Messing with the Air suspension. :)

[The Wrench]

Well?

It's that time.

when the car decides it wants to sit on the ground. and the air suspension is not responding.

ah. i am going to dig into this in the coming days.

got any points to start from, or diagrams, etc to reference?  post it up.

 

it's time to tame the car's weakness.

[Exhaustgases]

Grounds and electrical connections. And depends for sure what is happening. Any noise from the pump? It could be the ECU for the system as well, I'm sure if its like gen 1's its in the trunk and getting moist or hot depending on your climate. Need info like what is happening or not.

[The Wrench]

Definitely electrical. The car was fine, drove it through a car wash. And 20 minutes later it was "stanced" lol. 

So today I took everything out of the trunk. And found a fish pond. 

 

Cleaned all the couplings in there with electronic parts cleaner. After draining the water out. 

Got in the car. Messed with the switches. And got brief action with the system. But still no power to the rear suspension. 

Had to order a new trunk water seal. So I drove to my local Toyota dealer. And asked to talk to one of their more enthusiast friendly techs. Waiting on his findings. 

Also checking the cost of new height sensors. 

[The Wrench]

After drinking my complimentary coffee. I asked the parts department lady if I can discuss the car with the techs. she says "sure, go out to talk to them" . one old schooler is in the car, with the diagnostics machine. running codes. with two lads looking on.

i tell them about when it failed. and asked if it was a fault with the rear sensors? like water might have gotten into it?

 

we took it over to the pit. where the problem was found. the lad in the pit held the sensor in "low", so the car would raise, then put it back on the lift to assess the damage.

 

 

One of the brackets for the height sensor had clean snapped off. causing it to always think it was up. when in fact it was down.

they sell the whole assembly (including suspension arm, actuator arm,sensor) for $500.

i asked, can't we just tack this on with a MIG welder? lads agreed. $0 or $500.

haha, they get paid hourly. and the consultation is free. so they were happy to explore the mysteries of the LS400/Celsior air suspension.

tacking the bracket back on. but what caused it to snap? making the whole rear of the car fail?

These actuator arms. both Left and Right had seized up. at both ends. not only causing the sensors to act up. but placing tension on the brackets because they have no movement.

  But why would i want to pay $1,000 for a whole kit (left and right), when  it's just these 9.5cm rods with ball joints on the end,6mm thread, and 10mm nuts?

when i could buy these adjustable ones......

fully adjustable links from the headlight assembly in the later Gen Celsiors/LS400's. strong enough for the load bearing needed. and fully adjustable to set the sensor height at whatever height i choose? (drop 2 inches) meaning i can run stock setup at a custom height?

no brainer. @  $30 a piece. 

And for all their help? i didn't pay a cent.  

 

Big thanks to the lads at the Toyota Dealership. and the parts lady. they were patient. adventurous. and let me get involved. a fun time was had. - they understand that some parts i will buy used, or aftermarket. and some new parts from them .

Excellent people. Thumbs up Toyota, you guys are awesome.

[The Wrench]

Well, the parts arrived. And I didn't want to be at work. So I called in some of my owed lift time at a local tire shop.

And here they are:

You can see the differences, and the similarities. - can be adjusted to OEM length. same mounting bolt sizes, only with more thread, which is a plus.

one of the rods was broken in the fun and games at the Toyota Dealership.

brought my excursion tool bag, and some tools. (forgot the 10mm, facepalm)

This is the broken part before i removed it. you can see how it connects the sensor to the suspension arm.

The new parts are not only adjustable, but if left loose, swivel too. a fully articulated actuator arm.

with the rods set at low, and mounted at the lowest point available. the cat has got an inch and a half drop in the rear. now to adjust the front.

air suspension is a funny thing. but not difficult. hopefully this has fixed my suspension. for $80. not $1,000.

saved some money with this, and am happy with the result. good times.

[Exhaustgases]

With that as the problem the pump would work, the sensor just reads the wrong height. With more info I think we could have figured out the sensor deal, it is electrical but also a mechanical problem.

[The Wrench]

Yeah, I had to get it up on a lift. Best way to see what I got to work with. Glad I did. 

Now the car is back in the game. 

 

Just need to adjust the front links. so i can better calibrate the height controller. as it has an aftermarket controller, and i am not sure if i want to stick with it. there is still plenty more messing about left to do. the adventure continues.......