Hello all,

Well it is once again getting cold here in the DC area and today was 25-27 degrees. My suspension system was flat to the ground and upon starting it three of the for corners rose to the correct height. The front right corner was the only one that refuses to lift at this point. I noticed the same thing last night when the car was fine on all four corner and the front right dropped while I was driving. Seeing as the the other four are lifting correctly, is this still just the dreaded cold weather bug or does it sound like my front right air suspension needs to be replaced? My car is out of warranty next month so if it seems like a bigger issue than that one side I may just change to the coil-over kit and call it a day.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Rob

 

Hi Rob,

Does the offending corner lift level at all?

if it sinks when parked but lifts again in the morning this is typically a leak, if it does not lift at all then either a very large leak on that corner or a level sensors/valve issue to that corner.

if its under warranty get it back to them

regards

Andy

 

If you can manage it, (weather on the east coast) get a spray bottle and fill it with soapy water (using water is actually a bad idea on the suspension but it works). Start the car and let it warm to normal temp (give the suspension time to do its thing), open the hood and spray some solution on the airline-fitting mounted on top of the shock (black arrow). If it bubbles, the problem might be a loose fitting or worn O-rings. If no bubbles at the fitting, try spraying around the inside of the top of the shocks (area around red arrow). If bubbles appear there, you might need a new shock.

 

Just so you know, the front is controlled as a single item, the rear air units are controlled separately, so it does sound like a duff spring unit.

 

I have the exact same issue on my 04 XJR. This only happens when the temperature drops to the 30's, the rubber starts to shrink here. Not a big deal for me since we only get a few cold days in Texas.
My solution is to warm up the car until warm, the air suspension fault light will come in when the compressor stops (safety feature to prevent overworking it) Once it's been running warm restart the car to restart the compressor and I'm on my way.

This seems to go away when the cold weather stays constant for a few days.

Since your car is still under warranty I'll have them replace the air strut.

I can't say about the coil over kit. I've read the air struts are easy to replace and not too expensive.

 

If your warranty is running out next month I'd not only have them fix the problem, I'd go over the car with a fine-tooth comb and find any issues you might have missed.

 

Thanks for the replies, gentlemen. Jaguar says that the front right corner bladder is done for and needs to replace the entire unit. They are quoting me $1200 to complete the job with a re-manufactured shock. I looked at Arnotts website and I can get the same part for around $450 and about $300 in labor. I am assuming that best thing is to replace both of the fronts at the same time. Unfortunately, I am on the "Select Edition" warranty which does not cover the shock from what I am being told by the dealer because the internal reserve "springs" are considered wear items. Go figure.

Any thoughts on going with Arnott for the replacement?

 

All bullsh*t of course, but Jaguar don't want to spend out on spring units that cost the earth ! So just whose "remanufactured shock" are they going to use ? As far as I know, only Arnott rebuild these units by putting in a new air spring diaphragm, and a new bottom bush. The shock part is not rebuilt. The original supplier, Bilstein, supply new ones at a rather eye-watering price, but even so, less than the Jaguar price for the same thing. Go figure !!

Steering-Suspension | Jaguar XJ - X350 - XJR | British Parts UK

I have seen used ones on a UK supplier site for £185. When I spoke to them, they said they came off parted-out cars with reasonably low miles, and would replace them if they failed to work, but no guarantee, of course.

The only reason to replace both sides is if the shocks are worn. Air springs don't sack-out like steel coils, so no worries replacing just the one if your miles are up to around 80k, I'd say.

 

I replaced my right rear with a rebuilt from Arnott. Took about 20 minutes and it works great.