air ride problem

check your air bags for hole. if they are good, than check the lines

my old man has a '94 continental... he converted the airride system to springs becuase he had so many problems with it

how difficult was the conversion

I have the same exact problem. The story is when they lift your car up, as soon as the tires leave the ground, if the air-ride switch hasn't already been turned off you have a 90% risk of killing your system. I have nothing but trouble with my air-ride, that is why i would recomend the conversion kit from americanairsuspension.com. Im currently saving for the 1.5'' lowered kit. ($469). not a bad price when you consider a whole new system being about 1K. heres the link.... http://www.americanairsuspension.com/cart/products.php?cat=3

i did the front conversion on my 95 mark and it was pretty easy. took only a hour or two in my driveway, with the car on the jack that comes with the car.

I did a full coil spring conversion on my 98 LSC. The kit is very nice. I ordered the 1.5" lowering kit from americanairsuspension.com. its only took me a couple hours to do both front and rear, air tools definitely helped a lot! The stance of the Mark now and the handling is almost like a new car. Any more questions let me know.

There could be so many things that can go wrong with an air suspension. I gave up on trying to fix the thing on my aunts Mark 8. I bought her a conversion kit from Strutmasters.com and saved her money and me a lot of time. This air system can be trying and frustrating but I would not give up this kit for anything.

I helped a friend with his Mark 8 and converted it to non air. He got a nice kit from Strutmasters.com. It came with great instructions and didn't take long to install at all. I shortly after that purchased one for my own ride.

Hi. I dont know much about cars and air ride and all that. I do know that my car failed badly. When it did I was left sitting beside the road. We were told that it was a lot of money to fix it so I did some searching on the web and found a non air conversion kit by Strutmasters.com. I saved a lot of money by doing away with the air on the car. If you have time check them out. Its worth it.

I bought a mark viii where the front has the conversion kit, but every time i start the car it says that air ride system off. is there any way to disable that on the computer?

there is, you have to remove the glovebox and clip the green wire. if you google it you should find the instructions.

I have a 1995 Lincoln Mark 8. and it sounds like yours is your air suspension has failed. Mine did the same thing. I went to my dealer and they said it was going to cost 4500-6000 to fix the air suspension. That was way to much money. My wife just had a baby and i couldnt pay that much out of my pocket. I went to Strutmasters.com and got conversion kit and it toke away the air and now i have a lifetime warranty and i dont have to worry about it again.

Hello, when im driving my car it drive ok. but when stop for a little bit my check air ride system ligth cum on. Then i turn the car off for like 5 sec then turn it back on and the air pump come on and the car goes back up.

Hey I also had problems with my Lincoln car and I went with strutmasters as well. I am so glad that I dont have to deal with air junk anymore. My baby rides beautifully again...thanks to them.

I have ...I think a comprssor issue... this has been quoted for more than a $600 fix. In several friends researching I'm told that the '98 Mark IIIV has a bipass system that will allow a person to pump up the air ride with something that resembles a tire valve stem under body. After that, supposedly, if the air ride system is shut down things should work fine even though a little rougher ride. Looking for confirmation...is this true? Are there other remedies to this situation? Pls advise...

I've had the same issue, except now my pump is not working at all so restarts are not the fix.I'm told that the compressor has failed. People tell me that there is a bypass, true or no? Have you found a remedy to this problem that is not going to cost the $600 plus labor or more that the local shops are quoting me?

I changed my air ride over to thunderbird struts they are exctaly the same n perfect fit I got mine for 100 bucks all 4 wheel strut n springs off of thunderbird at junk yard I find it funny that everyone spends $$$ for custom when its for thunderbird they say its custom for changing over air ride when everyone could had just go for thunderbird struts just letting everyone know that lincoln and thunderbird are the same but not the dohc engine that's the only diff ok and also all the control arm n ball joint n all that off of thunderbird are the same fit n all that for lincoln too thunderbird parts are 50% cheaper than lincoln part.s

MY 96 MARK III PUMPS UP TOO MUCH IN THE FRONT ONLY AND RIDES HARD AND BOUNCY. ANY IDEAS OF WHAT'S WRONG? THANKS

i have a 95 m.8. just instaled front struts now it wont pumpup the back is there a wire change i have to do in the front??????

Anyone with pics of the 1.5 lower kit?

I JUST PUT A STRUTMASTER 1.5 LOWERING KIT AND AM HAPPY WITH IT. IT HANDLES NICE AND DOESN'T RIDE BAD AT ALL I WAS WORRIED IT MIGHT RIDE TERRIBLE. HERE'S A PIC OF IT LOWERED.

t-bird, ford Taurus, i was wondering what year date of cars coil spring & strut will fit my 1997 Lincoln Continental ? looking to convert over without using strut master coast to much junkyards are a good place to going without picking through damage parts

My 1998 MK VIII with air suspension has a problem. the lower bracket with a ball to attach to the ride hight sensor broke off. Were might I get this part?

why do you guys all insist on compromising the great ride quality you have the new air bags only cost around 50$ each that and replacing a line requires almost the same amount of effort as converting to coil springs and the ride quality doesnt go way down down.

where do you get new bags for $50 each? I haven't seen much for sale for these Marks...

As low as 62$ each unless you prefer a better brand then expect 85-90 each bag. I myself know or expect the body to rot out in a couple years so I would Prolly go with the cheaper. Also it's a good idea to replace the ride height sensors at the same time. Anyhow look at Rockauto.com. My only advice would be to make sure they will directly fit without any modification. I bought an exhaust manifold pipe and the flange did not line up. Tried 2 different brands still had to cut and weld. So just be mindfull of that. Sometimes you can look at pics check reviews. Still dirt cheap for airbags

I agree w Jay. I went frm air ride to Strutmaster an tha ride is not tha same. I’m goin bak to air ride. I can’t git air line disconnected. Santiago an Sam didn’t show this on ther vdo.. cn Arkansaw git sum help?

Air bags dry rot over time. Your gonna be replacing them again. Buy the springs and be done with it. Go ahead and do the hub swap while you have everything apart and put you some nice 17x8 Mustang wheels on there. Then you'll have something to smile about when you get done.

Jay. The ride quality gets better with springs. Air ride is junk. The only area where air ride is better is on something that hauls heavy weight. That way the weight doesnt squat it down. But Mark viii's don't haul heavy loads. I've had 2 mark viii's and known other people with them. Springs are the best option.

Arkansaw an me hav samee... I went to struts an ride is not tha same so now I got new air bags installed. Nothing happens w compressor. Fuses r gud. So how do I check compressor?. Mine is a 97 mk8

well you could check fuses power to compressor. It more then likely burnt out if it had to run constantly due to leaks your air line might even be leaking. My bags were just dry rotted and from going up and down a bunch of times over the years where the bags fold over near the bottom was were they started slowly leaking. Everyone has different conditions and environments so its hard telling but more then likely compressor burnt out. My bags lasted 20 something years most of them in hot sunny florida before they failed. Once i noticed one side going down over night i knew something was wrong so i acted quickly and replaced them because if not the compressor will have to constantly run all night and day to try and refill. I live in newengland so my compressor would have ran almost all night trying to level in the winter. i caught it just in time. Id look for power going to compressor and check wires you might even beable to run power directly to it to test

One of 3 things: the compressor unit, the bags themselves, or the valves on each. The o- rings drying on the electronic valve units on each strut gave me the most problems. Get yourself a small spray bottle of Dawn and water and with the car sitting up a normal ride height, spray the valves and look for air bubbles. If nothing there, continue with the soap spray on the small plastic lines that go from the compressor to the wheels, and the fittings at the compressor. If the air bags are shot (they are rubber and riot) you have 2 choices: 1- get rebuild units from Strutmaster or get the conversion kit to change from air suspension to regular shocks. I went for rebuilt units because I didn't want to give up that wonderful "floating on air" feeling of the air system.

If you own a 25 year old car chances are you are mechanically inclined. If you can switch to struts yourself than you sure can fix and maintain your air ride. My Mark just turned 25 and 125,000 miles. Never had a problem with air ride to just recently. Did complete overhaul of air ride. Struts, shocks, bags, lines, dryer compressor etc.. for under $1000 in parts. Ready for another 25 years and 125,000 miles. I could have put a band aid on it but the air ride on these cars is like a chain on a bike. A new link will get you home but a new chain will get you where you want to go. If I wanted coil over suspension I would have bought a Thunderbird.

I drive a semi truck so that puts me away from home a lot. Then when I get home I've got maintenance and repairs to do on my truck. A lot of yall understand what it's like to work all the time and not have time to tinker with a car all the time. You could get in a time machine and go back to 1998 a get a BRAND NEW MARK VIII. It would kill the battery trying to air up the suspension in 2 or 3 weeks. I'd come home to a dead battery every time. Not to mention all the other problems. It's a flawed design and cannot be made good. PERIOD!!! I can't believe that yall are advising someone to continue to work on the air suspension. This is why people don't trust forums for solid information. If I wanted a stiffer ride for handling curves: Strutmaster 1.5" lowering spring. If I wanted smooth floating comfortable ride: Check around the Internet for cheap springs. I have a 97 with Strutmaster 1.5" lowering springs and it's considerably stiffer ride than my 95 that my dad bought cheapo springs for. My wife likes the 95 because it rides smoother. I prefer the 97 because it feels like it's connected to the road ,and handles better on these N Georgia back roads. The junk air ride ,and the slush box transmission is why you can by a pretty nice Mark VIII for $1000. And a super sharp one for $2500. The transmission will last a little while if you baby it and stay out of the mountains. But the air ride is just a constant waste of time and money. Also theres a blue box under the radio in the dash that beeps randomly ,and will scare you to death. Just unplug it. Who knows what it is. Life is better without it. :)