This $15 space heater has saved my @$$ during this Dallas cold snap. I replaced the passenger side air spring myself a couple weeks back and all seemed fine. Then, a cold morning came. Lo and behold, the driver's side sprung a leak! For hopefully just another little while, our family is on a VERY tight budget, so another air spring just isn't in the cards right now.

So, I wracked my brain, and the solution came: put a space heater in the wheel well to keep the shock warm! This little heater is about the size of a brick, uses 200 Watts of power and is cool to the touch on its surface. It works like a CHARM. Yes, when I leave, the air bag cools, but not so much that all air is lost. I'm getting by. Without it, the suspension sinks to the stops and the compressor won't lift it enough before it gives up and throws "Suspension Fault". Pics attached.

 

I've got one of those heaters for my office.

 

SuperT-

Just curious, at what temperature does this condition occur?

Thanks

 

it shows symptoms below around 40 degrees Fahrenheit, but the suspension sinks to the stops and air hisses out the driver's air spring below around 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Love my coilovers!

 

My front suspension lowered at temps at or below 40 degrees F. Works fine now, after replacing with Arnott's. I do love the looks when the front is lowered!





This only occurs if your airbag is worn, cracked/torn, leaking airline or fitting. If your air-shocks are fine, you will not have this fault.

 

I'll replace my bags for under $500 for both, one at a time, by biding my time and being a smart consumer. I bought an X350 knowing about the "weak link" of the air suspension going in, and I don't want to sign away the automatic ride leveling, an integral component of "CATS", because of a perception that the factory setup is somehow deficient or unreliable. To me, that's akin to having someone else's legs transplanted onto my body. If I wanted coilovers, I'd buy a car that didn't have air suspension.

Another way to look at this is that the manufacturers of suspension components like Macpherson struts and shock absorbers mostly state that the time to replace these components is around every 75K miles. My car went 78K before I replaced a shock due to leaking. In my book, that's not a reason to bail on the OEM setup, but a reason to find a reasonably priced replacement.

 

I find this post very interesting, I have always assumed that the rubber air bag can fail when it gets cold and it then has to be replaced but clearly there is something else going on in this case.

I like to get down to the nitty gritty of failures and wonder if anyone can shed some light on this?

Owners in the USA seem to be very prone to this failure for some reason.

 

I closely observed my right air-shocks for about 2 months last winter, taking photos, measurements, and testing a theory. First, I have a little experience with metallurgy (Machine Shop/Welding Instructor) and what can happen in different temps.
Back to the suspension and the questions I had:
1. Why does air escapes at temps 40 degrees F and lower?
2. Why is the air-leak location on top of the shock assy?

I searched on-line for a used shock assy that I could cut open and inspect/remove the internal components, all listed were $250 and up (must have gold components).

Made the following conclusion:
1. At temps 40 degrees F and lower, the top portion of the shock assy allows air to escape due to the contraction of the metals.
2. At temps above 40 degrees F, the metals expand sufficiently to seal the air within the housing.
3. I need to acquire a used air-shock assy to confirm my theory or obtain a high definition copy of the first photo.

I used the following photos for my test:

 

Hey, that's the same thing that killed the Challenger space shuttle in the '80's...launching in freezing teperatures the booster seals leaked!

John

 

Luv dem coilovers.

 

Some people like fake breasts too