I really like my suspension, it's very sporty and responsive but not excessively hard, it still delivers a silky ride with almost new Contisports on it. I dont think it has air suspension, it's a salvage vehicle that had a nice front end rebuild with a pair of new front shocks and the "sport" mesh grille. I could post a pic from under the hood of the new shocks if that would answer it for sure?

Is there a simple way for the mechanically challenged to tell if it's been converted to conventional suspension? Is it possible for the po to have conventional front suspension and retain rear air suspension? (just a thought). The air tank is still under the spare wheel but I dont see any raising or lowering of the vehicle going on. Would it be like those old French cars that raise up when you get in them?

Also if it is air suspension is there a fairly simple way to tell if it's running within spec or at least doing what it's supposed to do?

Thanks
Alan

 

Look at the top of the shocks under the bonnet, if you see the air hoses connected = air suspension.

Not possible to have a mix of coilover & air suspension with the X350 it's all or nothing.

If the air suspension is working properly you shouldn't notice it at all.

 

Load your Boot(Trunk) with heavy items, if it lowers and stays low, it does not have air suspension. With the key off, It should lift with air from the reservoir. With the key on, engine running, you might hear the compressor if the reservoir pressure is below the preset minimum.

 

If you got a fat person to climb in and out of the boot, would you be able to see the height correcting itself?

IIRC the levelling runs on for about 20 minutes after you stop the engine.

 

In LA you enjoy the dry but somewhat consistent year round mild weather. Severe cold seems to effect aging air suspension more here than Europe. If everything is working great just enjoy it! You'll know when the air suspension fails immediately. lol Sounds like your satisfied just the way things are. Very lucky for this season.

 

Possible to pull the spare and see if compressor is still in place. Its located under the spare tire.

 

The reserve air tank is under the spare, under the foam. The compressor is under the front left bumper. Even when converted, these items may still be in place. Only way is to look at the top of the shock towers. If theY have a black plastic air line connected to them, then it is air powered.

 

if you still have cash left in your wallet, then you don't have air suspension

regards

andy

 

 

LOL, Andy I just ordered 4 more Wabco kits from you. Bill

 

Brilliant!!!

 

I just ordered one kit also and will be ordering another one soon as I want to rebuild a spare unit I scored on the cheap!

 

Yay! (maybe
Seems I do have air suspension. The front shocks do have air lines going to them (look a bit like brake pipe unions). I have had the car about a month and for the first time today after starting the engine I noticed the nose come up a couple of inches, very subtle and didnt actually feel anything.
Thanks guys, everyone on here is awesome with sharing their info!
Alan

 

Thanks Bill, on their way

I will have a distributor in the US soon so I can get kits to your guys faster

regards

Andy

 

Thanks

best regards

Andy

 

This is the very question I was about to ask. I cannot, so far, tell if the air suspension is working, but the black tube is connected to the each front shock. There's no sound of a compressor working(and we aren't loading anything heavy into it...yet). It's a 2005 VDP with 106K miles. Nothing yet to cause reducing the bank account/inheritance. I am wondering:

Is there anything in the air suspension system that would account for a rattle sound? I took the car to an indie, but he wasn't able to isolate the sound. Personally, I don't think he tried as hard as claimed. I mentioned loose calipers, cover over the exhaust/catalytic converter-system, bushings, sway bar, etc. He said all looked good. Anyway- just wondering if anyone had a rattle sound coming from the air suspension system...or anything remotely(?) linked to it?

Thanks.

 

No, but consider getting an "Engineers Stethoscope"

You press the point against various parts, and when you touch the vibrating one, you'll hear it

can also be used to trace leaking water pipes.

Behind the front bumper is a crash bar, very substantial, it is rivetted on and can rattle. Could it be that?

 

If GA means Georgia, there are 3 types of rattlesnake...https://365atlantatraveler.com/snakes-in-georgia/
What? I read these things happen.

I have never heard my compressor work (advantage of being deaf). I only know I have air suspension coz it goes down if unused for a few weeks. I knew there was a design goal around this.

Apparently one can load the boot, or park on a slope, and watch carefully, though I can't remember how long that takes it is mentioned in the owners manual.

For completeness: I have read that the suspension "pumps up" once you go for a drive. This is to do with activating the compressor. But (if my suspension goes down due to unuse) it raises immediately on unlocking the car. Once. This is to do with reservoir air, so I must have a good reservoir!
There should be 2 fingers+ between the tyre top and the body.

Since 90% of air suspensions have some leak or other...I rest my case! But not a rattle, at least here.

 

Hi PigletJohn - I did read beforehand, about and engineer's stethoscope. My problem is, I can't hang underneath, while the car is moving to detect where it's coming from, but the sound is consistent and loud enough to sound like someone left a bolt loose on a cover or ? I'll try to record the sound - I'll need to do this if I can find someone who will try and determine what it is and
eliminate this annoyance. Peculiarly, while the sound is most common at 10mph-15mph up to 40-45mph, it reliably diminishes to no sound at high speeds. Decelerating, the rattle, which at best my wife and I have chosen, passenger side and near middle of car(not sure about the location, but it is way more audible on the passenger side, not on the driver side. I've hung my head out of the window, and panted like a dog, so as the passerby's and other drivers might believe I'm a hound dog , after the rabbit...rattling rabbit. It is so irritable, because as one applies the brakes, even over the uneven terrain that ushers the sound, the brakes will silence the rattling. Oddly today, we were driving about 45mph and the rattling was mostly absent, but picked up later in the trip. It was fun while it lasted.

ChrisMills - Yes, GA is Georgia. MI is Michigan, my home state Herpetology is fascinating, and I'm not an expert in snakes, but after I or someone figures out why this beautiful VDP has a snake-like rattle(since it slithers in and out of speeds and is affected by braking), I might be undistracted enough to look more at the snakes of Georgia. We have seen (just the other day) a baby Rattler, had numerous gray snakes, black snake, copperhead and garden snakes here in our twenty-five long ride in N. Georgia. The Car: I removed the wheel yesterday and observed a like-new looking compressor with all hoses attached. We have heard the compressor click sound, but other than that, I haven't seen the car budge a mm. I'll do the finger test and maybe one day, we can try loading a number of boxes(which are begging removal from our rented garage)in the boot/trunk and see if the system shouts, "It's ALIIIIVE!" :-)

I doubt if it's the crash bar, but I'll poke around. One of subtle other noises I discovered - whoever worked on this engine last, they didn't screw down the center plastic cover over the engine. It helped quiet one of the other noises. I discovered that the clips (or as I call it the fasteners)for the radiator cover were stripped, loose and missing 2 or more of them. I just bought 10 clips from SGDBarrett, at $3.50 each. I don't expect these new clips will address my rattle, but at least this will make it as designed for securing parts.

Thanks and now ...I have to watch out for real snakes.

 

I'm sorry - it's sngbarratt.com (https://www.sngbarratt.com/English/#/us/home). Their prices for the clips were less than jagbits.