slatebrick

I am installing a set of Bilsteins in the rear and they don't have the quarter turn lock that the factory does to the spring perch. Do I just lower the car until the springs are fully seated on the o-rings and let the compressor air it up. Will it stay seated in all driving conditions? Seems a little hairy compared to the factory setup.

Thanks

09mehashaw

When did you buy the Bilsteins?
Pre or post clunk days?

Mike B

Are you sure you ordered the allroad air suspension specific Bilsteins? Arnott also offers a coil-over suspension kit with Bilsteins for this car. Make sure you get the correct set of shocks.
You don't have to worry about pre- or post clunk versions since that issue only applied to the front shocks. Anyway Arnott took car of that problem 8-10 months ago.

slatebrick

I bought them last week. They are definitely for the air springs. The spring perch is a machined aluminum piece with an o-ring. It looks a lot like the factory perch except it doesn't have the quarter turn lock mechanism. The instructions are limited. They tell you how to tear down the factory assembly, but don't give any specifics on the reassembly. I can ask them tomorrow, but I wanted to get the car back on the road today.

The springs don't want to stay on the seats with the car off the ground. My plan was to finish reassembling everything and carefully lower the car on the ground with blocks under the frame so it doesn't go down too far. This would fully seat the springs on the perches. Then I can let the air compressor pick the car back up of the blocks. It seems that as long as there is either weight on the car and/or air in the spring the lower part of the spring assembly will stay on the perch. It just doesn't seem as solid as the factory setup.

Mike B

If you haven't done this, then go to this page:
http://www.arnottindustries.com/manuals/index.asp and select the new rear air spring assembly page.
I wish I could be of more assistance, but this is the best I can do.
Good luck!

slatebrick

Yeah they sent a print out of it with the parts. I have an email in to their tech support. I will pass along what I learn for someone else's future reference.

5v/cyl

If they are like the fronts then just lower the rear down until they will stay seated, but still support the weight of the car with blocks or stands so they don't fully collapse. Take out of jack mode and let them fill. Once pressurized they will hold themselves.

slatebrick

That is the route I took. Fortunately I have two floor jacks. So far it hasn't worked. At first it was trying and I could hear leaks. I reseated the new Arnott spring and the leak stopped the next time I tried it, but now the compressor only runs for about a second and then the ride height light comes on. I have tried a couple different heights with the floor jacks, but with the same effect. I have an email in to Arnott for suggestions.

5v/cyl

Sounds like your pump went into overheat protection. You to clear the error code(s) with a VAG-Com to get the compressor to run again.

Not sure whether you did one bag at a time or tried to do both at once before pumping back up. If you did both bags together then your asking for to much air to fill and lift the car at once. Especially after the leaks drained the air tank reservoir and left the compressor to do all the work. Compressor timed out or overheated.

If you don't have a VAG-Com then the alternative is to disconnect the battery for awhile to clear the codes, but this brings on it's own problems and not a great solution. Radio code, TBA alignment, and possibly a bunch of other stuff will need to be reset.

slatebrick

Problem appears to be solved. Suspension is now fully inflated. From 5v/cyl's link to the Audi service document on the suspension I figured out that I had to have the engine running to get the suspension to inflate. Makes perfect sense now. I had the car tail first in the garage so I hadn't considered that before.