Hi, Thats good news its all working again.

I would say the release of air is normal when the compressor stops, when the compressor stops it will vent air, just for 1-2 seconds, either to relieve pressure from the compressors airline or to remove moisture, also now your compressor is refurbished the pressure will be 220psi & it will be a louder whoosh than perhaps you were used to. The compressor also tends to stop running when the car stops moving or below 15MPH, As it uses the engine and road noise to mask its own running noise. As long as it is not every time you stop!! It should not run too often.

i'm glad it made the difference and got you back up and working, sounds like stick with bagpipingandy's repair kit!!

best regards

Andy

 

I installed the Arnott air shock yesterday and everything is now good on my XJR. The install went very smoothly and took a novice about 1.5 hours...with a couple of breaks. I did have to use a bottle jack to lift the hub assembly when reconnecting the upper A Arm. That lift made it quite easy. Be aware that there is a nut on the Arnott shock where the air hose connects. This nut needs to be removed before you install the shock. I discovered this after I installed the shock. It was a bit tricky to remove the nut without removing the valve. On the road again.................

 

By the way; it appears that the cause of the failure was that the rubber boot/bladder blew out at the bottom due to an apparent clamp failure. The rubber was fine and all other parts seemed to be comparable to the new shock.

 

Ken, Congratulations on your successful Arnott shock installation!

Could you possibly post some photos of the old shock showing its components, the rubber bladder, and either the failed clamp or the area where the clamp should have been? That would be tremendously useful to our understanding of the Jaguar air suspension system. The air shocks and their various failure modes are still little-understood mysteries.

Cheers,

Don

 

I recently replaced the front struts with the Arnott aftermarket product. One of the struts leaked at the top and Arnott replaced it promptly for no charge. The car now rides fine, BUT, after the car is parked a couple of hours the front end drops to its lowest possible level. When the car is restarted, it takes a few minutes for the struts to re-inflate. In the past, the car did not drop to this low position when parked. I have checked for leaks around the top of the struts and I have listened for leaks around the bladder below. The pump was replaced by a ripoff shop about six months ago. Any thoughts? Is this normal or is there an issue with the compressor? Oddly, after I start the car and apply the brakes, I hear a "whoosh" sound. It seems to be air being pushed through something.
Thank you for any input.

 

I would suspect (based on your description) a leak at one or both of the air line connections at the strut.

 

Hi Ken,

Sorry to hear you are still having issues with your suspension. Abonano has given you good advice to check for leaks at the connectors.

Also, check out the thread at the link below, in which Na5h reports that Arnotts has told him they shipped a batch of leaking struts to customers but believe they have now solved the issue. You may need to discuss your problem with them:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...mp-bad-119260/


I'm not sure what this may mean. I will try to remember to try this on our '04 to see if it behaves in the same way and let you know.

Cheers,

Don

 

I took the before and after pictures, but haven't had time to figure out how to post to this site. I will have my assistant give it a try.

 

Hi Ken,

Today I listened while starting our '04 XJR. I started the car with my foot off the brake, AC off, then applied the brakes. No "whoosh" that I could detect. I tried it again to be sure. I normally start any car with my foot on the brake (old habit from driving manual transmissions), so I had to force myself to start the car with my foot off the brake. Sorry I can't corroborate the behavior of your car. I think you will want to track down the source of the "whoosh" sound.

Please keep us informed. Looking forward to your photos.

Cheers,

Don

 

Sorry I haven't gotten back to you, since I started this thread. I did refurbish my compressor, but it got so complicated because of additional issues, and Don.B's "HOW TO" along with Bagpiper Andy was better than the mess I sorted through.

Well it was still in the dead of the COLD winter of 2014, I got the heater going and removed the compressor after I received the new piston ring and replacement desiccant.


What I found on inspection was a large amount of water in the air dryer section of the compressor. I replaced the ring and desiccant, then during reassembly placed a little metal washer on the wrong side of the rubber check valve between the dyer and the pump assemblies. So after I mounted it, it would not build pressure. So after hours of trouble shooting and taking it on and off twice, I found that I put the steel washer on the wrong side of the check valve.

Then I go to install it. Get it hung and done, then as I'm attaching the airline to the output side of the compressor the compression fitting stripes the threads out of the end of the plastic compressor body. Just perfect.

I found a 1/8" pipe thread to 4mm tubing stainless compression fitting at Grainger. Drove 100 miles round trip to pick one up, since the local shop didn't place the overnight order correctly.

https://www.grainger.com/product/HAM...Code=P2IDP2PCP

To complete this repair, I took a 1/8" 27 pipe tap and after carefully drilling out hole to the proper diameter and depth and tapped the hole. However. because of the taper of the tap, I had to grind off the end of the tap as I went. Repeating this process until the new fitting threaded in completely. Done. Better than factory!

Wrong, reassemble the vent tube and I find I lost the locking ring. No idea where that ended up. So I silicone sealed it in and wire tied it on. Re-installed everything, the new stainless tubing connection worked perfect. Car pumped up and after a little driving everything is fine.

I think the big problem with my system was not an air leak, worn out piston ring but water accumulating in the dryer section and freezing causing valves or air to be blocked. The new desiccant was probably the solution in my case. Next time if this happens again, I'll get a new compressor or trash everything and install coil overs. Thanks for all your help.

Sincerely, Ed

 

Ed,

I'm glad the desiccant was helpful, but to me you have raised an important insight - the accumulation of water or condensation in the air dryer itself causing problems when it freezes. That possibility had not occurred to me. Our compressor had some corrosion on the large spring that compacts the desiccant beads, but I did not notice any actual water in the dryer.

From my research on air suspensions, I have been seriously considering adding a remote-controlled water trap between the reservoir and valve block, which can be opened and purged at the touch of a button. But I don't think a water trap in that location would protect against water accumulation in the dryer (which is part of the compressor assembly). Do you have any thoughts on what could be done to prevent the water problem in the dryer?

Cheers,

Don

 

Hi Guys,

to give my thoughts, although sometimes not reliable!!
the water is supposed to be in the drier chamber that is where the moisture is stored and kept to prevent it entering the system after the compressor, even a ew compressor will build up moisture after it gets hot and cools, even the whoosh of air would struggle to get moisture out the drier, it is not stored as water though it is soaked up by the silicon beads, even if saturated in the drier the water would freeze and cause no issues in the drier unit, only water in the 4mm airlines/valves would cause issues but I have stripped loads of compressors all with a little moisture in the drier unit nothing to cause huge issues, it is just a chamber it is possible water can enter the compressor from outside through seals and things and this could cause water to be in the system if it is freezing water which is causes these issues, the N111 valve on the side of the compressor unit I have seen rusted due to the rubber o-ring split letting water in from the outside, and the white cap with pressure spring also seed rusted,
on another note it seems to be only jaguars which suffer these symptoms in cold weather, hence I suggest the compressor itself may not be at fault as this unit is on many cars, of course im not 100% correct it is just my thoughts but I don't think it is 100% the compressor drier causing this water ingress but maybe a seal or design issue somewhere else on the system,

where though? you ask, I have no idea !!

Andy

 

Just to be more specific. When I removed the desiccant filter, I found I would estimate about 2 tablespoon of water on the down-stream side of the filter that was not absorbed or evacuated by any mechanism of the compressor. Considering that there was no apparent way for water to leak into the compressor, it would seem that the water filtering properties are no longer present. Another aspect of the design is the placement of the compressor low in the remote front of the fender with the air inlet behind the bumper instead of high in the heated engine compartment where gravity and heat may also be a factor in winter. My Lincoln Continental had the compressor mounted high in the engine compartment which never had an issue in 14 years and the compressor ran frequently and also I believe Range Rovers are placed high.


Considering that nothing is leaking prior and now after the mega-rebuild the source of the water must be from within the compressor, which in any case froze somewhere in the system causing the too high and too low condition. The system operates exacting the same before and after the rebuild. The compressor rarely runs. While I am sure that it benefitted from the new ring, the test will come sooner that I want because Winter is only 6 months away. What a drag;(

 

The thought struck me that maybe the inlet/exhaust pipe on the compressor could be modified by lengthening it so it exits somewhere in the engine compartment, or at least somewhere dryer than it currently is.

 

after replacing the suspend comp, now the car is too high in front and will not go down, and is too low in rear. Now what

 

Hi btnelson,

If you haven't driven the car, try driving for a mile or two. It's possible the suspension is in Jacking Mode due to the work you performed and just needs to be driven over a certain speed (3 mph?) in order to return to normal function.

You can download the Air Suspension & ECATS section of the Dealer Training Manual at the link below, which contains explanations of the alternate modes that can be triggered by various conditions:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/7r...on_Section.pdf

Cheers,

Don