Air ride suspension on 05 Envoy leaking

[nachop]

I have confirmed that the boots on the air bags are leaking. I plan on replacing the air bag and I do not want to switch to coil springs. I have read that
Arnott is brand to use. I did a search, but could not find a "how to" on this. How difficult is this to do. Does it require any special tools? Thanks for any replies.

 

[The_Roadie]

It's sort of obvious when you take the old ones out, but when you get the vehicle up on jack stands, support the rear diff with a floor jack and remove one bolt from each of the rear shocks. Then you can lower the pumpkin of the rear diff and take the weight off the air bags. Remove the compressor fuse so it doesn't try to do anything. The air bags are retained at their top by three bolt heads that you just rotate the air bag a bit to free up.

Arnott doesn't have a PDF or anything?

 

[linneje]

When you buy the Arnott replacements, they come with instructions.

IIRC there are some pictures on the old site which were helpful. In practice, though, with all of the mud and crud which gets in there I found it pretty difficult to rotate the old springs to be able to free them and get them out.

I think the first one came out with two minutes of work, but the second took much longer. I remember having to encourage another poster to fight with it, as they gave up after a couple of minutes of trying to loosen them. But they persevered and got them off.

The rest of the job is quite straightforward. No special tools required - some pliers, screwdriver and a wrench if I recall.

 

[linneje]

http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthread.php?t=73963

The above is the thread with the pictures. The pictures show a really clean air spring coming out ... boy mine had so much dirt and mud caked on the top, it was no wonder they were so hard to get out.

If that happens to you, try reaching up with a screwdriver or such to loosen up the material on top of the plastic mount for the air spring.

 

[nachop]

Thanks for the help guys.

 

[northcreek]

If you get the OEM bags from Arnott as I did, they will come with instructions...Mike.

 

[Lonestar245]

Not sure if it is kosher to promote a dealer, but if you buy from FCP Euro (they are on the web), they have a price match, as well as a lifetime warranty. I have purchased parts form them for my Volvo, and they are easy to work with, including returns.

 

[BuckeyeEvan]

I am not sure if you have done it already BUT I replaced mine while they still held air. (one side was about 1-2 inch lower on one side so I had both replaced before anythng bad happened. Mechanic said one side seemed a bit softer but it was holding air.) I would be happy to sell you my old used OEM set for $10 plus shipping. They came from my 08 so I suspect (hope) you should get a few more good years out of one of them. The 'soft' one should work ok you'll just notice one side will be a little bit lower.

 

[nachop]

Thanks for the offer, but I did buy new ones from Arnott. The installation was really easy, but the new bags are not inflating. The old air bags were still inflating prior to taking them off. What could have happened? I didn't disconnect anything other than the fuse for the compressor/air ride suspension. The compressor IS working. I turned it on manually. When I start the Envoy, am I just not letting it run long enough? Is there a reset procedure. Thanks again for any replies.

 

[BuckeyeEvan]

Just thinking your connections are not sealed. Did you check your lines?

you can test the compressor by running the air inflator. (that thing located in back area in the side panel)

 

[nachop]

Yes sir. As stated above, the compressor IS working, but it will not kick on to inflate the air bags. It was working fine, which is why I was wondering if there was a reset procedure.

 

[fossil85]

I just did this today on my 04 Rainier. You have to lower the vehicle down to get the sensors to trigger the compressor. If you still have it sitting on jack stands, nothing will happen. I turned on the key and removed the jack stands and slowly let it down. The compressor started running and took a minute to pump enough air to fill both air springs. I was very happy when it started to lift up. It seems to be holding air.