djtnut

Hey AR's,

This winter I put a lightly used Arnott air spring in the driverside rear of my 2003. When we were putting it in, we noticed that the o-ring between the strut and the bottom collar of the air spring had a pinch in it about 3mm long. Since I didn't have a replacement o-ring at the time, we kept going with the job. The next day, I called Arnott and they sent me replacement o-rings. I didn't get around to putting in the new o-ring until last night as it's much more comfortable to work on the car when it's warmer. After putting in the new o-ring last night, that corner was still sagging this morning when I came out to the car in my garage (with system disabled overnight).

Over the winter, we did try a soapy water test on the leaking airbag to try to tell if the leak was coming from the pinched o-ring or the bag itself and couldn't see any bubbles.

Spoke to Arnott this morning and they suggested trying windex or soapy water to try to spot leaks on the airbag.

Anyone have other suggestions? Has anyone experienced a leak from the top cap? Is there any such thing as a fitting that will connect to an air-compressor line so we could try to pressurize the air-spring on a bench rather than on the car? Arnott mentioned a smoke test that some shops do. Anyone know how that works? Special machine?

Thanks, David

amiram

Recommended to check for air leaks before attaching the air spring in the car. Just inflate air pressure 50-70 PSI to the air spring and put it in a water tank. Then you can see leaks from the bottom O ring and from the top cap.

djtnut

Did you see my question in my post that said "Is there any such thing as a fitting that will connect to an air-compressor line so we could try to pressurize the air-spring on a bench rather than on the car?"

How can I inflate the air spring outside the car and then submerge it in water? Is there an adapter I can get to use a regular air compressor? Or do you mean to unclip the car's air line and try to get enough slack length to dip the air shock into a tank just below the car?

amiram

You can take the connection from the old air spring with 4 mm air hose

djtnut

that looks perfect. any idea if Lowes or HD sell that air attachment with the shutoff valve and gauge? Any idea of part number? Do they also sell the 4mm hose? I have an extra compression air fitting for the airbag I can use for this.

Thanks, David

amiram

There is no part number for this tool, I purchased all the parts in the technical shop for 10 $ (in Israel) and I built it myself.