djtnut

Hi all,

Here it comes, ye olde repair or sell debate. I have a dearly loved '03 6 speed with 222k miles. I really still love the car. The engine and transmission seem to still be in great shape, but I'm continually having air suspension issues. I have all four Arnott Air Bags (Gen 1). Two of them were replaced under warranty this past winter and now at least one of the bags (drivers side, I think) are leaking yet again. Pretty frustrated. I can do the suspension work myself on my neighbor's lift, but getting our schedules to align to use his lift is challenging.

I've rebuilt the air compressor with bagpipingandy's kit this past winter as well as it seemed like it was getting tired.

My suspension will fill to Level 1, but will not fill up to Level 2. This past weekend, I drove from VT to south of Boston and back and it wouldn't climb to level 2. It rode fine at Level 1 most of the time though the system did hit the 120s timeout a few times trying to fill back to Level 1. I haven't yet VAGCOM'd it as my father-in-law is borrowing my Win Laptop for his Ariel Atom project car.

I'm at the point with my wife where she just wants to be done with it, but I still love it as there's just nothing like this on the market today. I'm the sort of skier who sets out in a storm to head to the mtn in the winter as I volunteer as a ski patroller, so I run Hakka studded snows and I honestly don't think there are many vehicles out there that compare to the Allroad snow performance with studded snows. I really hate automatics too. so...

Should I:
A) See if I can get another warranty replacement of the leaking Arnott Gen I bags and continue to deal with the eventuality of another leaking bag(s)? I can do the labor myself if I can find a time that works for my neighbor to use his lift again.
B) Swap to steel springs? What suggestions do people have for steel spring conversions? Arnott steel conversion? Is there anything that would still allow any kind of seasonal ride height adjustment?
C) See if Arnott will give me some kind of break to convert to Gen II airbags as I do like the ability to adjust the ride height. I'm a gadget freak.
D) Some combination of the above like see if they'll warranty the airbags and then before installing them, sell them to help cover some of the cost of converting to steel.

Side, but important notes. I drive on pretty rough roads, often, here in VT and I think they are tough on the air suspension system. Would steel springs be better for these conditions, over time? Yes, I do really want to see how long I can make this car last. I also have two young children. 7 week old daughter and 2.5 year old son, so the idea of something more reliable at this point may ultimate out-number my wishes to keep my beloved 6 speed Allroad.

I also have the custom 2" trailer hitch that Justin made for folks on this forum. I love that hidden hitch. Unless I get an SUV, I'm probably not going to find a car or wagon with such a slick 2" hitch system. I've only used it for a 4-bike tray rack, but we have been thinking about getting a pop-up camper.

Thanks in advance,
David

MrKid

Personally, I would go with option C. I f Arnott will not help you out, get them to replace the series 1 under warranty, then sell the new units and go with adjustable coil overs.

djtnut

Have others upgraded to the Gen II air bags on here? Are there still issues with leaking bags with the Gen II setup or are they more reliable?

I'm leaning toward swapping for steel springs. What adjustable coil overs do people recommend? The Arnott steel spring conversion kit is NOT adjustable though, right? To be clear, when you say "adjustable" do you mean that you can change ride height or adjust dampening/rebound?

Thanks, David

IndieRockSteve

What Mr Kid said. I believe too that the air bags don't handle the rough roads and pot holes of New England and are doomed to continual failure. Get a coil over replacement and be done with it. The adjustable ride height is neat, but of quite limited use, especially when it doesn't work.

MrKid

I was talking about adjustable rife height. I have had adjustable dampening in other cars, and have pretty much set it and forget it.
With height adjustment, I would lower it in the summer and raise it in the winter during tire change over or rotation.
Arnott units are not height adjustable.

JustMtnB44

A, replace leaking spring and be done with it. Any of the other options are much more labor.

I just found a leaking Gen I front spring on my car and have a replacement on the way. The newest Gen I springs use the same rubber bladder as OEM, maybe they will last longer.

The original Gen II's were not any more reliable, but the current version with rubber bellows seem to be holding up reasonably well, at least not many reports of failure. But they are 30% higher spring rate than Gen I which won't be good for rough roads.

There still isn't a good coil-over option for these cars. Any of the A6 stuff rides too low, unless you make spacers for the top to effectively lengthen the shock. The allroad specific kits from Arnott, Blauparts, etc are not adjustable in any way and have mixed reviews. The kit from FTG was promising but has a few minor issues, and long term reliability remains to be seen.

djtnut

What about this adjustable coilover kit from 2Bennett? It says it has 2.5" of height adjustment.

allroad suspension

amiram

When you give up on a air springs You give up on rear dynamic suspension.
more the car heavier ( Or higher) from behind the suspension Becomes harder, Even when you travel round the sharp turn, The hardness Level of the rear suspension depends on the air pressure inside shock absorber. And also the traveling comfort, ther is a big difference between driving on a air spring or oa a metal spring!
I replaced all the air springs to Arnott gen I three years ago. Two years ago I changed two in Front under warranty. Two months ago I changed rear right under the warranty too. Arnott gives a good service, It takes about an hour and a half to replace one air spring. It is worth it. (That is my opinion)

djtnut

Amiram, I didn't really follow what you said here.

I think -- no -- I don't think. I am done with the air suspension. I've done all the bags, struts and compressor rebuild kit myself on my neighbor's service lift, but I just don't have the time to keep doing that every few months. Lately it seems that I can't go much more than six months without another leaking air spring. I've also done both front axle replacements several times and I don't want to create a new problem of burning up the CV joints by having too high of a ride height in winter time. Changing the CV axles is kind of a bitch. My neighbor (with the service lift) likes helping me do new things to my car so he can learn more himself, but he doesn't like to keep repeating the same repair over and over again, so I don't want to use up that hookup.

So... a steel spring conversion at Level 2 would probably work best as it's least likely to heat up the CV joints and is the best compromise of ride height for most conditions. Heck, if I still had my 2001 A4 Avant, I'd be static at the same ride height all the time anyway, so it's really not at all a necessity.

SeeksAR

Replace with Gen1 again.

Under warranty. nuff said.

Good for another 50K miles.