self level after a certain time. The strange thing is that I do not get an alarm light on the dash. It lights briefly when starting and then goes out. My daughter said previously the light was coming on and staying on. So not sure what is going on now. Air compressor must not be producing enough pressure or the air bags are leaking it all out. The bags inflate but not enough to lift the vehicle off the rubber stops.

Looks like it means a trip to the dealer.

You can mix up some soap suds and use a paint brush a leak will be visable. You can make a test gage and check compressor discharge pressure.

You can mix up some soap suds and use a paint brush a leak will be visable. You can make a test gage and check compressor discharge pressure.
Any idea where I can get at a connection to check pressure? I can hear the compressor run and it seems to be under the battery, but I can't identify it.

Ron

If its its 1/4 inch plastic tubing. The hardware store sells little copper inserts you put in the tube. Then you use copper compression fittings, and a tee for a test gage and a coupler to repair. This is used for refrigerator ice makers tubing for water. Its been a long time since I worked on one so I'm uncertain of the size. They also use this tubing for air shocks.

Took it into the dealer, and they did the diagnostics on it. The say the compressor is ok, and there are no codes set in the computer. They believe the problem is that the computer which controls it has lost the ride height setpoint. And if you can believe this, they say they do not have the special software required to set the computer!

Currently trying to find another dealer that has the software.

Ron

Another update to this tale of woe, in case someone else had found this thread and is looking for some help. Also I'm also still looking for help/suggestions as problem is still not solved. So if rhandwor, or anyone else can think of something, it would be much appreciated.

Found Ford dealer that had the card/software to talk to this "ancient" 10 year old vehicle. They found nothing wrong on the software side, and after $270 worth of diagnostics concluded the air compressor was bad. Estimate to fix including the diagnostics was $850. Seemed high, but I agreed. Two days later they phone back and say the $200 compressor they planned on getting was sold, and now they had to get a $400 one. The economics tilted for me at this point, and I said I would pay the $270, take it home and fix it myself. I had also realized I had a Monroe compressor from an air booster shock system I had installed on a 4X4 and kept when I sold it.

So my first problem was to find the bloody compressor. The Haynes manual narrowed it down to the left front, but no better, and I just could not see it. I asked at the garage where it was, and they said beside the ABS module on the left front. This post (http://www.automotiveforums.com/t234945.html) here suggested it was under the battery. Actually what was described in that post was actually the ABS module. I finally found it by sound and feel. Good thing it was still running. It is under the front left fender, and you have to remove the LF wheel, and plastic fender liner to get at it.

The compressor seems relatively well made, piston type, and the manufacturer appears to be Japanese, Tokico (http://www.tokicousa.com/). I have not called them yet, but may. I took it all apart and could not find much wrong, other than the discharge to suction bypass valve seemed to have a lot of crud in it. I cleaned it and the rest of the thing. Still did not work. With the compressor running I could hold my finger over the discharge without it building enough pressure to blow by my finger. The discharge is the little orange circle at the exit of the dryer which you can see in this photo (http://www.suncoreindustries.com/ford-pages/windstar/ford-windstar-suspension-compressor.htm). Does this seem right? I have no easy way to connect up a pressure gauge as the tubing is a different size than what I have on the Monroe compressor system.

I am about to order that compressor from Suncore Industries in the previous link, and would appreciate any comments on that approach. It has cost me $500 to get to this point and I still have no fix. Installing the Monroe compressor does not appear to be a viable option as this Tokico system has the bleed solenoid build right into the compressor. I suspect the bleed solenoid valve is what is leaking and causing the compressor to not put out. I suppose I could go with no bleed and just depend on leaks to bring pressure down..... Thoughts about that way?

Ron

I think the suncore system has some support. I would call the number and make sure the compressor will bolt in or what modification is needed. I would ask about splice fittings for the hose. I would try some soap suds and a paint brush and check for leaks. Go through the Ford,Mercury,and Lincoln threads and check for other posts. I think I remember reading one which mentioned three things that cause problems.

I think the suncore system has some support. I would call the number and make sure the compressor will bolt in or what modification is needed. I would ask about splice fittings for the hose. I would try some soap suds and a paint brush and check for leaks. Go through the Ford,Mercury,and Lincoln threads and check for other posts. I think I remember reading one which mentioned three things that cause problems.
Yes I plan to call them Monday. I did talk to them yesterday, but the tech had left for the day. If they supply what is shown in the picture it should be an easy replacement. Looks identical to what is there. To connect the hose you just hold down that orange circle piece and slide the tubing in. I had done the soap and water routine and found no leaks. The tubing seems to be one piece all the way to the back with no splices in it. I did find one post in another forum suggesting there is a splice in the system on a Mercury system. Will do some more checking here.

Ron

Ron AKA -how did you solve your leveling problem? My car behaves in quite strange manner. I drive into the garage and leave it overnight and never notice any lowering. But very often I just drive out in the morning and stand for a while on a slightly uneven surface and it's completely down. It also (quite often recently) goes down during driving. I'm not sure, but it seems to leak air from left bag. When I noticed leveling warning light I stopped and try to listen. But the problem is that there's no way to force such problem and check it with “soap flakes”. I thought about shaving foam or other kind of aerosol to spray on it if I notice warning lamp.
I tried to find with Google a suspension bag but all I find are coil springs. The only thing that looks similar to my bag is a Summit racing equipment replacement Air-Lift-60799: HTTP://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Air-Lift-60799-Air-Springs-Rear-Ford-Windstar-Kit_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQitemZ320299262601
The replacement seams to fit open coil spring, while I don't have any coil springs, just air spring (bag).
Is there a way to force the leveling system to let out some air? Maybe it is loosing air only when not full pumped up, and this way I'll be able to figure out where it's loosing air? Or should I just give up and replace bags with coil springs and forget about auto leveling?

Gobowiec, I planned to post a follow up response to the problems, and thanks for your post to remind me. I determined my compressor was bad, and was prepared to buy a rebuilt one from Suncor in Florida. I first talked to their technical representative (who I suspect is their owner, as it seems like a small business). He convinced me that while they would sell me a compressor they would not honor any warranty. He said in their experience, the real problem was the air spring, and if I only replaced the compressor, it would only last a few weeks or months at best. i.e. once the springs start to leak they kill the compressor. This made a lot of sense from how I saw mine fail.

So I ordered a set of retrofit springs. UPS got them into Canada in an amazingly short time (3 days). However, after that problems started. Finally a UPS agent after dozens of phone calls admitted UPS was on strike (or wobble, or something) in Canada. I finally got the spring kit after nearly 3 weeks.

They were quite easy to install because I suspect they are shorter than they really should be. I have a concern that when the vehicle is jacked up and the wheels let fall free the springs may come out of positon and not center properly. In any case at this point I was committed.

Considering the time it took to get this thing fixed, I wish I would have asked Ford for a quote on the air springs. They seem nothing more than a piece of rubber with two plastic end pieces. Suncor told me they were multi layered and can leak depending on the vehicle positon. There is no doubt they had cracks and I have no doubt they were leaking. They don't look nearly as complicated as Suncor said. Then again Ford probably would have asked a fortune for the air springs.

From what you describe I suspect your problem really is leaks in the air springs. Suggest you ask Ford for the price on new ones, as I could not find any other supplier. If you resort to the spring retrofit, you may want to check out this supplier at the link below to see if they supply longer and stiffer springs. The Suncor ones do not seem to bring the van up to the original level, even when lightly loaded. I used their on line installation instructions as the ones from Suncor were quite poor.

http://www.arnottindustries.com/manuals/index.asp

I am still living with the load leveling light being on all the time as I have not been able to find the wire to cut that is suggested by Suncor. Any tips anyone can provide are appreciated.

Ron

http://www.alldata.com/ This manual should have directions to repair a system. You can also buy a factory manual. I've replaced the springs I put the car on jack stands supporting the frame in the back. I put a floor jack under the center of the axle and jacked up slightly. Removed the two bolts holding the shocks and lowered the jack slightly. I may have dropped it about two inches and removed the springs. Inserted the new springs and jacked up until slightly snug. I checked they were set properly and turned correctly. I then jacked enough so I could install the bolts in the shocks. I then double checked everything and picked up the car enough to remove the back jack stands. Then I removed the front jack stands. If your springs aren't tight in the holders I would complain I'm sure he don't make them. I really think a junkyard spring or one from a parts store would fit. Exactly how loose are they
compared to what I described. Somebody on the Mercury Grand Marquis forum also said he thought they were loose. If its a free call I would ask about it.
A post on the Grand Marquis forum said what to unplug I would do a search.

http://www.alldata.com/ This manual should have directions to repair a system. You can also buy a factory manual. I've replaced the springs I put the car on jack stands supporting the frame in the back. I put a floor jack under the center of the axle and jacked up slightly. Removed the two bolts holding the shocks and lowered the jack slightly. I may have dropped it about two inches and removed the springs. Inserted the new springs and jacked up until slightly snug. I checked they were set properly and turned correctly. I then jacked enough so I could install the bolts in the shocks. I then double checked everything and picked up the car enough to remove the back jack stands. Then I removed the front jack stands. If your springs aren't tight in the holders I would complain I'm sure he don't make them. I really think a junkyard spring or one from a parts store would fit. Exactly how loose are they
compared to what I described. Somebody on the Mercury Grand Marquis forum also said he thought they were loose. If its a free call I would ask about it.
A post on the Grand Marquis forum said what to unplug I would do a search.
I'm sorry. I appreciate your advice in this matter, but I have no idea what you are talking about. Once you put the springs in, you would expect them to stay there when you take them to get the oil changed or whenever you jack the vehicle up without supporting the wheels. This is not about how you change the springs but whether they stay there or not.

Ron

If the springs will rotate or come loose when changing oil they are the wrong springs. What I was saying is you have to pull the bolt out of the bottom of the shock to remove them. Then lower appx. two inches or appx. 50 mm I would definately contact the seller as if they fall out you have a big problem. I assumed the business they are in they should have the correct product.
If when changing oil you can turn them by hand they aren't correct.

Now it's clear to me why I can't find air springs. They where installed only in European version (export from Canada). Thanks,

Now it's clear to me why I can't find air springs. They where installed only in European version (export from Canada). Thanks,
Don't know about that. It was my understanding that they were only installed on the Limited Edition version of the van, which is what I have. If it helps you any, the sticker on the air springs says they were made by Firestone for Ford.