1990 Continental--rear suspension

[ChicagoSinatra]

I just recently bought this 1990 Continenal, on 65K--everything is mint. However, the other day I drove the car, parked it, and tuned it off, got outside and hear hissing, and the entire rear lowered very near the ground. The next day I drove it 2 miles, the RIDE CONTROL light came on. I parked it, turned it off, and let her sit about 3 hours. After that, I drove it over to the mechanic, and low and behold on the 3 mile drive there, the rear suspension came back up. I parked the car, turned it off, and got out. No hissing was heard and it did not lower. The (very reputable) mechanic shop did the soap test and checked "everuthing out" --and it came out "fine"--i.e. they said no leaks. So, not more than 10 miles down the expressway, after I paid for 1 hour labor, the RIDE CONTROL light is back on, and now the rear is down, I'm going like 65 down the expressway, and the rear feels like I'm driving a covered wagon. It seems that it is intermittent? The bags have been checked and suppoesedly are good? But I did hear, and now do hear after I test drive the car a .5mi or so, when I shut her off, get out, hissing from the rear end, and she lowers down. The front is still up to "normal" and even. And the back is lowered, yet each side left and right are even when they are high or low. Please help. (Sorry for the wordiness)

P.S. How might I locate a mechanic that will do a repair like this for me, when I buy the parts from bagmaster or strutmaster myself?

Thanks so much!
Micheal Davenport

[mystery]

You have a leak at one or both of your rear wheels.

I'm not sure how your mechanic checked it out, but these leaks sometimes get 'folded' over depending on how the bag sits.

Both sides of an end will go down if only one is leaking due to the sway bar. When down, feel the rubber of the strut behind each wheel to see which one(s) is/are soft. The soft side(s) is/are the one(s) leaking.

From here, It is a either the air strut (probable especially if it hasn't been changed before) or the solenoid is defective or not installed properly.

Check out http://disc.server.com/Indices/37091.html for more help.

I got 3 of my replacement struts from www.arnottindustries.com (http://www.arnottindustries.com) and had them installed by the dealer. My last one I had done at an auto spring garage in Toronto that I found I could trust.

[Swinny]

Umm, I could be wrong, But it sounds to me like you could be dealing with an electrical problem. It almost sounds like the rear hight sensor may not be making a connection at times. Did the hissing start right after you closed the door, or was it hissing before, during, and after you got out?

[mystery]

I doubt it is electrical in nature. The randomness of the loss of air tends to indicate a leak.

However, to rule out electrical problem, just turn off the suspension switch in the trunk and drive around like that for a while. If it still comes down you know it is not electrical, computer, and height sensor related.

[ChicagoSinatra]

Well, I just don't know. As far as this hissing sound is concerned, I've noticed it three times, both after I'd shut off the ignition and got out of the car, thusly shutting the door. Last night, I drove the car about .5 mile, shut her down, and turned the suspension switch to off in the trunk. I then drove it another half mile, and she started to go down again, however, she sank greatest to the rear left, and I heard hissing from only that side. So, I switch the back to "on" drove the car another 3/4 mile, and then parked it, and turned the ignition off. She sank in the rear as usual, and both sides were sank level this morning. Now, I've driven the car about mile, and the rear was up and each side level. I shut off the ignition and got out, and no hissing was heard this time. I do wonder (as my oriignal ford manaul has not arrived yet) if or what the electrical or whatever component there might be, which would be in the front under the hood? If it is jsut the right rear bag, I wonder how much it might cost for me to take it and get it replaced?

P.S. Does anyone know a Chicago (northside) mechanic thats good and honest?

[ekooke]

ChicagoSinatra,
You have a verified leak in that one bag if it went down with the air ride turned off. Get a bottle of soapy water and spray the pumped-up bag and solenoid, looking for soap bubbles. If no leaks are found at the solenoid or upper part of the bag, it's in the folds of the bag underneath. It's pretty easy to change out bags, and any mechanic with tools could do both in under an hour. Hissing when exiting the car is normal, since the suspension is just adjusting for the reduced load.

[mystery]

It is a confirmed leak. Hissing is NOT normal if it is coming from the strut. It is normal for the car to release air after you turn off the ignition and exit the car, but the air should release through the vent valve on the compressor in the engine compartment where you should hear the 'hiss' if there are no leaks.

Rear struts are more labour intensive than the fronts. Count on up to two hours per rear strut.

While you're at it, change the solenoid (only about $20.00 extra) at that side.

One rear air strut from www.arnottindustries.com (http://www.arnottindustries.com) is $185.00.

[ September 01, 2003: Message edited by: mystery ]

[ekooke]

Mystery,
You're right, a Conti has rear STRUTS, not just air bags. That complicates the installation of new rears and finding the leak just using a soapy water spray, since a strut usually leaks from the underside of the air bladder, beneath the "fold". If it were my car (and I wanted to keep it) I'd just get a pair of new struts installed and be done with the problem.

[ChicagoSinatra]

Ekooke and Mystery. I'm pretty sure that you are correct, in that the leak is coming from the right rear. I am a novice at this sort of thing, but I have always been a Lincoln fan. I wonder if it would be very expensive to switch the entire rear suspension to regualr/non-air suspension? If so, would I have to do that to the front to at the same time? Additionally, does the continental have rear shocks and struts, or is the "air strut" all? (as you can see I'm an idiot with this stuff--but really wanting to learn.) :rolleyes:

[ekooke]

The '90 Conti is an "all strut" setup, which makes the suspension more expensive to fix than other air-ride Lincolns. I have no opinion on converting to metal springs, other than I (personally) wouldn't do it. It would make little sense to convert to metal springs on the rear and leave the fronts with air suspension, since you would lose the advantage of load leveling while still carrying the "baggage" of air ride on the front. Going to metal springs on the front with air on the rear would make more sense, as some Lincolns (and other cars) are equipped that way from the factory.

[ChicagoSinatra]

Okay--I've driven the car another mile, and now the entire rear is up fully. I turned off the ignition, and got out of the car. No hissing this time for some reason, and I even put a little weight(me sitting) on the trunk and nothing really occured, although with a little force, I coudl hear a little air seap out...but no hissing, and after I stopped applying the force, it was silent, and silent and the reat still suspended up?

[ekooke]

Turn the air ride switch OFF and drive the car around for an hour or so. The corner that falls is your leaker.

[ChicagoSinatra]

The rear right side fell. This has been confirmed by the mechanic shop. Can I just have that bad strut replaced right now (I ask because the mechanic quoted me 1800 to do the entire rear--yikes for me right now). Secondly, I don't think they'll replace just the one. And if they did, what might the negatives be of replacing only the bad strut at this time? (Thanks for all the help on this by the way!!)

[mystery]

The price he quoted you for both rears must include dealer price for the parts.

As I said earlier, go to www.arnottindustries: (http://www.arnottindustries:) each strut is only $185.00. Labour to do each rear strut is no more than two hours.

You should be able to replace just the one strut this time (I did that before), and do the other one(s) as needed.

However, most people say that the other side will fail soon because of similar wear patterns, but you don't know if both rear struts had been replaced in the past or if only one had been, so I'd play it safe (and cheaply) and do the side that you know is bad for now.

[ September 02, 2003: Message edited by: mystery ]

[ September 02, 2003: Message edited by: mystery ]