I received an Air Suspension Fault today. The rear is high and the ride is like a kids wagon. I've made an appt with the dealer, but can't get in until next Thursday.

I read online of conversion kits to eliminate the air suspension system and wanted to see if any forum members had done the conversion and their thoughts. Also, I would like to know forum members perspective on the Arnott Air Suspension system components.

Thank you.

 

Have a read of this post a bit further down the forum listing

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...height-139390/

The problem was sorted. There is no point in spending $$$s if a mere software recalibration, or new height sensor fixes the problem. There will be a fault code, so best to get it checked out first. Steel coil conversions are available and lots of people have converted.

 

Honestly I'm glad I did the conversion, but if you have an easy fix that doesn't take money out of your pocket, go with that first. I was going to have to replace a strut and the car was stranded where I couldn't work on it myself so the price would have become significant. I ended up buying and sending the suspension to the shop I left it at and had everything converted.

 

Thanks for the feedback. It ended up being a corroded sensor beneath the rear passenger seat. The dealer cleaned it up and all connections, applied dioelectric grease where necessary and the system reset itself. All good.

 

I replaced front left air spring with an Arnott remanufactured unit (CATS sensors still in place).. I replaced the unit myself and the suspension has worked perfectly ever since. the pump rarely runs that I can tell. only thing I can tell happening is when I park the car after a drive I hear an air release from under the front left bumper which is where the pump is I believe and if I'm correct, that's the system bleeding off excess air?


anyway... I would spend considerable funds trying to rehab the stock air suspension before I would do a conversion... my opinion only.. no judgment on those who have converted

 

After a run and engine switch off, (but not every time), the system will blow air back out of the compressor to clear out the moisture trap. This is a normal operation and nothing to worry about.

 

I am going through the conversion now. I had unfortunate hiccups, so I have to wait some time.

But I will post results in FULL detail.

 

I did the Arnott conversion a few months ago. I'm pleased with it. There were a few minor hiccups, but it is really nice to not worry if the front shocks will be out of air on a cold day. Arnott has a standard comfort and sport part number. With the LWB I wanted the higher K factor of the Sport version to offset the additional weight. There was some confusion from Arnott's on line retail outlet about whether or not there really was a 'sport' kit, although Marvin was VERY helpful and confirmed the sport was an option. I ordered direct from the factory to get the sport version. It cost a little more than the on line outlet, but I think I did get the Sport version.

Following Arnott's on line video made the installation easy. Don't over torque the studs on installation. I did, and loosened two of the studs in the mounts. When I had the air shocks off I found the upper control arms needed to be replaced, so I did both L&R UCAs.

I also put on new tires. With the new control arms, the Arnott conversion, and new tires the car handles much better, doesn't squat on cold days, and doesn't bottom out on every speed hump, and I can get into my driveway without scraping. I'm happy. There might be a little more road noise, but since I did three repairs at once (springs, tires, control arms) I don't know why, and it's not significant.

As far as I know the rear air shocks were OK. If someone needs OK rears or front with a slight cold weather leak down, PM me.

Now if I can only get that Mongoose working to help me with the ABS, I'll be done for a little while.

Jim

 

Thank you for the feedback on the Arnott conversion. It was very helpful.

 

A couple things I forgot to mention:
1. After the Arnott conversion installation the height (center of axle to fender well) was exactly per specs both front and rear.
2. Although I was a little concerned that the loss of the adaptive air suspension would mean a significantly lower rear when loaded, with two normal adults in the back and appropriate luggage ( 100+ pounds for four) in the trunk, the back is not visibly lower. I'm sure if I measured it I would find a difference, but visibly and from handling it seems fine. I had drawn up a spacer plate which I had intended to machine and add to the top of the shock mounts if I needed to add an additional .375 inch of height to accommodate the long wheel base weight, but everything seems perfect as supplied by Arnott.

I am pleased with the conversion kit. I'd rather have the original air suspension just because I think it is a slickly engineered system, but I am much happier not dealing with the anxiety of what will go wrong next with the air suspension.

 

Hey Guys;
Just completed the Arnott conversion on my 2005 XJ8L.
I need to know what to do to disable the system so that I don't get the "CAT FAULT SYSTEM" and the "AIR SUSPENSION FAULT" alerts any longer.
By the way, I like the ride. Hated the air suspension system thing.
I really need some help on eliminating the cause for the fault codes.
Thanks

 

You'll need to remove the back seat and unplug all the harnesses from the black module that says Wabco on it. After that, disconnect the battery for 10 minutes and reconnect. That will clear all suspension warnings on any 2004-2007 models.

 

The Arnott instructions I had stressed that you should disconnect the module behind the back seat before you remove the shocks.

It's really important you follow the "disconnect the battery for 10 minutes and reconnect" step.
Jim

 

Yeah it's a good idea to disconnect it ahead of time. It'll keep the compressor from trying to run while working on the car.

 

Just an update:
I went behind the back seat and disconnected the computer box, and then disconnected the battery for 24 hrs. This cleared all the faults and the compressor never comes on.

 

Just a heads up too, if you are looking to make a few bucks back on your conversion, pretty much all of the air suspension components such as the module, tank, and compressor are easily removed. I sold all of mine on eBay.