Air leaking out of rear air leveler springs when car is parked. Otherwise, it works.

[Steevow]

I have an 03 Envoy XL.

After the car sits parked for a few hours the right side sinks down and in time the whole rear sinks. Most of the time, not all.

I start the car and the compressor seems to be running great, and it pumps it up just fine. Perfect.

I don't think this is normal and I read some threads about similar problems, but no one has said where the problem turned out to be though some have replaced their air leveler with ordinary springs. That seems precipitous to me at this point.

I suspect an air leak in the right air spring or maybe it's associated tubings and fittings. And after some time it leaks from the other side, perhaps across the system or through the pump and solenoid valves and out the leak in the right hand side.

The leak might be in the air springs, with are about $130 each for the GM parts plus shipping (online price) or about $180 for a pair of aftermarket air springs made by Arnott.

The leak might be in the air tube of which their are two at about $10 each.

Or there is a check valve for the compressor for which there is a GM rebuild kit for about $26.

It could be a leak in any of those places. Does anyone have any comments, where I should look first?

Can anyone comment on the Arnott aftermarket air spring product, compared to the GM OEM air spring product (Incidentally, I found out those are made by Firestone Industrial for GM).

Can someone suggest another place the leak might be, or is there another cause of this symptom that I should be looking at?

Thanks in advance for any help. I haven't had this car long so I am not all that familiar with it. I have to resolve this.

[maxwedge]

The only right way to repair this is to find the leak, a soapy solution sprayed on the lines fittings and air spring should reveal the source of the leak.

[Steevow]

Originally Posted by maxwedge

The only right way to repair this is to find the leak, a soapy solution sprayed on the lines fittings and air spring should reveal the source of the leak.

I realize that, but I was looking for experience from others as to where the leak was, and whether they were able to find it with the soap method.

For example, if the leak is associated with the check valve the soap method will not help at all.

I suspect my check valve but I haven't yet jacked it up and taken the wheels off to check the bags and lines and fittings. Then again, there is always the chance there are two leaks.

[maxwedge]

If the r/s sinks that is the area of the leak, no? The pressure relief valve if bad would cause both sides to sink.

[Steevow]

The right side sinks first. Both sides sink eventually.
There are independent solenoid valves for each side, right?
Where are those two solenoid valves located? On the compressor, right?

And then there is the check valve. Maybe I have 2 leaks.

[Steevow]

It was the air springs leaking.
We finally got to troubleshooting this leaking system.

The problem turned out to be the air bags leaking around the bottom. Not every second, but certainly when I sat on the back and bounced up and down a little you could hear the air escaping. That was a *big* help! You really cannot inspect the air lines at all. We did change the parts in the rebuild kit for the check valve in the compressor. That was pretty simple. No idea if it was actually bad but since I bought the kit for $28 including tax, might as well.

I just ordered the Arnott aftermarket air springs, $189.00 (they went up, they were $179 last week!) less a 10% discount code I easily found online. $13.67 shipping to California. $183.77 total.

So I have to wait for those to come and I can install them. Hopefully that will solve all the problems with this thing.

[Steevow]

I got a pair of Arnott aftermarket air springs. I bought them because some had recommended them on another forum, and there was also that they have a lifetime warranty. I tend to keep cars a long time so I often benefit from long warranties.

I have to say I have some reservations about them.

I would like to hear from anyone who has actually bought and installed them themselves.

If you haven't bought AND installed them yourself no need to respond.

Here's the problem. When the GM part is installed you stick it up into the plate and turn it to the right. It makes a definite click and then hangs there somewhat tightly from the top. You can wiggle it but you cannot remove it from the plate at the top without reaching up and pushing the release tab so you can turn it.

When the Arnott part is installed, I pushed it through the plate and turned it but it didn't get tight at all and it didn't click, and I could wiggle it much more than the GM part. I could grab it and turn it and pull it out of their too, without having to reach up top and release the tab. The tab is not engaged at all.

Different, definitely.

You can't see the thickness of the metal that would be accommodated by the three tangs, but the Arnott part seems to be made to accommodate thicker metal than I have or that the GM part would accommodate.

Firthermore, you can see the difference in the spacing of the locking part. The GM part is 1/2" from the tang to the lock. The Arnott part is 3/4". A little off. Which may be why it doesn't click in. Or it may be because of the three tangs, bigger, so it doesn't fit tightly enough for the lock to click in. Maybe, hard to tell what the problem is.

I called Arnott and they said theirs don't click in but then the car's weight is on them they "aren't going anywhere".

Which leaves the question: If the locking tab is not necessary why did GM put it there? And then why did Arnott put it there on theirs but it doesn't work? It would have taken exactly the same effort to make a part that fit perfectly. The Arnott parts seem to be nicely made but are just a little "off". Weird.

Which is why this post. Has anyone seen this problem when you installed the Arnott parts? Did yours make a definite "Click" like the GM did when they locked but in my case the Arnott part did not and it was loose.

Did you have any problems afterward? I don't want the rear air springs coming out and causing trouble, as you can imagine.

Has anyone actually used any of the Arnott parts?

I have had them for a few days and my leak is fixed. It all seems fine. But I have to wonder about these parts.

[cmirfan]

I have Envoy XL 2005
From last few months, after the car sits parked for a few hours the left side sinks down (more than the right side) and in time the whole rear sinks. This does not happen all the time... but happens irregularly... two to three times a month.

I start the car and the compressor seems to be running great, and it pumps it up just fine.

what can be the issue?

if there is a leak, it should sink on daily basis

[maxwedge]

All the info in the above thread should answer your questions. no?