I've ordered one of bagpipingandys repair kits & it's time to tackle this job! I'm just a little concerned about the process, I've read some posts about crazy things happening to the suspension when people have DIYed this! My friend, who is a skilled mechanic will be doing the work - but he's never worked on an X350 before so will be relying on my internet research for guidance!
We'll be raising the car up on a proper lift, but I've heard stories of the system going into "jacking" or "towing" mode when raised. (happened to mine after a specialist replaced a level sensor) My question is, does the battery need to be disconnected before removing the compressor? If so, should we disconnect it before or after the car is raised? Also, will the system need to be reset by my specialist after the work is done? Any tips on how to tackle this without making matters worse much appreciated!

 

When I jack the car up, I disconnect fuses 12 and 52 in the fuse box in the trunk. That prevents the suspension from adjusting. I did not disconnect the battery when I removed the air compressor.

The air compressor is located under the front bumper on the left. You'll have to remove the fender liner to access it. There were (I believe) four bolts holding the compressor in. You'll also have to disconnect the electrical connector, the exhaust pipe, and the air line. It's pretty simple to get it out. I had a little difficulty getting it back in because it's a tight fit in there. I think I ended up removing the horn, or at least disconnecting the electrical connector to make more room. When reinstalling the air line, don't tighten it too much. It just needs to be snug.

 

Disconnecting the exhaust pipe means exhaust pipe of the compressor, not the engine exhaust. Brewster might have scared the crap out of IC3566 with the "remove the exhaust".

 

Wouldn't ever want to have to disconnect the exhaust(s) on a Jag!
The job went pretty well apart from one compressor bolt that had to be drilled out. Less than 2 hrs start to finish. - Bagpiping Andy recommended disconnecting the battery, so went with that. The suspension raised, lowered and messed around a bit before settling after hooking the battery back up, also EPB had to be reset - all seems fine on the electrical front. Luckily, the cylinder bore on the compressor was in good order - the piston ring was indeed worn, hopefully the new one fixes my issues. I did still get an amber suspension warning on the way home, but have only started the engine once since everything was hooked back up - hoping that will sort itself out (fingers crossed!)

 

I pulled mine several times. Put some gummy black sealant on the top spring perches. This was to hold them up while fitting it back in. This allowed only having to fight the springs.
Pulled compressor 5 or 6 times after Andy’s kit twice, a different compressor and finally a Arnott. My Missler was noisey as hell and last about a year. Maybe 5,000 miles.
Thought I had a leaking strut. With the Arnott pump it sits for week with no droop.

 

lol that's correct. I should have been more precise with my words!

 

Lc3566,


Sorry I am late to your thread, but for future readers, I photo-documented the compressor rebuild on our '04 XJR. Unfortunately, the large images at Jag-Lovers have been down for an extended period awaiting transfer to their new servers, but the descriptions and thumbnails are still up:

Air Suspension Compressor Rebuild Part 1 of 7
Air Suspension Compressor Rebuild Part 2 of 7
Air Suspension Compressor Rebuild Part 3 of 7
Air Suspension Compressor Rebuild Part 4 of 7
Air Suspension Compressor Rebuild Part 5 of 7
Air Suspension Compressor Rebuild Part 6 of 7
Air Suspension Compressor Rebuild Part 7 of 7

Cheers,

Don

 

I replaced the ring on my compressor yesterday, about three months after I bought Bagpiping Andy's kit. So yeah, I hadn't been looking forward to doing this. It was about a two hour job and the only difficulty for me was getting the compressor back in place and all of the fasteners started. An extra hand would make this much easier but I didn't have one at the time. I completely removed the fender liner just so I wouldn't have to fight with it.
No yellow air suspension warning light so far and the ride seems noticeably better than before.

 

Had suspension failure (eventually found front nearside unit blown apart however on my journey of discovery I replaced the compressor piston ring.
Prior to replacement I disconnected the hose from the defective strut and felt the pressure delivered by the compressor/ reservoir - not very good at all. Post overhaul of the compressor a marked improvement.
I replaced the strut with a patent one as it was probably around an eighth of the price of a genuine strut. I only do a few thousand miles a year so I'm hopeful the cheap replacement will last long enough.

Removing the strut was genuinely OK, even for a 69 year old. The bottom of the strut has a torx headed bolt. Fitted a suitable piece onto my percussion driver and after a couple of goes it spun off.
Reassembly did need me to use a jack to get everything aligned and compressed to enable reassembly.

Found a bilstein strut replacement video on Youtube that gave excellent guidance.

I lowered the car to around 350mm and then started the engine, this enabled the strut to fill prior to taking the weight of the car, also probably helped the height sensor do its job without going into some default.

Next job - car not heating up particularly quickly so am going to replace the thermostat. Diesels I believe do take more time to get warm but mine is very slow, than god for heated seats.......

Any guidance on thermostat replacement gratefully received.

I've also overhauled the brakes and replaced a faulty electric door lock - all within my DIY ability, so far so good.....

WaNTED A COMFORTABLE CAR FOR NOT A LOT OF MONEY - SO FAR THIS CAR HAS TICKED ALL THE BOXES, PARTICULARLY ON THE RUST FRONT!