Major suspension problem

[mannyo]

Here are the pictures.

I guess I'll need a drivers side front strut, as cheap as possible and to find someone very locally to fit it.

Possibly a compressor in the near future. I wonder if the reason for seeing 7 bar is that some of the air is escaping from the front drivers strut.



I am still only doing a minimum wage job, so need to keep costs as small as possible.

Why, when I've had no trouble with this car for 5 1/2 years do things start going wrong when you are trying to sell it and nobody is biting despite being for sale since July last year.

[Architex_mA8tey]

Ive put 3 different replacement struts onto 3 corners of my A8L D3 so far, and a new compressor.
I think youd need to replace both the compressor (or fix it) and the air jack because the jack leaking is one issue and then the compressor putting out 7 bar is never going to keep the system fed with enough air even when fixed or you may still get orange fault light where the compressor times out due to overheat.

When I changed my compressor it pumped so much more pressure the car then levelled before i had even changed my front leaking strut but if you dont change the strut then the new compressor will just get worn out much more quickly through over-use eventually as it will be on for much more of the time to constantly top up the leaking jack. That said, a new compressor may give you some time to wait and pay for a new air jack.

[Dezzy]

Hey Mannyo, you can always mix some fairy liquid with water and trigger spray it all over the air bag to confirm it's the source of the air loss, you get lots of bubbles

[mannyo]

I might well do that Dezzy, I think I'll order a used strut from ebay from the newest donor car that I can find. There is one at a local breakers and maybe able to get them down on price.

Are they sided, I don't think they are, and can I get any old non sport one be it from diesel or petrol and pre or post facelift?

The compressor seemed to do a reasonable job of raising the working struts, and did cut off normally when I had the jack under the drivers front raised to the correct height.

BTW, I used the VCDS measuring blocks to increase the front drivers wheel to where there was almost no deviation from the expected height so the car neither released or tried to add air to the drivers strut. When I did that the passenger side came right up as soon as I switched off jack mode and then the compressor shut off as it should.

[Dezzy]

The Ambul8 was dropping on the rear axle over night and I sprayed the 4 bags on the back of that, rear bags bubbled like mad, so replaced them all good after that. Do the 8's have an emergency fill point? the Ambo has a Schrader valve under the bonnet so you can full with an air line in an emergency.

[mannyo]

I can get a front strut pulled from a 2004 diesel locally for less than £100 which includes the strut mounting bracket.

https://www.trents.co.uk/car-parts/m...f-strut-106994

The part number appears to be 4E0616040AF. Given the age of the car it was pulled from, I wonder if that is the original part or has been replaced in the past.

My only worries about doing this sway are the bolts that hold the upper arms in place and the one at the bottom that holds the strut onto the control arm. I guess these will be a pain to remove due to corrosion.

[GH77]

Replace the air strut this way - https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a8-...heavy-2954502/

No need to tackle pinch bolts etc. Only thing you'll need which you likely won't have is a 41mm socket. I got a 41mm box spanner from my local tool store which was 36mm at the opposite end. Impact gun onto the 36mm end and off it came. It's tight going onto the 41mm nut at the top of the strut when fitted in the car so make sure the box spanner / impact bit is thin enough to fit.

You'll also need to solder the two wires you cut. No way around this. All sounds like a pain but is a 1hr job start to finish doing it this way.

Good luck!

[snapdragon]

My problem is very similar - if I watch VCDS and operate to lift mode the compressor starts and it lifts, but the front right lags. When the compressor stops, the front right sinks and I can see the deviation in VCDS change around 1mm a second. The Compressor runs for a couple of mins and gets to 80 degrees C. It never goes above 7.5BAR presumably because there is a leak.

I need to spray soapy water on the strut and the valve block.
Maybe the valve block as an internal leakdown? New pattern parts are £60. Almost worth a punt. The strut normally bubbles at the very bottom with the weight of the car on it, not so much if jacked-up. I thought about swapping the pipes over on the valve block, but I guess it is too clever and will react badly to the opposite side rising as to what it is commanding.

2dogs1monkey youtube channel has some good videos.

[snapdragon]

Hi Mannyo,
Your car does seem a bit like mine. Today I am in the countryside and so can hear hisses as it is quiet. I parked up in Lift mode and enabled jacking mode and got out and turned off. I can hear hissing in the driver's wheel well, but the hissing sounds internal, not leaking to air. It is a different sound. A tyre puncture sounds different to an air compressor in a garage after it has shut off and has small internal leakages. This sounds like the latter.
The front right sinks slowly as I crouch there for a couple of minutes.
It does not go really low like a low rider, more like just to the dynamic ride height on one wheel and similar to your photos.

The top of the struts have a brass residual valve that keeps a minimum of 3.5BAR inside the strut to prevent them collapsing - it as though pressure drops to this level and stays like it. This is making me think a pipe leak, valve block fault or leak around the valve block pipe connectors. I will remove the wheel arch liner on Monday and then repeat this and listen to the valve block, it should be easy to hear if air is hissing inside this. Also will buy a load of bubble mixture from Wilkos.

[GH77]

Mine was leaking at the top of the strut. Video:

https://app.box.com/s/dg6euepuohhflf2ne80w2k6jkmu5s0fy

Seems like it was coming from around the bonded rubber bush at the top rather than the o-ring. The o-ring looked pretty much perfect when I removed it.


G