I have an 2004 XJ8. I replaced the front air bags . Everything was fine until a week later when the front end dropped and the light came on. i waited a few days started the car, revved the engine a bit and the car seems ok for now.
any thoughts

The Ricker

 

Could be a leak from the hose fitting on top. Spray some soapy water on the hose nut and see if you see any bubbles. It may just be a bad o ring. If not you may be looking at a more serious issue with the shock bladder. I bought a replacement rebuilt shock from rebuildmastertech and they had to send me another one because it was faulty, leaking from the main bladder. Hope this helps!

 

This has happened to me as well - I did the soapy water on the tops - the hose nut was ok - however, there was a tiny leak where the sensor plugs into the body of the strut on the right side. Fixed that up.

Question for Those Who Have Gone Before - I also have a massive leak around the top of the strut body underneath the upper spring to body retaining nuts - the 4 on the top. My question is this - the torque specifications say 18 lb-ft torque for those. That *seems* light, but I checked them all and they were all a touch loose. However, its not enough and its still leaking - is there some leeway there to crank down a bit to try to clamp down on that? Or should I plan to replace the air spring?


@Ricker - I bet this is it, give it a try and see how you go on yours too!

 

ayavner,

From your description, it sounds as though the top seal of your air spring is leaking. This is a common problem and so far we don't have a DIY solution. I have thought about applying a vacuum to the air spring and trying to feed some sort of sealant through the gaps under the rubber seal, but I haven't actually tried it yet. On our car, the leak happens mostly when ambient temperatures fall to 40F or below.

I don't believe that overtightening the top four nuts will make any difference, since the rubber seal is between the upper mounting plate and the metal disc in which the CATS solenoid mounts.

At least one member managed to snap off one of the air spring/damper mounting studs by overtightening a nut, so please take care with yours.

Please let me know if I've misunderstood where the leak is on your air spring.

Cheers,

Don

 

hey thanks for the quick reply Don. I believe that is exactly where it is coming from - what made me think that tightening it might help is that when I tightened the nuts to the 18 ft-lbs, the hissing changed - as in the tone and airflow, which made me feel like I was at least affecting it and presumably could take up the slack in the shrinkage by clamping down a bit more.. but good to know that snapping the studs off is a possibility, I'll take it carefully and only go maybe another 5 or 10, and report back. If that doesn't fix it, I'll plan to get a pair of Arnotts air struts and be done with it (ouch!).

 

OK just a quick report. I let the system all the way down, cinched the bolts up to 30 lb-ft, let it come back up again and unfortunately it is still leaking, as you pointed out Don... so unfortunately, looks like I may be in the market for the new ones after all - bad timing, probably will have to let the xmas expenses absorb a little and put up with it for a bit... more than likely as soon as it warms back up (which should be too long, in TX) it will take care of itself again and I can plan ahead.

 

Don't feel like the lonely stranger. I'm having to do the fronts right now too actually. (at 115k/12 years, knew it was coming and had already started planning it months ago) I chose to go back with new Bilsteins.

 

I guess I'll have to make the same choice, though I am leaning toward the Arnott air springs, at half the price of the Bilsteins (or close enough at any rate)... curious Box what was your thought on that to go with the Bilsteins?

Talking bout this one (though its even $100 cheaper on Amazon) https://www.arnottindustries.com/par...6_gid1002.html

 

I want to retain eCATS and the way that new Bilsteins ride.

 

Mmm those Arnotts are direct OEM replacements, not the conversion kit you may be thinking of? That's my understanding anyway:

Features:
• Custom-Designed Shock Absorber
• CNC-Machined Aluminum Parts
• Valved To Ride Like OEM Suspension
• Anodized Aluminum Finish
• Pre-Assembled For Easy Installation
• Engineered in the USA

 

By all forum member accounts, the Arnott "OEM replacement" air spring/damper units do not retain ECATS functionality. They come with devices that connect to the ECATS harnesses to fool the Air Suspension Control Module so it won't trigger a CATS FAULT warning on the dash.

Cheers,

Don

 

I've had my car since new...and I don't know any technical details about the differences, but the Arnott's ride much smoother and quieter than the OEM's with the ECATS. And a lifetime warranty to boot!

 

It's why you have to be careful of the marketing hype. The Arnott replacement does not offer eCATS functionality, and the shock itself doesn't compare. Yes, the Bilstein's are more expensive, but I feel it is worth the expense.

 

Oh wow, haha i am confused now. Thanks for the extra info.. I thought the coil and spring conversion kit was the one that came with the device to fool eCATS and the airsprings were direct replacements? (different p/n altogether) Their installation instructions seem to indicate a direct swap, and plug the same electrical connector and air hose back into the same.

you definitely won't go wrong with the Bilsteins, and I have more research to do :-)

 

Concerning the OE's, the difference between "Comfort" and "Sport" OE's is the size of the air bladder used. Sport was smaller volume. All Bilstein B4 replacements are of the larger "Comfort" bladder. The wall material in the bladder is also different between the Arnott's and the OE. The B4's use the original design, and the Arnott uses a cross-ply design, which makes them respond differently to minute inputs. The Arnott uses a double tube shock, (smaller diameter piston) while the B4's use a single wall (larger diameter piston) gas charged design, with 2 stage damping utilized by eCATS.