I have a 2004 XJ8.

The air suspension is not working - hasn't been for months. I shoud've addressed it sooner, before I damaged tires, and who knows what else, but I didn't.

Now that I am trying to fix it - I checked that it's not the engine compartment relay #4 - I swapped out several different relays of the same type and it still didn't work after each swap.

Thinking that it must be the compressor I ordered a new one and replaced the old one.

Sadly it still doesn't work. Sad also that I wasted money on a new part when the old one wasn't the problem.

So, does anyone know what else I sould do to fix this myself?

Or, alternately, does anyone have any recomendations for where I should take my car to get this problem fixed, other than the dealer, in northern VA?

Thanks,
Alice

 

Why not at least get the dealer to give you an estimate to what needs doing, you do not have to have the work performed there if you think you can better elsewhere.

 

Given that you replaced the air compressor yourself you must have some mechanical talent. Give us the full story on what the car is doing and perhaps we can point you in the right direction.

We have a number of members in No VA who seem quite astute. Come on guys, tune in and point Alice in the direction for the good indie service providers in your area.

 

DB6 - that is probably a good idea. The dealer is rather expensive for diagnostics, but if they could diagnose the problem then I could probably fix it. They're just not that close and I would have to have alternate transpertation while they're looking at it.

Tarheal - I should've provided more details.

I THINK it started after I stradled a curb - I was trying to get to the left turn lane by driving the drivers side up on the median, but there was a gully (from previous cars/trucks doing this) and I basically stradled the curb, and had to drive forward to get unstradled. sigh. It was boneheaded of me to try it.

Or it might have started a few days later and is either related or not related to the curb riding incident.

Basically riding my car is like riding a low-rider. It's very, very low all the time. The right front is lower than the left by quite a bit. And I totally ruined the two right tires. They had no tread on the inside, but plenty of tread on the outside. It doesn't raise up at all when starting or driving. There have been no lights at all on my dash. Maybe my model doesn't have lights for air suspension problems, or for the car riding low.

After posting my first post I saw a long thread about air suspension problems. I see that a lot of people have had air shocks go bad, and that I could make a gadget to test and maybe that is what I'll do. But given how I drove my car, does anyone think it's more likely that I cracked, bent, or otherwise damaged the air line to the shocks?

It if it an air shock it seems really simple to replace - I just looked at the Arnott site and read the R&R directions for the air shock for my car. Of course it looks like I need to at least find out if I have the comforts suspension or the air suspension, and I need to call the dealership with the VIN to find that out. My car has a "sports mode" button on the console - does that mean anything with regards to the type of suspension?

I had to get get new tires to pass saftey inspection; fortunately the guy who passed it didn't realize that there was air suspension that wasn't working or they would've failed it.

But I need to get the air suspension fixed asap so I don't ruin the new tires, or cause any more damage.

 

Alice,
I dont see that it would be more than a few hours to shoot, a lot of dealers will comp you a loaner if it is much longer.
I really think if it were me that I would get them to look at it then take it from there.I mean the main issue with Jag dealers is not the fact that they are poor but that they cost so much but I have also had really bad experiences by taking my car to a cheap indy that ended up not doing what was promised and going back to a dealer after.
David

 

Jaguar Landrover of Chantilly is definitely a very trustworthy shop, with very skilled technicians. However, they are not cheap, and I am sure that they would charge lots of money to diagnose an air suspension.

I was hoping somebody could chime in with a good indy shop for Jaguar stuff in the area, as I am nearby.

 

Alice,

Given what you have described I would take the car to an experienced Jag service operation only. If you can find an independent Jag service shop in range--okay. And I mean real credentials, too, such as diagnostic software. etc.

Otherwise, get it to the dealer, get it fixed and be done with it. Of particular concern to me is potential suspension component damage and no fault codes being thrown.

Hope you can get a line on an indie in your area. Put out an appeal in the Southern US forum. Perhaps that will wake up some of the guys. We have a moderator, Gus, in Winchester and a couple active guys in Norfolk, VA Beach, Leesburg and Ashburn. Surely someone has a line on competent Jag service in N VA.

 

The air suspension is not that difficult to diagnose.. The whole system consists of 4 airbags/shocks, an air compressor/pump, holding tank, 4 sensors some airline and the ecm/computer.

If you replace the Air Pump and the right side will not air up, logic dictates that you either have a busted air line, possibly cut a wire to a sensor or blew a airbag/shock. If it was mine I would look underneath for broken lines and then test the compressor to see if its putting air to the right side of the car.

I would suspect a busted line on the right side of the vehicle..

Just my $.02

 

Alice,

Ktrash makes a good point. Pull the rt. front wheel and check to see that the ride height sensor and its linkage are intact.

Your accident could have dislodged this component thereby fooling the system into thinking that the ride height is correct and therefore not calling for air to the shock and not throwing an error/fault code.

Keep your fingers crossed boys. We may have saved a pant load of money here.

 

Amazing, as I read along, it was occuring to me that the clip for the ride height sensor could have been dislodged by hitting something. If it is repaired, all should go back. Bottoming the car should have no other effect on the air suspension, unless you hit a ditch at 60, the lines are not that vulnerable underneath.

 

I meant to note that the clip sticks down from the lower control arm in the front and is vulnerable to hitting things. Since this clip is sheet metal and has a spring tension design, it might be repairable if it is unclipped.

 

Again, take it to a dealer.

 

I live nearby, but I don't think I can be of much help with air suspension. The first thing I would check though is if the compressor if coming on, are the air shock themselves leaking ? Or the thing about the ride height sensor. The dealer closest to me is Rosenthal Tyson's Jaguar / Land Rover. They are good, but of course, they are not cheap. I know of an Indie in Falls Church on Rte. 7 called London Imports. They probably would be capable of figuring it out.

 

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I believe that is the indie shop JimmyL is referring to. Do you have any idea if that shop is any good?

 

Jaguar Landrover of Chantilly is not cheap but will give you a loaner. Unfortunately, you gotta get it done right or it'll cost you more in the long run.

 

Last time I got a loaner, they gave me a Hyundai Elantra. I was hoping for an XF!

 

@amcdonal86 - Yeah, that's the place. They do a lot of Jag work. I took my SIII there one time awhile ago. I don't remember what for, but I do remember they were pretty nice guys. So, FWIW.

 

Alice,

I know with so much trouble and so many voices it can be overwhelming. But we need you to keep us current on what you decide to do and what you find out. Now don't let us down. It makes it all worth while and we all learn so much.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions.


Kthrash said "The whole system consists of 4 airbags/shocks, an air compressor/pump, holding tank, 4 sensors some airline and the ecm/computer."

I also need to replace my front rotors, and I'll probably do that tomorrow since it's raining right now (oh how I wish I had a garage).

While I'm replacing the rotors I'll look to see what I can see with regards to the shocks and airlines. But I don't really understand some things.

Kthrash or anyone else - can you help explain...

"airbags/shocks" - is this the same as the shocks that I've seen referenced? The have something to do with the airbags?

What and where are the sensors?

And what and where is the ecm/computer?

Also - to check the shocks - should I build the tool that someone (Brutal? Brutus - I should go look, but I don't see the thread) showed in a different thread about the air suspension system? I think I could build one of those.

Will the JTIS disc, which I used previously to figure out how to remove my console so I could replace the radio (with a nice Kenwood nav/stereo unit), help me figure out any of this?

I need to be really, really careful with money right now because my job may go away, so I really appreciate any help to fix it myself to save money. If I can figure out if it's one or more of the shocks I think I can replace them ok, and the Arnott shocks are $300, and shocks at the dealer would be more plus labor.

However, I do have faith in the Chantilly Jaguar shop. They did work on my car when it was under warranty, plus one thing not under warranty, and I thought they did good work and were honest. I'd forgotten they have loaners, so that would take care of my transportation problem. Since there is only one recommendation for an indy shop, and it was a one time affair, I guess I'll go to Chantilly if I decide I need to take the car to the shop.

But for money reasons, I'd really like to fix this myself. Plus it makes me feel really good when I can do things myself.

 

Hi ALice

People here have used the term "airbags/shocks". In fact the suspension units for each wheel are air springs (thats the term Jaguar use in their technical notes for the car), and they also have a shock absorber as part of the assembly, it cannot be separated for renewal. This is what makes replacement expensive because if the spring fails the shock has to be replaced too even if OK. The air spring is formed of a chamber with a rubber diaphram or "bag" hence use of the the word airbag, but its nothing to do with the airbags in the car for protection in accidents.

The sensors are at the back of each wheel arch and detect wheel position, in relation to the body. There were four originally, but later cars only had one for the two front wheels as they were always controlled together by the suspension controller, so Jaguar did the obvious thing and cut one out.

There is also the valve block (with solenoid-operated valves), which is used by the suspension controller to direct compressed air to the air springs and also to atmosphere to recharge the dryer in the compressor.

Oh, and by the way, if you're short of wonga, don't bother replacing the radio, its not worth it, the Jaguar one is good enough in my opinion.