W211 e55 airmatic air leak

[Swift1092]

Can anybody advise me on faultfinding/diagnosing where the air leak is on my suspension, i dont know if its normal but can hear the compressor kick in evey 5-10mins when driving, think its the front that has the problem but dont know if its a leg or hose etc, anyone know the best way of finding out? Thanks in advance

 

[guydewdney]

leak detector spray and a 4 post lift.... spray all pipes etc. also check reservoir tank in boot, behind rhs rear panel in the estate, just pull off panel.

also check pump, can leak from valves and manifold. lhs, in front of wheel, behind headlamp.

also check tops of airmatic struts in engine bay.

 

[Swift1092]

Im getting fault 5503 and 5508 does this help? If it is the struts leaking is the tips the most common place to go? Thanks

 

[guydewdney]

5503 is compressor not building pressure. could be a leak or a worn pump. new pump was 170 with 2 yr warranty from a german ebay seller.

5508 is also a pressure loss. does the car sink overnight? several days? if not its the pump. if it is its often the manifold or tops of the struts. jope to god its not the rears as thats a pita to fix.

 

[Alps]

as above, soapy spray solution and spray when on a lift

check
- hose connections
- rear reservoir corrodes and leas where the pipe attaches
- valve block
- struts or airbags
- pump on its way out

 

[Swift1092]

Thanks guys ill check it out

 

[Swift1092]

The car doesnt seem to sink over night, the fault comes up on the dash when breaking harshly or cornering hard

 

[Alps]

most probably pump or valve body, get it put on STAR and it can check the pump for you

 

[guydewdney]

mine was similar. do you find it happens when its cold (both the outside, and the car iyswim)? not sinking means its not a strut or a bag, good news. its a half hour job to swap the pump.

 

[Swift1092]

My driveways on like a slope ifi leave the car for a week the front sinks s bit but never enough to cover any tyre, fearing it's front leg so u recon pump yea?

 

[guydewdney]

v likely. only star has the ability to do the pump run test, cost me 40 quid at an indy, it sees ifmit can pump up the reservoir to xyz pressure in xyz seconds. if it cant, it brings up a fail.

iirc its 40 seconds to 13bar? mine was 39? seconds at the test. but my 'light' came on intermittently. new pump. no light.

find an indy with star or similar. the snapon 7 grand thing cant run this test.

 

[Minden99]

Corroded reservoirs is generally area. But I had similar issue with pump slow to build up. Decided replace air pump piston Teflon ring. Easy job but only lasted 6months before gone. But noticed air filter for pump full of rust causing air and contaminants to shuffle in and out of pump. So if you do replace pump please replace it's inlet filter and maybe its intake pipe as that perishes over time

 

[french]

Mindens post brings me into this nicely (cheers).
I had the 5503 code , ran a test it showed compressor taking too long to fill up etc etc. So did what minden did but also did the filter, back to gether all good ,for 2 days. Then I get another code 5506...Jeezzz it says that its now taking to LONG to let out the air ?? can't win here...any help with this one ??

 

[Minden99]

French I was going to say make sure feed and exhaust from valve block to pump is OK but I'm thinking it's more likely due to electrical resistance on one of plugs possibly one you have had off. I've attached some pics. Cannot upload more no more space allowed probably due to newbie

 

[french]

Minden this might be it, when I had the pump off I unwittingly opened up this electro valve & nearly lost the spring, I also sprayed contact cleaner in there & into plug connectors. I bet it that. The car's level is slightly & uneven by 1mm @ thront , F:67cmr-66l &R: 68r-68l, but font of car on slope so will find flat & try with engine running. cheers Minden!
Swift: Just spray/check valve body & all strut joints first & ofcourse the relief valve on the compressor may be doing the opposite to mine, albeit my problem seems to have been caused by

 

[Swift1092]

Ok ill check at the weekend, where is the valve body located?? Thanks

 

[zipdip]

The fault that says not building pressure is more likely that the system has about 6 seconds to fill the air tank after you did some hard cornering,if it takes longer you will get that fault come up,it is more likely to be a leak between pump and air tank ,as it has just started to happen maybe your pump will be ok,as stated in posts it means lifting the car and checking for leaks,the fact that your car is not sinking over night could well mean that once you find the leak all will be well

 

[guydewdney]

oh, also replace the relay that drives the pump. its at the very back of the fuse box under the bonnet, on its own little clip. mine was badly arc damaged which would increase the resistance which would slow the pump a bit.

its a normal 40 amp 4 pin small square type relay, about 50p and 30 seconds to change.

 

[guydewdney]

valve body is next to the pump, just in front of the left front wheel. you will need to remove the undertray (load of 8mm headed screws) to see it. sort of fag packet sized metal block.

 

[Swift1092]

Ok little update checked over the compressor pump and found a small tear where the rubber hose conects to the pump, i cut it back and re conected, the car has driven sweet all weekend, no fault, nothing, i just drove up the shops and the fault poped up again, dam bk to the drawing board, ill get it in the air this week and go over the valve block and air lines