Air suspension problems 96 lincoln

[gladmother]

A month ago we had the alternator replaced and after it was installed the suspension went out. We discovered it wasn't the air suspension with the problem but a line was cut when the alternator was installed. The nipple broke off at the air reservoir. Is there any replacement for the air nipple? At this time we've been able to temporarily glue it. Thanks

[wafrederick]

Get rid of the air ride system and there is an uppgrade kit to put in convential struts in.Continentals had lots of problems with the air ride system

[gladmother]

Originally Posted by wafrederick

Get rid of the air ride system and there is an uppgrade kit to put in convential struts in.Continentals had lots of problems with the air ride system

I shuld have been alittle bit more specific in my post. Thanks for the reply but at this time we can't afford to convert and that's why I was trying to do a simple repair. I'm my family's only income at this time and its either pay my rent or install the conversion kit. Thanks for the info

[wafrederick]

You will have to replace the line and it is a dealer part only.Sometimes Ford will make parts obsolete after a vehicle at least 10 years old.Continentals were never good cars,Head gaskets with the 3.8 V6,transmissions and the air ride suspension.

[MagicRat]

The air ride suspension is actually pretty good, imo. It really is no worse than the load-leveling systems that many other luxury cars have, and better than some.

And the fact that it allows for load-leveling on all 4 wheels is an interesting feature if you load the whiz out of the car.

The system does have a limited lifespan, that is the air springs themselves will wear out at 100k miles, maybe a bit more. When one goes from wear, replace them all. Other than this job, the systems I have encountered all are very reliable and trouble-free.

[wafrederick]

Another problem with the air ride system was mechanics not opening the trunk up and turning the switch to off for the air ride when raising them on a hoist.Plus it was an expensive system to fix and most people switched them to the convental struts,Strut Masters sells the conversion kit to do this.

[Marnav1]

When you can afford to change it over send me a PM. We just did a 96 Conti, works well.

[gladmother]

I thought I'd update everybody. We got the air reservoir replaced. We ordered the unit itself, but it didn't come with the hoses and so what the mechanic did was strip the casing back to espose the hoses and attached it to the air reservoir and the hydraulics are working great. Its been over a month and knock on wood we've had no problems. Thanks

Originally Posted by gladmother

A month ago we had the alternator replaced and after it was installed the suspension went out. We discovered it wasn't the air suspension with the problem but a line was cut when the alternator was installed. The nipple broke off at the air reservoir. Is there any replacement for the air nipple? At this time we've been able to temporarily glue it. Thanks