Rear suspension collapsed - No air pressure

DruLS · May 17, 2020

Just had a look under the car and it appears the height sensor has come off it's mounting. That would explain the issue. Thank God it's not a bad strut.

RgrWynne · May 17, 2020

Not bad news then really , speak to Frosty and get a replacement he is not far from you 👍

steve2006 · May 17, 2020

Is it the connecting link that has broken as that is a common issue? I can’t see from the picture.

If you move the sensor arm upwards the car should then rise up.

bobjol · May 17, 2020

My problem was caused by the bottom bracket becoming detached from the arm. Welding solved it, but whole linkage was replaced later.

The-Acre · May 17, 2020

3 hours ago, DruLS said:

Just had a look under the car and it appears the height sensor has come off it's mounting. That would explain the issue. Thank God it's not a bad strut.

Good result hopefully. Can you maybe post some more photos, it may help someone along the line.

DruLS · May 17, 2020

It's snapped off here at the control arm.

So looks like I'll need to replace that. I'm going to JB weld it into place for now, just to confirm that's the only issue. Of course that can't be a permanent fix.

Tulpen · May 18, 2020

3 hours ago, Greer said:

He must be making his fortune on the LS suspension, seems to a constant, prollfic problem, that is not what a luxury car is about, the Ive looked at another forum & fro what I've read the Merc Airmatic is problem free, so the airmatic highlights what a luxury car is

For someone who is 'persona non grata', you're very persistent............

Shahpor · May 18, 2020

3 hours ago, Greer said:

He must be making his fortune on the LS suspension, seems to a constant, prollfic problem, that is not what a luxury car is about, the Ive looked at another forum & fro what I've read the Merc Airmatic is problem free, so the airmatic highlights what a luxury car is

"He must be making his fortune on the LS suspension, which seems to be a constant, prolific problem. That is not what a luxury car is about. I've looked at another forum & from what I've read the Merc Airmatic is problem free, so the Airmatic highlights what a luxury car is"

Fixed it for you

41 minutes ago, Tulpen said:

For someone who is 'persona non grata', you're very persistent.........…

He does seem to go out of his way to alienate people...

The-Acre · May 18, 2020

5 hours ago, Greer said:

He must be making his fortune on the LS suspension, seems to a constant, prollfic problem, that is not what a luxury car is about, the Ive looked at another forum & fro what I've read the Merc Airmatic is problem free, so the airmatic highlights what a luxury car is

Mercedes air suspension is actually every bit as unreliable, as is Jaguar, Audi, Range Rover and others. Personally I don't think Lexus air suspension is all that unreliable. As is often said, we only read about the problems which can make us believe they're all cursed. And I don't think it's unreasonable to expect these problems with cars being 15-20 years old.

royoftherovers · May 18, 2020

1 hour ago, The-Acre said:

Mercedes air suspension is actually every bit as unreliable, as is Jaguar, Audi, Range Rover and others. Personally I don't think Lexus air suspension is all that unreliable. As is often said, we only read about the problems which can make us believe they're all cursed. And I don't think it's unreasonable to expect these problems with cars being 15-20 years old.

I have the same view regarding Mercedes. I have one Merc and belong to two Merc Forums.

Greer you are just wrong.If you cannot contribute sensibly and in a manner which is expected and indeed, required, then do not contribute.

runsgrateasanut · May 18, 2020

Please don't feed the Troll.

BigBoomer · May 19, 2020

I had a 2001 S320CDI W220 that had the front right air strut explode whilst parked.
I was about 15' away and the bang made me jump. I replaced it with a used air strut.
Lots of examples of busted air suspension on the W220 forums. Problems with sensors, struts, and the compressors.
From what I have seen on here and on the US forum, the LS seems way more reliable.

My W220 lasted me 18 months/30,000 miles and I have never been so glad to see the back of a car.
Without doubt the most unreliable car I have ever owned. It had an endless stream of electrical faults and when the turbo oil seals went after 130k miles I gave up and got shot of it to a breakers. When I started the engine it would sometimes open the passenger window or the sunroof, or turn on the radio.
It would also just switch off the engine at 70mph for no apparent reason. Had to put it into neutral to restart it. Thank :censored: it was an auto!
Superb seats, lovely interior, atrocious turbo lag and (for a top of the range luxury car) ***** poor build quality. Put me off Mercs for life.

So far the LS is 2½ years and 35,000 miles in and I have only had to replace one lambda sensor, the exhaust Y-pipe, and the air-con has stopped working.
Seats are not as comfy but the build quality is WAY ahead of the Merc.

DruLS · May 19, 2020

As far as I can tell, the mounting points on the lateral arm had just corroded away meaning the sensor became disconnected. The other side is still on there but is corroding away. I've just put some JB weld on there for now which should hopefully hold. Rock Auto seem to stock these parts pretty cheap so I'm going to order replacement parts from them.

Jake430 · May 19, 2020

Good luck, f that is all that's broken l stand corrected. I still don't understand why both sides collapsed

steve2006 · May 19, 2020

19 minutes ago, Jake430 said:

Good luck, f that is all that's broken l stand corrected. I still don't understand why both sides collapsed

As I explained early in the thread mine did the same with one broken spring, the other working one has the whole weight of the back end on it and drops due to this as well.....well that’s my theory.

Jake430 · May 19, 2020

One bag will hold its own side up, if not the bag will burst since the air has no where to go.

DruLS · May 19, 2020

Also not sure why both sides went down. The mount on the other side was on it's way out but was still connected. This JB weld thing is just a proof of concept. If it holds up once it's set then I know it was just the disconnected sensor. If I can confirm that, that's when I'll start ordering parts.

Jake430 · May 19, 2020

Till you get them pumped up l would safely jack up the car so as not to damage the bags.

The-Acre · May 19, 2020

I'm sure you know this but the car shouldn't be jacked up when you run the compressor.

DruLS · May 19, 2020

Car is already jacked up so it's not sitting on the bags.

Jake430 · May 19, 2020

Key off. Where would you go. Don't leave the bags bottomed out.

The-Acre · May 19, 2020

1 hour ago, DruLS said:

Car is already jacked up so it's not sitting on the bags.

I would have it only very slightly jacked when starting then lower it right down to fill the bladders, otherwise it can make the system freak out, although it can be reset.

DruLS · May 19, 2020

Just now, The-Acre said:

I would have it only very slightly jacked when starting then lower it right down to fill the bladders, otherwise it can make the system freak out, although it can be reset.

That's what I was planning on doing. I've had a situation before where I've had the car jacked up off all fours, and when lowered it just bottomed out until the compressor filled the bags back up. Had that with both cars so must just be a quirk these cars have. I wonder if there's a correct procedure to jack these up. I know some cars with air ride have it.

The-Acre · May 19, 2020

34 minutes ago, DruLS said:

That's what I was planning on doing. I've had a situation before where I've had the car jacked up off all fours, and when lowered it just bottomed out until the compressor filled the bags back up. Had that with both cars so must just be a quirk these cars have. I wonder if there's a correct procedure to jack these up. I know some cars with air ride have it.

I'm not sure. Jacking up without the engine running is of course fine, I guess with the engine running the sensors are sending wrong messages.

39buss · May 19, 2020

On 5/17/2020 at 10:06 PM, DruLS said:

It's snapped off here at the control arm.

So looks like I'll need to replace that. I'm going to JB weld it into place for now, just to confirm that's the only issue. Of course that can't be a permanent fix.

Could you use an exhaust clamp on that arm and pass the bracket under it to secure it or drill a hole in the flat part and pass the "U" bolt leg through it to secure it.