A6 allroad air suspension

[jong007]

Good evening all,

I'm hoping that these next few lines will land on the screen of someone who can offer some advice, many thanks in advance.

My car is a 2002 A6 allroad 2.5TDI 180bhp

I bought it 9 months ago Its done 125K and in lovely condition.

Just before Christmas i started noticing that the front was sinking, at first it would pump back up again when the ignition was on and the compressor kicked in, one day it decided it didn't want to pump up any more and i was faced with an issue, a grounded car!

So, after a bit of research i removed both suspension legs and replaced the top and bottom O rings inside the airbag, a relativly simple job apart from the stuck pinch bolt securing the 2 upper control arms on the near side.

This worked a treat on the off side and it pumped up and kept its pressure & height, however on the near side I've found that no air being delivered to this corner. Ive jacked the rear of the car and got to the valve block and disconnected the air pipe for the near side front to test if there was possible split in the pipe but no air is coming out of the block.

So i seem to be chasing one problem around the car at the moment.

Has anyone got any thoughts, questions, comments or solutions that they could offer me.

Thanks a million.

Jon

 

 

[Steve Q]

Welcome to the forum Jon, you'll find the members on here are a friendly and helpful bunch :) 

However I myself am not sure on what the fault could be as I'm not clued up on the air suspension. Sorry. 

I have heard of the compressors failing if that helps. 

Cheers 

Steve

[Magnet]

Hello Jon,

Your problems seem rather complex, but Steve is right when he says the compressors can be a source of issues at the age and mileage of yours. They can usually be 'reconditioned' by renewing the piston ring , and it would be worth looking up BagpipingAndy on eBay who manufactures good new ones at least for Jaguar and Land Rover. I've done a couple and the most fiddly part (with Jaguar anyway) is getting the pump out. Having done what you have done, it should be in your capabilities and a least a good insurance against future issues.

Re loss of pressure on some lines, all I can suggest is all lines are individually pressure tested.

Dont know how much of this is going to be of help Jon. 

Kind regards,

Gareth.

 

 

 

[56Doc]

Jon, did you get your suspension issue sorted?

[jong007]

Hi,

how ironic you should ask this evening.

I did get it sorted and it’s been fine. 

Unfortunatly it broke down again on Tuesday, different issue this time. If just died on me. I thought I may have stalled it as it was in a hill but after much diagnostics and research I was made aware today by the garage it was flat bedded to that the diesel pump is shot. I’m informed it’s a job which is in excess of £2K so tonight I’m not a very happy chappy ☹️

Ive uploaded the diagnostics sheet if anyone is interested or had a difference of opinion as to what the issue is.

best

Jon

 

[56Doc]

Really sorry to hear that, that’s rotten.

Is there a non franchised diesel or Audi specialist anywhere near you? I know Audi’s prices are ridiculous. 

My suspension pump went, Audi wanted £1500 to change it, quoting £1100 for the pump. I bought a new one from the manufacturer in the US for £300 and it took an hour in a garage to fit it.

what. About a full recon engine? 

[56Doc]

Just looked at a few online,

onlinecarparts.co.uk have these pumps for £925, any garage should be able to tell how long/ how much to fit. But another £1000 seems seriously OTT. 

[56Doc]

Just a thought but if this is your long term car, would a later engine go in? 2.7 or even a 3.0. The 2.7 replaced the 2.5 so might be fairly straight forward.