I'm still confused (not unusual). My understanding is that the O.D. of the air hoses are 4mm and 6mm, so if the O-rings slip onto the brass fittings, and not the hoses, don't the O-rings have to be larger than 4mm and 6mm respectively?

Photo 7 in the album at the link below shows where the O-ring seats on the brass fitting and that the O-ring appears to be significantly larger than the air hose (front hose at the compressor is shown):

Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page

Thanks,

Don

 

from what I know the O-Ring slips into the fitting as you tighten the nut. (Jaguar refers to the end connectors as 6mm and 4mm sizes) but I think the actual nut size could be bigger in both instances (in the pic the nut which we know is for the 6mm air line is being removed with a 10mm wrench) - your guess is as good as mine at this point...

 

The "nut" is actually part of the brass threaded fitting, at least in the case of the joint at the compressor shown in my photo. The fitting compresses a small brass split collar, or "olive," which can also be seen in the right photo of the pair (image 7 in the album). The O-ring fits on the brass fitting next to the hexagonal "nut" portion of the fitting. Since the nut is 10mm across its flats, the O-ring must be in the range of 8mm or 9mm O.D. ?

When I get a chance, I may disconnect that fitting again and measure the O-ring.

Don

 

Photos on Compression fittings and air valve O-Rings, air line is 6mm OD.

Photos are of front fittings, rear O-rings are fine so they are not going to be replaced as yet.

 

Use a "Leak Detector" spray (or soapy water) to locate possible "Air-Leak" areas. My right shocks had air leaking at all the points indicated by the arrows. I first tightened the strut nut then the compression nut and valve, the leak stopped in both areas but was still leaking from the top of the strut.

 

reyesl,

Your last two posts are some of the most helpful I've seen on air suspension leaks! Thank you for adding this valuable information to our collective knowledge!

Cheers,

Don

 

Thank you all, what a breakthrough !

Here is a sheet with information about O-rings, their description, temp range, durometer and color from Welcome to O-rings.com:



On their compound profiles page they write about Viton :
"Many industrial products are now switching to Orings made of VITON®, making it the most significant elastomer development in 50 years."

There are also pages in german for Celsius fans :
O-Ring von arcus - O-Ringe sofort lieferbar

I feel embarrased about the durability of the "made in germany" products of Bilstein and Wabco. If steel springs would go on the fritz so early their manufacturers would be punished by the TÜV. What a shame !

Thanks

 

I am currently dismantling one of my original shocks to verify if there are any owner replaceable components. I will be posting photos after it is dismantled.Currently, I don’t see any user replaceable components.

 

PHEWWWW_____
There for a minute I thought we where talking about new "O" rings to repair the leaking top part of the air suspension system (air Shock)------ the part where the system normally fails, but the post quickly turned around to the "o" ring for the supply line going into the top of the system once installed. I thought there for a minute we had someone who was taking an air shock apart to replace the leaking top "O" ring........... oh well, back to the drawing board and the Sunday paper....

 

Unfortunately, Chuck, the top of the shock is sealed by a complex shape rubber (or something) moulding specifically made to keep the air in. My technical notes has a cutaway diagram showing this. It would have been nice if Bilstein had made these easily replaceable as much expense would be avoided with this system. New Bilsteins at £700 a pop, good business if you're Bilstein !

 

I have successfully cut a portion of the top section (Cut-Away) and can identify 2 rubber seals that are defiantly not replaceable. I have to continue cutting into the top strut mount to determine what is there. I did notice that the strut has a slight leak and the top portion of the strut (Rod) is exposed within the top air chamber.

 

Sorry acciedntal post. Please delete

 

The Bilstein air struts used on ADI A8 are almost identical to the Jaguar model. The difference is there are four individual struts, the front or rear are unique to the side of the vehicle.
The other difference is they do not seem to leak at the top.
All leaks I have seen referenced are the bladder. There are bladders available on eBay for 200.00. Several members have chafed to these with positive feedback.
Another member has replaced two o-rings and said that fixed his air springs. He is confident these two o-rings are a failure point.
The Audi air spring do seem to hold up better than Jaguar. This winter three of the Jaguar struts started leaking. Warm weather "fixed" them. I still get a leak, just have not figured out which strut. Tried the soapy water and never seen a bubble.
The A8 is a 2005, original struts and compressor. The cold weather did not phase it.
Not sure if the fixes for the Audi struts will work on a Jaguar strut. If o-rings is the answer it would be great.

 

Deleted

 

where can you buy the air valve pictured with the 6mm ID x 8mm OD

8zero49439988
Larry