Air suspention gone bang !

Parked my 1996 4.6 HSE P38 up the other night, 30 minutes later huge bang like a gun going off. Next morning the old girl is sitting on her bump stops, suspention will not go up in any corner, compressor running OK,Pulled the air hose of the pump, air is coming out but not as much as I would exspected. Local garage cannot see any holes in the rubber bags but have reported they they look rather crumpled up, everybody is scrating there heads. Anyone got any ideas!
Andy

Found a really knowledgeable bloke on ebay knows a lot about suspension if you got ebay search for suspension pumps should find one that is repair done by symlise got his phone number on page give him a call he will help

I think I have the same problem with my series 2. I was away at the time and the wife told me about it on my return. The back end is down to the stops, I have about 1-1/2" clearance above the rear tyres to the wheel arches, no problems with the front end, any ideas?

AndyH the symptoms you describe sound like an airspring has gone bang. you can only really tell which one by jacking the vehicle up and removing the corresponding road wheel. This allows the suspension to drop away from the bump stops and show the spring to a greater extent. Try not to drive it too far though (once the wheels are back on) as you will put the suspension into a "hard fault" mode and need to plug it in to clear the faults once the airspring has been replaced.

Had the same problem 3 months ago, riding on the bump stops, cost a few bob to get repaired, compresor working etc, but seals had split and they give no warning when they go. Unless you have the right equipment, not a job you can do yourself, good luck,

As others have diagnosed it sounds like a popped airbag, quite likely after 13 years of hard service, and not something that may not be visible either.

They are not difficult to replace with basic tools, it would be worthwhile to replace all 4 while you are at it, at least both front or both rears. If you can do this before driving you should get away with a fault being registered in the ECU.