hey guys heres my problem. On occassion my airbags in the rear are not inflating. Its the stock air ride system on the 2001. The other day i was getting ready to leave for school and i walked outside and the rear of the truck was practically sitting on the ground, luckily i had another truck to drive. As i got back to my house the airbags had reinflated. After driving the truck around for a few more days i walked outside again and it was doing the same thing and as of today they have still not inflated. The truck usually will adjust when you turn in on but i have not heard the compressor and the bags are not inflating. Can anyone tell me whats wrong or what i can do to try and fix it? thanks for your help and heres the pics

 

I'm sorry, but the first thing I thought when I saw this title is "Well, he's not crashing it hard enough!"

I can't help much except to ask if you've checked all the fuses, etc, but if it "magically" leveled itself one day, there's likely nothing blown. Others will have to chime in.

Andy

 

Mine is doing the same thing only with the front bags, i had the code read and its says the frt pneumatic system has a malfunction. There is a whole list of 14 items to check whic range from Computer to solinoids to compressor. and unless you have the equipment to checkit plan on taking it to the dealer.

 

well its not the fuses, started the truck up today and the compressor came on.. must be a sensor or something acting up

 

i know there is some kind of in line fitting that can break, i also think there are some selector or check valves that can fail.
My mom had a expo that did that one time...i think it was a check valve...not sure where it is located at...it was under warranty so i didn't fix it myself.

 

When it's on, does it keep on running, or does it run, inflate, then shut off? Maybe there's a leak in the bag?

 

there is no leak in the bags, it runs and then shuts off and is now holding air. its level right now and i have driven it, im just wondering if its a matter of time before the same thing happens again though, thats why i believe its some sort of a leveling sensor that may be the problem.

 

correction on my previous post, i believe i have a slight leak in the bags. not 100% postive so im going to get under it tomrorow and spray them with soapy water to see if i can find a leak. i noticed today that the rear was sagging again so i started it up and the compressor turns on but i can hear it running longer than normal so im going to see if i can find any leaks in the bags. i think the left side is worse than the right because its sagging a little more.

 

I'm having this same exact problem. The left rear will suddenly just drop while at rest. Then when the car turns on, it lifts back up to normal. Sometimes it will sit all day just fine. Other days it doesn't. Intermittent leads me to believe its a sensor but wanted an opinion from someone who has the same problem before the dealer takes me for a ride.

 

Sandman, i just took mine in and its not the compressor or a sensor. Mine in fact was the left side as well but the airbag has a leak in it. I recommend converting to coil springs as thats what im doing even though i will be doing a lift kit. The airbags are a bad design and its just a matter of time before your right side goes out. Im just about positive you have a bad airbag.

 

well i also need help... today i look under my truck and found the right airbag was torn. But i think my airbag are after market(CAME THIS WAY) but any ways im just wondering how hard is it to change the airbags on this mamonth?Also my dam truck has stiff *** suspension, when i carry a load it barley saggs and now that my airbags air torn it still stiff please help cuz it really feel like im riding a rock XD


dont know if u can see it but its there

 

Wow I have never seen the coil spring around the airbags thats an interesting setup maybe someone else that knows more about this can chime in. Ill be replacing mine either next week or the week after so I will let you know how the install goes. From what I have read and I've done a lot of research on this, its pretty straight forward on how to replace the bags. If you want to convert it to coil springs they are a direct replacement of the air bags. Thats what I'm doing except with 6" lift springs. I reccommend getting the conversion kit as well instead of replacing the air bags. The design is not the best and many people have problems with the airbags. Not sure about your setup but thats what I reccomend. There are plenty of videos online on how to replace them if you plan on doing it yourself. i think strutmasters has the full conversion kit if that the route you take. Hope this helps.

 

well thanks for the reply but im thinking of replacing the airbag but im still trying to figure out what causes the sturdy suspension, can u take some pics of ur airbags cuz i have never seen a original airbag setup, how do they feel?

 

The original setup when new was great. The ride was very good but now that the bags are older its not as nice but still decent. Doesn't compare at all to a new SUV or truck though. Heres a pic

 

The best advice I can give anyone having air suspension problems is to contact Eddie at American Air Suspension. He is a Ford Master Tech and is incredible with air suspension. His site is www.americanairsuspension.com

If your vehicle is dropping, it probably has a leaking bag. They will fluctuate based on if a fold is exposed or whatnot. The system is reliable but many of these trucks are almost 10 years old or more so they will start having leaks. Fixing them early will save you a lot unless you plan to switch to coils.