Last Sunday it was raining and the Suspension failure message came on. After parking it off after restarting and came back after five miles or so. Shocks felt stiff.
I have let it sit all week while waiting on bagpipingandy's rebuild kit. It has not dropped any. I ran the codes last night and got a leveler failure. The message for suspension failure was on.
I plan on pulling compressor this weekend to rebuild. Will this most likely fix it?
What is the next step if it does not cure the issue?

 

Usually, if a compressor needs to be rebuilt, you will get an error indicating the system detected the pump could not get the tank up to the desired pressure within a reasonable amount of time. Of course, that assumes you have no other leaks in the system. If you are getting an error indicating something wrong with a leveler, then it sounds like the issue is with one of the ride height sensors.

 

For about a month I have noticed the stance adjusting when stopped in traffic. Guess I need to look at the linkages. Might have one froze up.

 

Panelhead,

If the code that was stored was the C2302 Leveling Plausibility Error or C2303 Reservoir Plausibility Error, then Andy's piston ring kit may very likely resolve your problem by restoring the compressor's original efficiency. If the code was something else, please post the actual code here and we'll try to assist.

Cheers,

Don

 

Also be aware that the CATS system will default the shocks to 'Hard' until fault codes related to the suspension are deleted. Hence the shocks feeling stiff.

 

Don,
The code is C2302 Leveling Plausibility Error. Just started it up and there was no error message but it was caught in my scanner. Cleared it twice and there is no error. Plan on reringing the Wabco Sunday.
Next time I get home to Nashville I will take you out to eat. Went to the Hattie B's on Charlotte at Thanksgiving and tried the insane. It was too hot. It was just me and my son. He could not eat it. I ate his too. Went back once the rest of the family got there and had the second to the hottest. It was fine.
We stay up North a lot. Like Centerpoint Bar B Que, the Chophouse, and several catfish places. My wife's fave is Chophouse. I like Loveless Cafe. My parents used to take me from the 50's. It used to be close to Percy Warner Park.

 

My wife and I just had a late breakfast at the Loveless Cafe yesterday to celebrate her last day of school (she teaches special needs children at the local elementary school). We like all the places you mentioned except we haven't been to Centerpoint. We also like Jack's BBQ on Trinity Lane (the Lower Broadway location is good too, but in the epicenter of tourist crowds), and Judge Bean's in Brentwood is really good.

If you haven't done the compressor ring before, check the link to phototurorials in my signature line for some photos.

Cheers!

Don

 

Don,
The write up was tremendous help in the rebuild. Couple of comments.
Had trouble spotting the high pressure line and 10mm connection. It is smaller than I thought.
Calling the reinstall of the compressor fidilly is a huge understatement. Spent at least 90 minutes getting it back in. Top grommets kept falling off.
Sad part, the rebuilt compressor did not fix my problem. The error message came back.
Walked around car while it was running. Can hear pump stoking away. Also hear air venting at both rear wheels. Once error message comes on the pump and hissing stop.
Will check again tomorrow night. Car stays level when parked. Will grease the linkage in the rear height adjuster. Then order a new one if still acting up.
Interesting item is car has correct ride height. And does not droop when parked for days.

 

That is a mysterious combinations of symptoms and behavior. If both of your rear air springs were leaking there's no way the car would maintain its ride height for days.

Does the leaking air sound as though it is coming from inside the wheel well, or could it be coming from inside the trunk?

The reason I ask is that I'm wondering if your problem could be a leak in one of the fittings at the valve block or reservoir, which are under the spare wheel. Just thinking out loud, a leak at the air fitting at the valve block for the hose from the compressor might hiss while the compressor was running but cease to hiss when the compressor shut off. The valve block has internal valving to prevent air from the reservoir from leaking back up the compressor line.

The compressor fills the reservoir and the air springs are in turn filled from the reservoir, so as long as sufficient pressure is maintained in the reservoir and the air springs don't leak, proper ride height can be maintained (assuming all the other components are working properly).

However, if there was an air leak between the compressor and valve block, the compressor might not charge the reservoir as quickly as the system expects it to, even with a new piston ring, triggering the fault code.

I don't know if any of the above makes sense, but it might be worth spritzing some soapy water on the air hose fittings on the valve block to check for bubbles that indicate a leak. Take care not to wet the electrical connector for the pressure switch though.

Cheers,

Don

 

I'm doing a lot of preventative maintenance on my 147k mileage 2004 XJ8. One of the changes I made was to replace the compressor -- I also replaced the front shocks with Arnotts and the control arm bushings.

Everything is working, but I've noted two differences. First the new compressor seems considerably louder to me than it used to. On the bench it sounds the same as the old one.

Second, after I put the car in gear and go forward a short distance, the compressor runs for 20 seconds--every time I use the car, even though it is not low. I suspect that something in the suspension programming has changed somehow. Is there any way to get it to reset to original without a mongoose? I have an iCarsoft i930 diagnostic tool. Or, am I wrong and this is normal?

 

"after I put the car in gear and go forward a short distance, the compressor runs for 20 seconds--every time I use the car, even though it is not low."

"am I wrong and this is normal?"

It's normal.

There was a very recent post on here where someone had worked on the compressor and it was very noisy

afterwards.

He found that the rubber mountings were in the wrong position.

Cheers

 

+1 on the rubber mountings

 

I have very busy, let the Jaguar sit all week. Worked on my Audi and changed the oil and some other maintenance in the wife's Sequoia yesterday.
Played with the rain sensor for my car and finally got on the Jaguar. Removed the spare and plastic cover to access the air control valves. Started it up and the air compressor started running. Let it run for about two minutes while walking around listening for leaks. Shut it off and listened some more.
Restarted and let it run for two minutes and shut it off. The compressor had stopped. No codes.
Started up again and compressor stopped right away. No hissing.
I now think what I thought was leaks was the compressor recharging the resevoir. Must have been low. The check valve between the pump and reservoir must hold, not much bleed back when I backed off the 10 mm nut to remove airline from compressor.
I will give it a good run tomorrow to check. It sat a week and did not drop any.
I wish there was a method of adjusting the CATS system. When the code for suspension was on the car ride too stiff. Normally it is too soft. In between would be perfect. My A8 uses the same shocks and is much stiffer. It has a MMI adjustment for ride height and shock stiffness. Takes one minute and done from the console.
I just want 50% higher dampening to be happy.
Have a great Memorial Day!