That Sinking Feeling - A6 Allroad air suspension problems

[jrenoc1]

As Andy said the spline bolt is a real pain in the a..e!!! It may be the bag is not quite sitting right in the arm, every time I've done them getting that bolt in has been a pain. I think it's trying to refit the bolt without being able to see clearly what your doing , it goes in at what seems like a strange angle.

[54A4Avant]

Thanks, i remember the bolt did come out at a funny angle. Will try again today with fresh energy and with the spline driver canted forwards a little.

[54A4Avant]

Well the spline bolt went in ok in the end. The solution was to use a jack under the suspension arm to bring it up to a level position (rather than hanging down) and then I guess the extra weight the new air bag was taking snugged it down into the recess at the bottom and everything lined up. The bolt does go in at a funny angle. The driver bit needs to be angled inwards to the centre of the car and forwards, maybe 15 degrees each way.

New problem, although the new air bag seems to inflate, it is not rising up to full height and so the extension bars I jammed between the 10mm bolt head at top of damper and the suspension arm will not release. The car is still in lift mode and when I start the car and try to switch off jacking mode on the MMI, around 5 seconds later jacking mode switches back on.

If I knock the extension bars out of position and put the wheel back on, then lower off the Jack stands, that corner sinks to the bump stops. It's just not inflating properly and again jacking mode switches back on when I try to switch it off. Have checked the airline connection and its tightened fully and hisses when I unscrew it so I'm a bit puzzled what's going on... Leaking air bag perhaps?

[dan2485]

Check that the leveling sensor arm has not become detached or bent.

If it does not move then it will not inflate or deflate.

You will know what a leaking air bag will be as the compressor will be constantly running and you here the leak.

Google Audi ssp 242.

This give you good understanding. I'm not allowed to post up a link.

[jrenoc1]

Sometimes it can take a good 3 or 4 attempts for the bag to fully inflate. I unfortunately had the issue that due to the airbag failure the compressor destroyed itself. Mine inflated after 15 20 min of turning on and off.
How does the compressor sound?
smooth or noisey ?

[54A4Avant]

Thanks guys, the ssp241 was a very good tip and I enjoyed reading up on how the system works. I don't think the level sensor is damaged or misaligned on my car, I think it was just my misunderstanding about how the system works, as the car was still jacked up on the side I was working on when I was testing before. Today I took it off the Jack stand and partially lowered the car jack so the left side of the car where I fitted the new airbag was lower than the right, then I started it up and the car did come up, allowing me to remove the Jack fully.

Now jacking mode mode will switch off and stay off and the car is self supporting on all four corners. The back left corner on which I've been working is 10mm lower than the other side (745mm from ground to top of wheel arch versus 755mm) and ill monitor it over 24 hrs to see if it changes, before trying to swap the other side airbag.

Thanks for all the support, it's a bit scary doing "big" stuff like this on your own car, eh?!

jrenoc1, I cannot hear my compressor over the noise of the engine, or did you mean I should listen with the engine off? I have one of Andy's compressor repair kits and vague plans to recon the compressor after the dust settles from my airbag change, so if it is worn out hopefully it will be renewed before too long.

[jrenoc1]

It's a scary thing to start tearing apart our pride and joy, however the sense of achievement is brilliant.

I cycled through the heights a few times and this seemed to sort and calibrate if you don't have access to a Ross tech lead .

you shouldn't really hear the compressor, I just wondered as mine got really noisy before it killed itself.

The ring kit is a walk in the park after you've done the bags, best advice is to use a jack with a piece of wood on to support the compressor whilst unbolting it.

[54A4Avant]

Thanks - will get to the compressor sometime but it's not a priority. Results are in and having parked the car in dynamic mode overnight, the rear right side (which I didn't change yet) sunk to the stops as usual but rear left with the new air Spring is still carrying the car's weight, so I'll call that a success and move on to do the other side if I get a chance today, but certainly by the weekend. Will try to video it for future benefit of others, but getting some of the shots is going to be tricky.

[54A4Avant]

I did the second side today. Same song and dance routine trying to get the spline bolt in. The fix which worked on the first side (jacking the suspension arm up) wasn't working and in the end I had to use an inspection mirror and a Philips screwdriver in the hole to jiggle the threaded insert into line. I'm not in a hurry to do that again, but ultimately my cheap Chinese Aliexpress air springs have turned out to fit ok, hopefully they last.

i did take some video, but getting the right shots was a bit beyond me at times. When I get time I'll edit it and post up.

[jrenoc1]

It's a nice feeling when it's all done , a faff at times but ultimately you did it and could if you had to do it again.
when I got my allroad I knew the bags were on there way out and used it as a barginig tool.

i intended to get more photos but kept forgetting, although there's info about , there's not many photos.