The rear suspension will not raise up...The front works fine...Before I did the control arms I cracked loose the fitting on the tank under the spare to release pressure...Disconnected the battery...No messages on dash...Ideas???

 

Well The problem is mostly solved...I used Don B's Advice in an old thread...Just applied it to the rear (jacking method)........................................... .................................................. .................................................. ..................
Also, depending on when you disconnected the battery (before or after you raised the car to replace the air springs/dampers and compressor), the front height sensor calibration may have been lost, as jackra_1 mentioned. It may be possible to fool the system either by playing with the height sensor or by disconnecting the battery, raising both front wheels, reconnecting the battery, then lowering the jacks to see if the ASM will then inflate the front end after you've driven the car above 2 or 3 mph. (I'm tired and didn't spend much time thinking about this sequence and may have it wrong - hopefully someone will correct me).......................... After doing this the rear suspension was rising, but not as high as it used to...The front was fine during and after the repair, but I do notice it sits lower than it used to...While it was sitting still after a drive the rear raised about an 1/12 or 2 for a few then settled back down...It seems like the suspension cant make up its mind! So I am not sure if the way its sitting now is correct 'cause I always thought the front went really high in driving mode before all of this...

 

I replaced U/L control arms as well as the rear links in my 06 XJ S8. Drives like a new car.

If you are a die hard fan of these cars, budget to replace all suspension bushings at 40-50K miles to maintain the quality ride.

I purchased rims from Welsh Enterprises in the past as well as OEM front control arms. They specialize in Jaguar parts. Very good source as well as doing business with
They are: welshent.com

 

I just had all the rear control arms tie rods etc replaced on my 2004 xj and my driver side front and rear is low too. Just drove it home from shop and no warning lights were on. Drove it around the block and parked and still low left side.

 

Hi Viper,
Just had all the rear arms replaced and rear left is slumping. Do you have a link to the magic DonB thread?
Thanks
Paul

 

HERE IT IS>>>Also, depending on when you disconnected the battery (before or after you raised the car to replace the air springs/dampers and compressor), the front height sensor calibration may have been lost, as jackra_1 mentioned. It may be possible to fool the system either by playing with the height sensor or by disconnecting the battery, raising both front wheels, reconnecting the battery, then lowering the jacks to see if the ASM will then inflate the front end after you've driven the car above 2 or 3 mph. (I'm tired and didn't spend much time thinking about this sequence and may have it wrong - hopefully someone will correct me)>>>I JUST APPLIED THIS TO THE REAR INSTEAD!

 

The other thing to bear in mind is that you should not torque up the bolts for the wishbones until the car is on the ground at and at the correct ride height.

 

Excellent thanks. Will bring this info to mechanic.

 

No warning lights or message indicates the ASM thinks everything is OK. So candidate for fault could be the height sensors. Other thing to think about is whether it has partially lost the height sensor calibration settings.

Is the suspension collapse linked to any event ? For instance what was taking place when the collapse occurred ?

 

Hi Goatride,

If only one rear corner was low, I would suspect a problem with the height sensor at that corner. But since both a front and rear corner are involved, it is possible your system has become confused.

You could try a hard reset by disconnecting the negative battery cable terminal and touching it to the positive battery cable terminal (which can remain attached to the battery). Hold it there securely for a couple of minutes, then reconnect the negative cable.

Start the car and let it sit for a few minutes to see if the air compressor will run and the left side will raise. The compressor should run for up to 120 seconds. If it raises the left side but not all the way, shut off the engine, wait 45 seconds, then restart the engine and let the air compressor run as long as it will again. If the left side still won't inflate,further investigation will be necessary.

Note that after a hard reset certain systems such as the Transmission Control Module will return to factory default settings, so the car may behave a little differently until it relearns your driving style.

Please keep us informed.

Cheers,

Don

 

Took it back to mechanic and they checked the sensor connector. Also did a reset with their diagnostic computer. No error codes. Does the hard reset give a different result?
Same problem. Rear driver side low.
I think this is making the front driver side seem low too as it is raising the front passenger by being tilted?

 

Took it back to mechanic and they checked the sensor connector. Also did a reset with their diagnostic computer. No error codes. Does the battery reset give a different result?
Same problem. Rear driver side low.
I think this is making the front driver side seem low too as it is raising the front passenger by being tilted?

 

I guess it depends on the capabilities of your mechanic's diagnostic system. If they have one of the Jaguar dealer-level systems like IDS or SDD, they should have been able to re-calibrate the ride height at each corner. Since they obviously did not do that, I would recommend trying the hard reset just to see if it works.

If there is no change, I would suspect a problem with the ride height sensor, possibly caused when the suspension components were replaced.

Please keep us informed.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks Don
I just dropped it back off and they're going to disconnect battery overnight and look at a couple other things. Guess if they don't find anything cheapest next step is buy new rear left sensor.

 

They should be able to test the ride height sensor operation by back-probing the electrical connector and testing for smooth transition from 0.5V to 4.5V as the sensor is moved through its range.

See the information on pdf pages 6 and 7 of the Air Suspension and ECATS section from the Dealer Training Manual:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/7r...on_Section.pdf

Cheers,

Don

 

Hi Goatride,

I just realized you are also making posts in the Air Suspension Problem thread relative to your issue. It becomes confusing when you get replies in different threads related to the same issue, so I am going to move all the related posts from that thread to this one. Please use this thread for your future posts relative to this issue to help avoid confusion and duplicate posts and replies.

Thanks,

Don

 

Thanks I had emailed that air suspension doc to them, but not sure they have looked at it yet. Trying to help provide them with info without being a pain in the butt know it all customer.

 

Out of desperation I tried the hard reset you suggested. No change (other than resetting parking brake and auto Windows).
I don't think the compressor is going on at all. Height does change. Nor does the car lower when engine off. Just stuck at the same height. Right side high, left (rear) side low.
Now what, take it to jaguar service?

 

I would take Don B.'s advice and focus on the ride height sensor until you've ruled it out as the problem. It could have been easily damaged or moved out of adjustment during the change in control arms. The brake line has to be disconnected and there is a bolt where the head has to be partially cut/shaved to get it to come out and there is a lot of force used to remove the bolts, so there is ample opportunity to jostle/damage the sensor.

You say that the ride height does change, but it doesn't lower. I read that to mean that it goes up, but doesn't go down. I may misunderstand what you are saying, but there is no way that can happen if your compressor is not working. I can hear my compressor come on after I start driving after about a few seconds over 20mph. Try driving your car cold on a quiet street after letting it sit overnight. Listen carefully after the car starts moving at 20mph+. The pump is under the left front bumper, so focus your listening there. Mine stays on about 20 seconds.

Any Jaguar dealer should have the software to adjust the leveling if nothing is broken and your compressor is working. It should not be an expensive fix.

Good luck. Please let us know how it works out.

 

The left rear sensor was replaced and a recalibration was supposedly done with a SnapOn. Yeah the car height doesn't go up or down. I've never noticed the compressor kicking in driving. But often heard the Pshhhhhh right after parking and shutting off in garage at night. Now It's kinda stuck where it is. Doesn't lower overnight or lift at startup. That rear left just stays down. And no error codes or warning lights. Like the air system is frozen up.
But yeah I think a trip to the dealer for diagnostic is only hope now.