Town Car air suspension problems? Read this thread!

[TownCars1]

My driver side shock has a leak, can anyone explain (in detail) how to remove and install a new one? Please

How about a detailed video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofpDKEly5mI

 

[TCUltimate2004]

seeing that makes it look not hard to do. ford said they could put them in after i buy them, $251.50 for the pair through O'reillys there price they quoted me was $450.00, said something about after it would need an alignment.

 

[TownCars1]

said something about after it would need an alignment.

That's awesome!

Gotta love how they sucker their customers. There's nothing about changing the air springs that has anything to do with the alignment! The car will even have the exact same ride height as opposed to a coil spring change. But still, this is a solid rear axle, and you're not touching any of the suspension arms or bushings. LOL

 

[zinctwentyone]

seeing that makes it look not hard to do. ford said they could put them in after i buy them, $251.50 for the pair through O'reillys there price they quoted me was $450.00, said something about after it would need an alignment.

I bought mine from amazon which are Arnott brand and so far so good, they seem excellent and only $84.00 each, 2 days shipping.

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[All2kool]

seeing that makes it look not hard to do. ford said they could put them in after i buy them, $251.50 for the pair through O'reillys there price they quoted me was $450.00, said something about after it would need an alignment.

O'Reilly's may think you have a Lincoln Continental which has Air Shocks at all four wheels but I still can't understand why an alignment would be needed even then. As for Arnotts's, I've heard many owners do not care for the stiffer ride they provide and wish they had paid a little extra for OEM Firestone's. Replacement should be done in pairs too. When the Rear Air Suspension on my '96 Cartier failed, I installed Variable Rate Coil Springs and never looked back. To me, the ride quality was exactly the same and knowing I would never experience a RAS again failure was quite comforting.

Good luck.

 

[GOLD95EXEC]

Thanks everyone. Looks a lot easier than I thought

 

[TCUltimate2004]

so i should look for firestone ones? i saw a post on craigslist selling a set of new ones for $100, even had the pictures. i would have to ask how long hes had them and how long they have been in storage. and the price is for the pair. i may, MAY try this on my own, just to see how easy it is. well i didnt find the one for $100 for the pair, found another one for $250, for that price hes offering i can pay the same an get 2 new ones. i may check amazon as one mentioned for the pair.

 

[TCUltimate2004]

good news today, my new arrnot air springs came today. will be working on it later on when it cools down some, like to get both in but since the one has the leak and will be easy to remove, may just do the one and wait for the other to go. Any tips to help get the air out of the left side without damaging the air spring?

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[TownCars1]

good news today, my new arrnot air springs came today. will be working on it later on when it cools down some, like to get both in but since the one has the leak and will be easy to remove, may just do the one and wait for the other to go. Any tips to help get the air out of the left side without damaging the air spring?

I highly advise you replace the other one while you are down there. If one went, the other is right behind it and may already be leaking slowly but not as bad as the other one.

 

[zinctwentyone]

Glad you went with the Arnott's they have been great for me and I am pretty sure I will get some serious longevity out of them. I agree with the comments, I wonder what the heck happened to Town, he was great and never had any crap to throw out there.
I don't know how to remove the air from them besides stabbing it with t a screw driver is what I did, but not recommended.

 

[GeneLaw1]

Glad you went with the Arnott's they have been great for me and I am pretty sure I will get some serious longevity out of them. I agree with the comments, I wonder what the heck happened to Town, he was great and never had any crap to throw out there.
I don't know how to remove the air from them besides stabbing it with t a screw driver is what I did, but not recommended.

Agree 100% with the comments on this forum, Town was awesome and has helped me tremendously, but he probably got tired of the all BS too.

 

[TCUltimate2004]

Glad you went with the Arnott's they have been great for me and I am pretty sure I will get some serious longevity out of them. I agree with the comments, I wonder what the heck happened to Town, he was great and never had any crap to throw out there.
I don't know how to remove the air from them besides stabbing it with t a screw driver is what I did, but not recommended.

Me too, they said it would take and hour to change both.. but with just the bad one and trying to get the solenoid to go back in and the snap clip to pop in, it took all hands on deck and 3 hrs later i had it in. It doesnt "kick in" under hard brakes. Is it normal to run sometimes after tarting the car or having people in the back seat, or will i need to ruin the other OEM ford one and put the arnott one on?

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[wa9zug]

What if you jacked up the rear end with the Air spring switch on? That would vent both bags as the puter would sense the rear end is too high. Then, maybe it would be easier to remove the remaining old air spring.

 

[TownCars1]

I know a couple ways to drain the air out of the air bags, but I am too lazy to type them right now.

 

[dumpsterguy840]

Sorry for the long delay, did some four wheeling with the Town Car and she has been incapacitated for the past month or so in my garage. I decided to revisit the air suspension leak again. I put the rear on 2 jack stands & I used a floor jack to raise the rear axle to engage the air suspension low switch so that she would kick in when I started her. I pulled the solenoid out of the spring and started the car, in doing this I was able to identify a leak in my air hose. I purchased extra hose and a coupling online from Suncore and repaired the leaking line. I also put petroleum jelly on the o-rings before I put the solenoid back into the airbag She's air tight again! The four wheeling created a leaky rear end and a new topic. Thanks for everyone's feedback on this topic.

 

[towncar timmy]

Strutmasters. Com has conversion kit and air ride kits .not bad price. I got the conversion kit. Two new front shocks ,two new nack shocks and springs .took about three hours came with all detailed instructions and lifetime warrenty

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[mindmaster]

I'm Johnny come lately on the thread -- don't know if I'm necroing here but I apologize if that is the case. I just recently obtained a 1997 Town Car and the whole damn thing is leaning to the left (right high) -- no check suspension lights or anything else anyone have a clue where to start with checking this out? I'm not really an auto freak, but I have more time than money and a basic understanding of repairing things.

 

[Phr2015linc2]

Hello, I decided to put my question in this existing older thread, as it will not get lost in shuffling down. Do I have an electrical problem, if the rear leveling system compressor comes on, with car off, ignition key switch off, key removed, and car doors locked up?. Wife had just come back from wally world then took some items out of trunk..not real heavy items, a portable electric heater ~ 10lbs, 2 small bags groceries ~ 15lbs.
I just happened to be working on my motor home, (was in a campground, and the 07 Linc Town Car Sig Limited was parked close to where I was....It had been ~ 45 minutes. I heard the air compressor come on. No key in ignition. Compressor run about 30-35 seconds, bringing rear of Town Car to trim or normal level. In looking at this thread...I found this statement......

Should the compressor kick in if the car is not running?
The engine does not have to be running, just the ignition switch in the run position.

Except when the key is in the OFF position, the RAS system is active for 60 minutes after the switch was put in the OFF position and may run if needed to get it back to trim height.

In reading this statement sounds like is working as designed?

 

[xjmi]

Question air compresser kicks on if the town car is stoped then started with in 5 min. no leaks in air shocks or selonides any suggestions

 

[FrankWDoom]

I have a 98 Town Car. The air suspension light is on and the rear is on the ground. The compressor isn't doing anything at all now. Does that mean the compressor is out? I'm pretty sure it was running up until a few days ago at least. How do I diagnose what part of this system has failed?