Mokaz

A couple weeks ago here in greater Philadelphia we had some cold temperatures, nothing too extreme, probably single digits to the teens. On one of the first mornings of the cold streak I noticed my car left front strut was bottomed out. Knowing that the air suspension is known to leak I got it diagnosed by an independent shop they diagnosed it as the strut is leaking. So I ordered two new Arnott front struts and was going to replace them myself. From the day after I picked the car up from the shop to today (4 days now). I noticed that the strut no longer is dropped at all in the mornings when I go to work. Suspension seems normal when I drive. I would have thought that if the strut was leaking it would always drop overnight and bottom out. Which it did before it went to the shop. Its been 20-35 degrees since I got the car back.

The shop said they checked the compressor and the valve unit for issues but didn't see anything.

So....Do I need new struts? Could cold weather cause this type of scenario?


Thanks in advanced for any insight...

Mokaz
2005 A8 shortbase
82k

dvs_dave

Leaks never get better. Cold could have made a small leak temporarily worse but the leak will still be there, just able to be overcome by the air stored in the accumulator tank overnight when it's warmer.

Park the car up and enable jacking mode in the MMI. This disables the self leveling (which still works when car is parked up) and will reveal any strut leaks.

But if I were you, as I already have replacement struts I'd just put them on anyway. You know there's a strut leak, so why second guess it? All you'll do is end up burning out your compressor also as it has to work overtime. Or worse still have a catastrophic and sudden complete failure and be stranded.

MP4.2+6.0

Front left.

Many have decided--both shops and owners--these don't need to be done in pairs like the older ideas for conventional shocks.

mishar

+1

I would replace (and buy) only the leaking strut. The other one may last forever, or it can be replaced when needed.

Mokaz

The shop was saying since one is re manufactured Arnott strut and one is original its better to do them in pairs. I guess this isn't the case.

Thanks a lot for the extremely helpful advise.

mokaz

mishar

They use old shock absorbers and remanufacture airspring part of the strut. So the best thing would be to remanufacture your own strut, which is possible but a bit time consuming.

1Wasserwerks

My left front strut would leak just as you described in the colder weather. I found that any night under 50F the strut would leak so that the front end would noticeably reinflate upon unlocking or coming out of sleep mode. This had gone on since about September/October of 2013. The leak was not noticeable during warmer months. I finally replaced it with an Arnott replacement unit in late December when I had time off. Also replaced upper strut arms around that time as well. You can replace one strut at a time.

Mokaz

I left the car in lift mode on Friday evening and was away for the whole weekend. I came back on Sunday and it seemed like it was at the same level. I didn't measure it, but it definitely wasn't bottomed out.

Wouldn't it have bottomed out or at least a noticeable level difference if there was a leak?

Maybe I'm just hoping for the best and delaying the inevitable. Just wondering what you all thought.

The control arm bushings definitely need replacing and I'll do that as soon as I can.

mannyo1221

Lift mode is not the same as jack mode, what you need is Jack mode. Press the car button, then the setup button on the MMI. Select Jack Mode ON, the amber suspension warning light will come on as an indication jack mode is on.

Mokaz

Ahh Ok.


Thanks for clarifying for a newbie