Has anyone had recent experience with the Arnott Coil Spring Conversion Kit?

My 2005 XJ8 VDP is having intermittent air shock issues. The Vehicle Too Low light comes on every now and then but Jaguar Asheville didn't find any problems.

I read somewhere (on here?) that the latest Arnott kit uses Bilstein shocks.

Thanks for any info.

Stephen

 

Hi Stephen,

I just installed the Arnott kit on a 2004 XJ8 three weeks ago. It was a relatively simple job and the owner is very happy with the result. The most difficult part was fitting the new rear spring/shock assemblies back in the car because aligning the threaded studs with the holes in the body is done by feel - although if I'd had an assistant watching from above to tell me how to turn the unit to align the studs it would probably have been much easier. The second most difficult part was removing the rear seat since it had never been done on this car and access to the latch levers was difficult and the levers were stiff. The good news was that Arnott's "Electronic Bypass Module" or EBM successfully fooled the car's systems so no suspension-related fault codes are triggered. The owner had first purchased a kit from another company but discovered that they had no means of avoiding the CATS FAULT and other warnings that result from removing the air suspension. Arnott does not state who makes their shock absorbers, only that they are "custom designed."

Here's the link to the kit the owner purchased:

https://www.arnottindustries.com/par...36_gid694.html


Now, all that said, I am very surprised that Jaguar Asheville "didn't find any problems." At the very least I would have expected them to have found at least one suspension-related fault code stored, such as the very common C2303, which often indicates the compressor is not charging the system as effectively as it should, typically due to a worn piston ring/seal. Many of us have resolved that issue by replacing the piston ring with a new one from our forum Andy (bagpipingandy.com). The ring is not difficult to replace with basic tools and can be done in less than an hour.

It would also be worth checking for air leaks by spritzing a little soapy water on the air hose fittings at the top of each air spring/shock assembly. Bubbles indicate a leak, which is typically easy to resolve either by very gently snugging up the brass fitting or by replacing the fitting and compression ring or "olive." When spritzing the soapy water on the air hose fittings, take care not to wet the electrical connector for the CATS solenoid.

Please keep us informed.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks Don. I wish you could install the kit on mine. I'm in western NC. Where are you?

The dealer kept the car overnight but found nothing wrong. The tech came out to see me and gave me the following advise. "If the low vehicle warning light comes on when the car is started, open the driver's door for a few minutes leaving the engine running. With the door open, the compressor charges the reservoir only so, when the door is closed, it then inflates the air shocks."

I've done this a couiple of times and it works.

I'm going to order a new piston ring from Andy and follow your advise on finding leaks.

Many thanks for the reply. I really appreciate it.

Stephen

PS. I may come back to you for advise on installing the piston ring.

 

Just ordered the compressor seal.

 

Hi Stephen,

I'm near Nashville, TN so we're probably 5 hours apart. If you want to have a nice weekend vacation in Nashville I'd be happy to change your piston ring while you're here!

If you can't make it, perhaps the photos at the links below will help. Most owners don't bother to replace the desiccant in the air dryer as I did, but I would strongly recommend that you open up the air dryer and clean away any rust or other deposits you find on the spring and check valve and also check for rust in the the exhaust valve. At the time I did my piston ring I didn't have enough information about the exhaust valve to open it up, but now I wish I had:

Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page
Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page

Cheers,

Don

 

Don. Our son lives in Cookeville so we get your way often. Actually. we're in Knoxville on Saturday for the Tommy Emmanuele concert. I'll tackle the piston myself but, if that doesn't work, how about fitting a set of Arnotts for/with me. Happy to pay for the work.

Stephen

 

Well, if you're a Tommy Emmanuel fan, we definitely have to get together! Cookeville might work sometime.... :-)

 

Will you be at the show on Saturday?

 

No, but I see Tommy as often as I can when he plays Nashville (he has a home in this area). I actually came very close to signing him to a record deal about 16 years ago but his manager at the time was insane. It took him a few years to get out of that mess.

 

Actually on the 04-07s to keep the suspension lights off all that is required is to disconnect the module and then disconnect the battery for a few minutes. The module bypass is needed for the 08-09 model as leaving the module unplugged on these ones doesn't work.

 

Hi Torrid,

My understanding is that this was true of '04-'07 cars with their original software programming, but that on cars that had received a software upgrade at the dealer the module and battery disconnect might no longer fool the system and the air suspension fault would be triggered. If you know different, I'd be happy to be corrected.

I disconnected the battery on the '04 XJ8 while I converted it to Arnotts, but not knowing whether the car had received the dealer software upgrade, and not wanting to reinstall the wheels and take the car off the jack stands and drive it to find out if a fault was present, I was happy to install the Arnotts EBM as a precautionary measure. See this post from Doug at Arnotts from January 2016:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...5/#post1376905


Cheers,

Don