On my way back from a road trip from Jacksonville, FL to Miami, I got the dreaded vehicle too low on my dashboard. When I got home I realised that the back has bottomed out. I've been reading all the posts about the suspension but I still have this question.

Does the fact that both back struts have bottomed out give a clue as to it not being the struts but rather the compressor? Or if one strut goes would the other drop as well to match it?

 

I'd have the level sensors & mounting brackets checked. The brackets can corrode causing the sensor to dislodge. I had 2 fail on my car causing a similar problem.

 

The car will try to match heights L/R and F/R until it sets an error code and stops leveling functions. Would be worth checking the height sensors since those are easy and (relatively) inexpensive fixes. If you pull the trunk carpets you can listen at the top of the shocks to hear for leaks (hissing) when the compressor tries to inflate the rear. I wouldn't suggest operating the car until you get this fixed because if there's a major leak the compressor will run itself to death trying to inflate the springs.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I'm starting to think it's my compressor.

If I disconnect an air hose going to the shock and start the car, I should hear feel air going through the hose correct?

 

Would not be a compressor as the fronts would be down and you would have a air suspension fault. It is more likely one blew and then the other did or just cant kep the car up. Sudden drop when driving most ofter blows out a dust belot on the shock. Look at the condition of the bellows on the rear. If you need a shock or 2 i have 2 arnotts that are fairly new i took off when doing a spring conversion on a car

 

Unfortunately it's a little more complicated than that. When I first received the car it had a bad front strut. I was pretty annoyed by it after some research and saying wtf, I converted the front to springs but left the back with air shocks. It took me a while to find the proper caps for the front airlines and I think I might have overworked the compressor during that time. That's why it's very easy for me to uncap a line and check to see if I feel air pressure. I don't feel any air pressure when the car starts and I feel like I used to be able to.

If this is the case, will Andy kit fix this or should I get a new compressor?

 

If the piston ring on your compressor is failing, it will sound very noisy, rough & you could hear a rattle when it operates. A good compressor sounds more like a smooth humming noise when it kicks in. As mentioned above, if your compressor has failed you will get the "air suspension fault" message displayed on your dash as a weak compressor cannot fill the reserve tank in time. You need to get your car plugged in to some diagnostic kit to check out the fault codes - this will tell you if the level sensors are returning bad values to the ASM. You'll need to do this anyway as the system will need to be reset with the correct height data once you've found and repaired the fault. I have no idea how a partial spring conversion may have affected your levelling system, but I feel just replacing or refurbing the compressor is unlikely to fix the problem.
On my car, first one rear shock dropped - then both. The problem turned out to be a corroded sensor bracket (rear O/S) and a failed level sensor switch (front N/S) also my ASM behind the back seat had failed. (my car is an early one with 4 sensors) I replaced all with used parts fairly cheap, had the system reset & everything now works as it should.

 

I have hit and miss on bagpipe andys repair kit depending on the amount of wear of the bore. at the price I always rebuilt but now on Ebay a new compressor is $188. replaced the rears now and just be done cause winter is coming and we all know the failures from cold temps and seals.

 

One bag is leaking. Mine was like that when I bought it. Got an 6 month old Arnott off Ebay for $159.00 she has been up and running ever since.

 

yep, one shock is the likely culprit. Take Brutal up on his offer.

 

Hi guys I just need a confirmation. If a compressor needs a bagpipeandy overhaul, it still makes noises when the car starts correct?

I don't hear anything from my current compressor and I'm starting to think the lack of caps. Burnt it out. Either way I have to take the compressor out but I just want to be sure it should do something when I start the car.

Since both shocks went down at the same time in the rear I don't think it's the level sensors. I swapped the relays and I didn't hear anything kick on as far as the compressor.

Thanks for your help.
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The compressor will only kick in when you start the car IF there isn't enough air in the reserve tank to level the vehicle. Normally, when you start the car - it should level without relying on the compressor.(mine only kicks in when the car is stationary IF I fill the car with passengers or luggage, adding a lot of weight) The compressor should then kick in to fill the tank when driving over 25mph. It takes around 5 mins driving @>25mph to fill the tank. If the compressor is too weak to fill the tank within the given time, you will have a fault message on your dash.(yes, it's an overcomplicated system!) If you intend to remove the compressor anyway, no reason not to try Andy's refurb kit I guess. It's cheap & it's a relatively straightforward job. It worked brilliantly on mine as my cylinder bore was in excellent condition. Also check that the release valve on the compressor isn't stuck. I still feel your problem lies elsewhere though - I can't emphasise enough the importance of getting your error codes read with diagnostic kit.

 

I've spent the last two hours reading all the recommendations as far as the diagnostic scanners and it seems like I have to pay 500.00 for one that can read the suspension faults.

At that point kind of seems like a wash to just swapping parts because at least I'll have the parts that normally need to be replaced anyways.

Is there a tool I'm missing?

 

I'm told the Foxwell 510 can read all Jag codes. Nowhere near $500. It won't drill down to the 6th and 7th digit of the code but will give you the first 5 digits. Enough to meet your needs I assume.

A member has one for sale in the classifieds:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/market/207267

 

So I bought the air compressor and swapped it out mostly because I had driven for a few months without the front hoses capped and also because the part came from pompano so it was delivered overnight. Please don't be offended if I didn't listen to your advice but I figured I had burnt out the compressor because I didn't hear it kick on anymore when I started the car.

Anyways I changed it which overall isn't difficult except that the car was so low that I couldn't use my floor jack so I had to use the pos factory jack then put a jack stand and finish with the floor jack. I would have loved to taken the jaguar engineer who designed the jack so you can't turn it because it hits the street and the bottom of the car. However, once the car was jacked it took about two hours for the whole thing. I lowered the car and when I started it I could hear air escaping from the back left driver side which I didn't hear before. My thoughts is that I burnt out the compressor and driving it from palm beach to Miami or so ruined the air strut.

Is that possible?

 

- Other way around: Your leaking rear strut wore out the compressor

- Suggest you replace rears with spring struts and be done with it

 

Definitely cheaper, I worry about the resale. I have stype springs in the front which I like but I always have the suspension fault code on.

 

Resale is virtually nonexistent for these cars anyhow

Search this forum for link to disconnecting air ride computer behind rear seat; then hard reset to get rid of fault message

 

Good point on resale.
My car is an '08 so the tapping of the battery cables doesn't work for me.

 

'08 MYr shouldn't matter

Oh, and pull your car onto some 2 x 4's to get your jack underneath it comfortably