Good morning, I am having to replace my suspension air compressor on a 2005 vdp and would like to know if it is ok to drive on the road without air in the shocks.
Many thanks...

 

Now you've reposted the question here in X350 forum, I've removed your earlier version from X351 forum.

Graham

 

No, it's not, but there is a valve in each shock that retains a minimum of air pressure. This is done to make it very difficult to rotate top in relation to bottom and thus damage the air diaphragm. This feature also means the car will always have at least some pressure, so you wouldn't be on the bump-stops. However this assumes your shocks hqve no leaks, because obviously a leak bypasses this valve. Having said all this, I would not drive the car on the road at any kind of speed without the full air suspension system in operation.

 

That's great, thanks for the info, I'll call for a flat bed when it's time.
There are no bumps to worry about in this area, clearance doesn't look bad but cant be sure.
Regards,

 

R M T has new compressors for under $200 delivered.
At that price i bought two,installed one in my 04, works great.
Put the other one on the shelf

 

Not a hard job, to do yourself

 

Hi Estam,

How did you confirm the compressor required replacement? Did you rule out the air suspension relay?

If the compressor motor runs but the compressor does not pressurize the system adequately, you can often restore its performance with an inexpensive piston ring/seal kit from our member bagpipingandy (bagpipingandy.com).

Cheers,

Don

 

Rebuilt mine & got a couple more years from it.
But at $200 delivered for a new compressor, is the old one worth rebuilding?

 

If the old cylinder head is in good condition, you can save your German/European-made Wabco compressor, and I've had excellent long-term success with the compressors I've rebuilt (no failures yet since 2014).

On the other hand, more recently, for a couple of cars with seized compressor motors whose owners didn't want to spend much money, I've installed the cheap $150 China-made compressors from eBay. So far so good, but who knows how durable those motors are, or the quality of the metal alloys or piston ring/seal?

Cheers,

Don

 

These are NEW, made by R M T, with a lifetime guarantee.

 

The $150 pumps on eBay are also new, with at least a limited warranty, but the lifetime guarantee on the R.M.T. compressors is certainly appealing.

 

I had to have a compressor replaced on my first X350, a 2003, shortly after I bought it in 2010. I had a service-exchange unit fitted by the nearest Jaguar main agent, Royles of Wilmslow. This cost me about £300 at the time and I was a bit miffed because whilst the car was 7 years old, it had only done 35k miles. Yet the replacement compressor was still on the car and working well at 115k miles when I traded the car for another X350, an X358 Sovereign. Wabco made these compressors, and I believe they had to make changes because many Jaguar owners needed new compressors within the warranty period ! I should say that it wasn't only air compressors that regularly failed inside the warranty; the suspension arm bushes were notorious for their short life, and no improvements were ever made for these. It was the continuous repair burden with the suspension components on the car that finally decided me to get an XE and trade in the XJ. Yes, I am probably paying much more in depreciation than I would have ever spent on repairs, but at least the car isn't in the workshop every month ! And this time I have a Jaguar warranty.

 

Don B said;

The $150 pumps on eBay are also new, with at least a limited warranty, but the lifetime guarantee on the R.M.T. compressors is certainly appealing

That's what i thought, & at $182.16, plus tax, with free delivery, was a good deal.

 

Watching to see if these new lower cost pumps hold up. None reported failed yet on the forum??
If they do it will be a great thing compared to the very high price from Jaguar.
I am currently rebuilding one using Andy's kit but the pumps are getting up in years and the number of hours on them.
.
.
.

 

The issue with mine was the bore was scared up pretty badly.
The new piston ring would work better & last longer if was in better shape.

 

I second Don B's comment about the piston seal kit. I did mine and it only took about an hour to do the whole job including getting the compressor out and refitting it. Very easy and only cost £25. I replaced mine due to air suspension faults especially when the car was cold or driving up an incline. I replaced mine nearly three years ago, about 64K miles in total, and the suspension has been fault free ever since.