freetobelee

Thanks for the suggestion, my buddy works for a foreign car part place. Hopefully he can get them for me by saturday, when I plan on doing the install. To my knowledge, these are the original bags at nearly 120k.

The Airbagit bags arrived in the mail yesterday. The aluminum looks pretty banged up on them, but not on any of the parts that seal, so I guess it will be OK. They came with a small bag of O rings, which is nice, since it didn't indicate anywhere that they were included.

<img src="http://freetobelee.earjuice.com/audi/shock1.jpg"/>
<img src="http://freetobelee.earjuice.com/audi/shock2.jpg"/><br/>
<img src="http://freetobelee.earjuice.com/audi/shock3.jpg"/>
<img src="http://freetobelee.earjuice.com/audi/shock4.jpg"/><br/>
<img src="http://freetobelee.earjuice.com/audi/shock5.jpg"/>

freetobelee

Silva's IPP extension arms came in today.
I put the car on level 4 and investigated the wheel wells to see what I'm in for. Damn it's dirty in there.
<img src="http://freetobelee.earjuice.com/audi/ipparms.jpg"/>
<img src="http://freetobelee.earjuice.com/audi/sensorarm.jpg"/>
<img src="http://freetobelee.earjuice.com/audi/rfbagold.jpg"/>

freetobelee

So AWDjunkies and I finally got to get our hands dirty last weekend to get these Airbagit bags installed in my allroad.
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<div>We started by trying to run a calibration and clear the two suspension error codes that my system had thrown:</div>
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<span style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">01769 - Sensor for Vehicle Leveling; Front Right (G289)*</span>
<div><span style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">*********** 57-00 - Electric Circuit Failure</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">01577 - Turn-Off due to Over-Temp*</span></div>
<div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: small;">* * * * * * 35-10 -* -* - Intermittent</span><br/></div>
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<div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: small;"><br/></span></div>
<div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="2">These were on the car at purchase, and it had a new air pump installed at 110k, but the codes never*cleared. *I*had hopes that the front right level sensor error was somehow related to getting off of calibration due to the failing bag on that wheel. false hopes, as it turned out. the 01769 code simply would not clear, therefore the onboard computer will not allow any adjustments to the suspension module *</font></span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">We decided to press forward with the bag install.</span></div>
<div><span style="font-size: small; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br/></span></div>
<div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><font size="2">We started with the drivers side - the pinch bolt was a pain, but his air tools and a punch from the other side (def. a two person job) got it out after a little cursing.*I*ended up marring the threads a little, so*I'm*thankful that AWDjunkies insisted on bringing two spare p</font>inch bolts and nuts, which we used on both sides. Passenger side pinch bolt was much easier.</span></div>
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<div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span><img src="http://freetobelee.earjuice.com/audi/strutbolt.jpg" height="435" width="653"/></span><br/></span></div>
<div><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The real pain, it seamed, was arranging the bolt that holds the bottom of the strut to the arm so that it could be removed. It took a lot of wiggling around to get that thing out. also recommended to have a helper for this, since the brake assembly is pretty heavy.</span></div>
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<div>The Airbagit bags seemed about the same weight and are pretty robust. I re-used the old top O-ring on both sides, as the new bags did not come with one. instead kit came with a baggy of really small O-rings that didm;t have any purpose for this part of the car that we could see, so they got left out.</div>
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<div>As we did both bags on the front, I installed the IPP extension arms. Then I continued to the rear wheels and put the arms on there.</div>
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<div><span><img src="http://freetobelee.earjuice.com/audi/ingarage.jpg" height="490" width="653"/></span><br/></div>
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<div>We attempted another calibration with the same results as before. with the extension arms on, and no calibration, she sits REAL LOW on level 2. I'd say it's down an entire level. I haven't even put it on level 1, because it's basically on the bumper stops. *It's safe to drive like this, but not ideal :P</div>
<div>It was getting late, so I decided to leave investigation of the level sensor for another day.</div>
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<div>Over night, the front right bag fell found the air fitting was a little loose tightened it, but it was still leaking elsewhere water bottle test showed obvious sealing issues with the top O-ring. I believe the ring is fine still, but I remember thinking that the cap was a little rough, but didn't take a wire brush to it. Oops. looks like I'll be back in there soon </div>
<div>But wait, there is good news:</div>
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<div>after reading the DIY of the sensor rebuild that night, I decided I could easily handle it. I decided to jack it up in my driveway and pull the sensor. in the process, I noticed the wiring to it was in bad shape and even had one severed lead. after a little cleaning off, the sensor looked to have no water penetration or cracks, so I'm assuming it's in working condition. I'll admit my repair of the wiring deserves no medals, but it should work for now to make sure my sensor is indeed in working order.</div>
<div><span><img src="http://freetobelee.earjuice.com/audi/sensorwire.jpg" height="980" width="653"/></span><br/></div>
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<div>There's also some other news - the drivers side has some annoying popping on bumps now. a similar sound to what I've heard on worn out shock absorbers. perhaps a bushing on one of the arms in there is in a different position and tore? AWDjunkies says his AR had some noise after a bag replacement and it eventually went away. I'm going with the last explanation for now </div>
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<div>sooner than later, I'll have a chance to recallibrate to get my ride height at the desired level and re-do the right bag.</div>

awdjunkies

Yep, glad to help!! I figured that DIY for the level sensor would help remove that dreaded error code.

G0to60

Nice! Glad you got it most of the way done. I'm interested in seeing how those bags do and how they feel.

awdjunkies

Me too man, because this could be yet another(Inexpensive) alternative! as Lee stressed.

all(over)road

Ummm...on 2001 models you can 'lock' the suspension in whatever level you like. It won't lower on the highways.

Just hold the raise button for 4-5 seconds until the yellow lite stays on; then it'll be locked in that level.

GTA_Driver

I'm pretty sure it will lower itself even in manual mode, once you reach certain speeds.

G0to60

The controller will override when you get up to certain speeds. It won't let you travel 60mph at level three, for example. This is to prevent wear on the CV's and bushings because of the increased angles at the higher ride height.

freetobelee

Yes believe me I have tried this, especially since it currently isn't calibrated. I dipped to level 1 on the highway today, and it was undrivably bouncy and very close to the bumper stops. Manual mode only seams to return it to the desired level after the acceptable speed for that level is achieved again.