P38A Leaky airspring connection.

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Just done the job, collet pulls out easy enough, welding wire with a hook bent in it fished them out. Getting new ones in was a fiddle but I found the best way was to slide them down the welding wire with the end a couple of inches inside the spring then using a long pencil to tease the O ring into the port. It goes on the pizz but is easy to level up and push down until it goes into the groove, repeat for the 2nd O ring. Removing the battery earth cables helps with access as does using a head torch cos its gloomy down there. Tested for leaks and all good, see if she stays up over the next few days!
 
Bugger...changing them seals has caused other issues or the leaky seals were disguising another issue.
What I had before I found the leaky O rings on the off side front was, a slowly getting worse, a levelish sinking of the car all round after being parked for a few days, this then became every morning, on driving, it was about 5 mins of bump stop driving and another 5 mins before the eas light stopped flashing. Thought I had found the problem with that leaky collet.
The eas guide in the techy section I tried to print off but now the printer has died, double bugger. Can't read it off my phone (waiting for new glasses) but can if I print stuff. Got nano (but struggle a bit with it, I've only used it twice in over 2 yrs of p38 ownership, modulation reset and a abs sensor issue which the nano was wrong on) I've also rummaged through my tat and rigged up a pressure gauge with 6mm push fits as, according to the guide, that's useful for fault finding too.
What it's doing now is dropping on the rear two and the front near side after a few hrs , the offside front with the new seals is staying up. When I opened the drivers door the solenoids did lots of clicking and the( up) front offside went down.
I'll work my way through the guide once I've printed it off and see if I can sort it out using that, nano and the pressure gauge.
Sort of looking forward to it really :vb-lol:
 
Flossie said:
Bugger...changing them seals has caused other issues or the leaky seals were disguising another issue.
What I had before I found the leaky O rings on the off side front was, a slowly getting worse, a levelish sinking of the car all round after being parked for a few days, this then became every morning, on driving, it was about 5 mins of bump stop driving and another 5 mins before the eas light stopped flashing. Thought I had found the problem with that leaky collet.
The eas guide in the techy section I tried to print off but now the printer has died, double bugger. Can't read it off my phone (waiting for new glasses) but can if I print stuff. Got nano (but struggle a bit with it, I've only used it twice in over 2 yrs of p38 ownership, modulation reset and a abs sensor issue which the nano was wrong on) I've also rummaged through my tat and rigged up a pressure gauge with 6mm push fits as, according to the guide, that's useful for fault finding too.
What it's doing now is dropping on the rear two and the front near side after a few hrs , the offside front with the new seals is staying up. When I opened the drivers door the solenoids did lots of clicking and the( up) front offside went down.
I'll work my way through the guide once I've printed it off and see if I can sort it out using that, nano and the pressure gauge.
Sort of looking forward to it really :vb-lol:
Click to expand...
Personally, I have never found a pressure gauge helpful. A set of schrader valves to manually inflate the bags I found much more useful as they can be used to eliminate the valve block as a cause of problems.
 
( it was about 5 mins of bump stop driving and another 5 mins before the eas light stopped flashing. Thought I had found the problem with that leaky collet.)
that sounds like your pump is not making good air it should rise up i seconds from starting the car.
 
brianp38dse said:
( it was about 5 mins of bump stop driving and another 5 mins before the eas light stopped flashing. Thought I had found the problem with that leaky collet.)
that sounds like your pump is not making good air it should rise up i seconds from starting the car.
Click to expand...
There needs to be air in the tank to make it rise up in seconds from starting the car. The pump takes several minutes to fill the tank if there has been leakage downstream overnight. Inflation is always with compressed air from the tank never directly by the pump.
 
nigelbb said:
There needs to be air in the tank to make it rise up in seconds from starting the car. The pump takes several minutes to fill the tank if there has been leakage downstream overnight. Inflation is always with compressed air from the tank never directly by the pump.
Click to expand...
As said, if the system is holding pressure, the pump has nothing to do with the car raising at start up, it serves only to refill the tank.
 
Mark Piercy said:
Have been in and done the white connectors in the kick panels flossie?
Have you checked the pumps output with your thumb? 🤔
Click to expand...
Yeah, all connectors done both sides when I restored her over 2 yrs ago. Pump output is OK, not brilliant, I can hold my thumb over the outlet but not easily, got a pump and valve block overhaul kit to fit at some point but I'd like to find out exactly what's wrong before repairing stuff that isn't broke if you get my drift.
 
About two thirds through the guide in the techy section. The pressure gauge is a good idea, fit inline between the various valve block outputs with a ball valve on valve block side. Check pressure is holding between spring and gauge for 15mins with ballvalve shut then if OK open ball valve and check for pressure drop on valve block. Compressor made 145psi in 12 minutes empty system. Got the front two springs to test and the valve block gubbins for them two then I'm done. So far it's looking like the diaphragm is iffy.
 
20240226_114828.jpg
 
Leaky diaphragm is usually only an issue when pump is trying to fill the tank. The rest of the time the solenoid is off, so it can lift off it's seat for lowering. Take the silencer out & hold a finger over the outlet while the pump is running. There should no air escaping if the diaphragm closes properly.

If it's losing tank air overnight (hence bump stop issue you describe in post-25), then NRV-1 is suspect. My test for this consists of disabling self-levelling, and then putting a balloon over the exhaust silencer. If the balloon inflates overnight then NRV-1 is leaking tank air !! Remember to remove the balloon before enabling the EAS, or it will go bang when the ECU opens the exhaust !!
 
pwood999 said:
Leaky diaphragm is usually only an issue when pump is trying to fill the tank. The rest of the time the solenoid is off, so it can lift off it's seat for lowering. Take the silencer out & hold a finger over the outlet while the pump is running. There should no air escaping if the diaphragm closes properly.

If it's losing tank air overnight (hence bump stop issue you describe in post-25), then NRV-1 is suspect. My test for this consists of disabling self-levelling, and then putting a balloon over the exhaust silencer. If the balloon inflates overnight then NRV-1 is leaking tank air !! Remember to remove the balloon before enabling the EAS, or it will go bang when the ECU opens the exhaust !!
Click to expand...
I was following the guide so pressure gauge on line 6 and a ballvalve between the gauge and the valve block. Ballvalve open and receiver pressure up to 145psi in 12 minutes, tailgate open btw, closed ball valve and no pressure drop for 15 minutes, opened ballvalve and got a 5psi drop over the next 15min test. No leaks around my pressure gauge set up or where the pipe entered number 6 port. Guide says diaphragm. I did take the exhaust silencer off and sprayed leak detection spray around that port and found nothing.
Got no balloons, got latex gloves though, finger off one of them maybe.
 
Flossie said:
I was following the guide so pressure gauge on line 6 and a ballvalve between the gauge and the valve block. Ballvalve open and receiver pressure up to 145psi in 12 minutes, tailgate open btw, closed ball valve and no pressure drop for 15 minutes, opened ballvalve and got a 5psi drop over the next 15min test. No leaks around my pressure gauge set up or where the pipe entered number 6 port. Guide says diaphragm. I did take the exhaust silencer off and sprayed leak detection spray around that port and found nothing.
Got no balloons, got latex gloves though, finger off one of them maybe.
Click to expand...
Got any of them special latex single finger gloves with the dimple at the top..................................... ;)
 
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