My 2007 Continental has started to loose air from the front airbags. It droops noticeably in an hour, and the warning that the car is too low to drive comes on. It pumps up pretty quickly. I suspect that the front springs are leaking.

Arnott sells new springs for this car, in 2 flavors. One uses a new shock absorber (damper) that has only 1 setting, and a new airbag. The other re-uses an old damper, with multiple settings, with a new airbag.

Which would you recommend? Or, do you have any other solutions?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Bob

 

i replaced the 2fronts with re-used part 4 years ago. no problems

 

I used Arnott structs but I don't know if my shop used the rebuilt or new version.

 

Hello Bob,

Can you tell us if both sides are dropping together, or is it one side then the other, as it is unlikely that both airsprings failed at the exact same time, also, PLEASE get on this immediately, as the next item to fail will be the very costly air compressor located under the vehicle in the spare tire circle, it will also overload and then fuse the air compressors relay contacts together causing the compressor to run non stop, and hopefully blow the 40 amp fuse, also the compressor has a temperature sensor and if it reaches set point then the compressor will shut down and the leak will allow the vehicle to fall, so when the vehicle reaches lower level and compressor is to hot and valve box activates to let air in, it actually lets air out of both front when it is trying to raise one, SO you need to do the soapy water test at the air distribution valve block located on the air compressor under the rear of the vehicle, also spray soapy water at each airline connection on each strut, ALSO spray the strut themselves at the top and bottom, there is a air pressure reserve tank with a purple air line located in the drivers rear wheel well, BUT if that were leaking, I believe that both the front and rear would have a problem lifting, just a note, it may appear that both sides are dropping together when that may not be the case, so park the vehicle on level ground and put the air suspension in lift/jack mode and shut down the vehicle, next take a tape measure or yard stick and keep an eye on each side, you should see then the failing airspring, line, or connection.


Now if in fact you have a leaking airspring, and again this is just my opinion, I myself would NOT use arnotts NEW design that REMOVES the electromagnetic control valve in their struts, nor would I ever replace just one strut with their non active unit while leaving the other OEM Bentley strut on the other side as a member on here has stated they have done, it makes no sense to me as to the members thinking, for instants, the factory OEM struts have electromagnetic control valves built in as to maintain the dampening of said strut as to which ride mode is selected, comfort or sport, it is NOT just the airspring that sets the ride as some think..... NOR would I use arnotts "remanufactured" units as they are just re-built, meaning they only fix the failing item, mainly the airspring, when it come to the strut itself, as it is a two piece item as the airspring slides off of the strut, they as stated in replies on this site state that they test the strut, and if it passes, they clean and paint it, that IS all they do, they do NOT remanufacture or rebuild the strut itself, and YOU will have NO idea how many miles are on their so called "remanufactured" strut, as they do not know either, you could receive one with 10,000 miles, or 180,000 miles, or more, who knows, I know that if my 05 A8L W12 with 180,000 at the moment were to blow an airspring and I sent it in as a core it would be used to make a complete "remanufactured" unit as the strut itself is in working order and not a sign of any seepage or leakage, BUT someone would end up with my 180,000 + mile strut, with who knows how much life left to it, YES arnott has a lifetime guarantee, But I do not feel like doing the job over and over as some have experienced on AW....


Now, although I have not had to replace any struts on my Audi A8L W12 nor My Bentley GT (still in progress of rebuilding ), I do always search my options for when needed, and I found and called this company to verify that their 100% new strut/airspring units in fact do have all items and functions as OEM, and the answer received is a yes, "100% as OEM" and "includes the electromagnetic control valve in each strut for you Bentley or Audi", and at $1663.00 a pair and free shipping, it looks and sound great !


https://aerosus.com/bentley/continen...ion-strut.html




https://aerosus.com/?SID=fnmfhavqtim...902.1495464458


My re-build https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-pictures.html



.

 

Wow, what a project! I'm glad to be talking to someone who has seen all of those Bentley parts first hand.

I am definitely going to act on the strut problem right away. I've had Lincoln experience, and I know what happens when the compressor runs continuously. My experience with Lincoln ark VIIs and VIIIs, is that the rubber parts last about 10 years, regardless of the miles. Up to that point, they are pretty trouble free, much more so than Fords with steel springs. Ford is famous for broken steel springs in the 80s and 90s.

Thanks for the lead on Aerosus. They sound a lot better than Arnott. I have heard mixed reviews of Arnott, and the products I have seen did not really impress me.

It appeared that the right front strut was leaking down more quickly than the left, at least at first. I suspect that because the car had sat around for a long time, the rubber had hardened, and my use of the car caused it to fail. Tomorrow I will get the car up on a lift, and see what I can see.

Arnott did provide a nice guide for changing the strut.

How do you release the pressure in the air system when you go to change the strut?

On a minor annoyance level, my trunk no longer closes smoothly. It drops the last 6 inches, and slams. It didn't so this 2 weeks ago. I suspect that the gas struts have lost some of their force. Is this likely?

Again, thanks for sharing your experience and wisdom.

Bob

 

As far as releasing the air pressure, when I replaced all the upper, lower control arms, tie rod ends, etc. 13 pieces in all on my A8l W12, I had to remove both front struts to get at the upper control arm bolts, I myself thought the same, "how am I going to remove the air pressure after putting it in lift and jack mode to pull onto the lift when I forgot my laptop with Ross-Tech VCDS at home..... ", so after it was in the air I just slowly loosened both front air lines just enough to bleed the air, I then did the front end job and lowered the vehicle just until the tires touched the ground, then started the engine, took the suspension out of jack mode, lowered the lift another inch or so, and put the vehicle back in jack mode to lift off of the lift, or you can a VAS 5054, or 5052 if you have one, or the Ross-tech software and cable if you have it, see the video of the Ross-Tech SW in action bleeding and charging the suspension.


As far as the power lift and close trunk lid motor, this is the first time IIRC hearing of a Bentley trunk lid motor failing, now I am not sure if Bentley did the same as Audi did with the A8/S8 power lift and close trunk motors, on the Audis the earlier units were plastic and would fail after time because of flex in the plastic housing, they would most of the time fail to lift the first 4" or so, and needed help by hand to get past that 4" point, then would lift fine, depending on the weather my Audi will either lift or not (4"), or will drop the last 3 inches, many on AW have replaced the trunk struts to no avail, others have added a small spring up by the left hand hinge to give it a pop open help needed, and that worked for the lifting problem, but not the slamming of the last inches before latching, now some have said that each side has a different part number trunk strut and that they have different load pressures for each side, and as the lifting motor only lifts one side, that makes sense, also the updated units are a full metal housing and also a higher torque rated motor, so check to see what you have in your 07 GT, as my 05 body did not have the option but I am retrofitting the unit from the 07 parts vehicle into mine, here is the 07 unit I have.








.

 

Johnny,

This morning the right front corner was completely deflated, and the pump would not raise it.

I've tried to find someone around here who would work on this car, but without success.

I think I'll order a pair of struts from Aerosus, and maybe try it myself.

I'd appreciate any thoughts you have.

As for the trunk closer, it opens just fine. It's just that when it closes, it suddenly drops the last 4 inches or so. It didn't do this 2 weeks ago. I suspect that the small gas struts that help it open are losing their force.

Thanks for your help.

Bob

 

Very helpful Johnny!

 

Air suspension issues are resolved on my Bentley.

I replaced both front struts with rebuilt parts from RMT in Pompano beach, FL. I chose these for 2 reasons.

1. They knew there were different calibrations in shock absorbers for different year Continentals.

2. Price. They were a little more than half the price of Arnott or Aerosus.

Service, good, parts look good, and, best of all, they seem to work just fine.
I appreciate all the help forum members have given me with my Bentley.

Bob Elton

 

Congrats and GREAT to hear! Rebuilts at 1/2 price of Arnott, details please for others

 

See this, it goes along with what I have stated here before, so be aware people.....

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a8-s...uilds-2924506/

.

 

There seems to be a bit of confusion regarding Arnott's Remanufactured Struts vs. Arnott Designed New Struts so I wanted to give you some feedback. It really all comes down to cost, the age and value of your vehicle, and what available options you and your installler have available for replacing your faulty strut.

Arnott has become an industry leader in air suspension replacement products by trying to offer high quality, cost-effective, solutions. For the 1st couple of years we don't make anything for a new car since it is covered under warranty but we do start buying, and inspecting, cores. After that, if we can’t devise an air spring only replacement (like we can for some Land Rovers), we start remanufacturing used O.E. Cores which maintain the vehicle's semi-active damping functionality as well as factory auto leveling and OE air ride comfort. We test them but we don't know how many actual miles are on the internal damper - but we do know they are getting more and more use every year (this application has been on the road since 2003) and other internal components start to fail. We even see some that have been remanufactured before.

After a few years we start working on an Arnott designed passive new strut often built to improve upon the OE strut's failure points. It features the luxury and comfort of a new ContiTech multi-ply, cross-cord, air sleeve to smooth out bumps and for auto leveling along with a new damper custom tuned to provide as close to an OE ride as possible. We now partner with shock manufacturer Eibach® to custom tune (valve) the new shock damper which enables our engineers to more precisely tune the strut for an OE like ride. Arnott builds the new passive struts with other Tier 1 (OE quality) components including heavier duty crimping rings, oil resistant seals, new polyurethane bump stop and more. The new struts also are designed with a larger piston that doesn't require the air reservoir and remember - no core charge but we may buy back your core.

Many think the ride is BETTER than the replaced OE but I think that is because over time your OE Shocks slowly wear out especially since they are supporting such a heavy vehicle (think of Monroe’s ad campaigns where they want you to replace traditional shocks after 50k) and since ours are new dampers they often provide a better ride than worn out OEs with 100k, 200k or more miles on them.

We think the Arnott designed new struts are an excellent alternative for aging (some are over 16 years old) air suspension systems because they provide the comfort and auto leveling of air springs and a brand new shock damper which should provide many more years and miles of smooth riding.

We stand behind all of our new and remanufactured air struts (as well as our air springs, compressors and coil conversion kits) by offering a Limited Lifetime Warranty in North America for as long as you own the vehicle and have a 30-day money back guarantee if you don't like the ride. Here are the current options Arnott provides installers and customers for the 2003-2019 Bentley Continental GT, 2006-2019 Flying Spur and 2003-2006 Volkswagen Phaeton including Arnott remanufactured OE struts and Arnott designed new struts - All assembled in our Merritt Island, Florida factory: https://www.arnottindustries.com/pro...ying-spur/2013

 

So after two years, you revive a old thread saying it’s some confusion? My question to you would be what year did your company start making the new strut design? When I redid my struts last year I never came across any Arnott Design new struts when I was looking to source them so I went with Aerosus. From my understanding the old struts you offered use some type of resistor to have the car “think” it had the OEM parts.

 

Hello TeamJones,
The "New" design by arnott is the unit that uses the resistors to fool the vehicles suspension system into thinking that the OE unit is in place, now the used so called "remanufactured" OEM original design unit from factory that arnott sells would not need such a resistor as it is truly a factory designed unit.

Now what I 100% disagree with Doug at arnott with is his continued use of the term "remanufactured", and the fact that Doug has stated before that "remanufactured and rebuilt mean the same thing", or "at least most people think it does" and "this is the terminology used in the industry" these are the comments he made on the phone to me a few years ago, he has also stated some of this on Audiworld, so just because some people do not know the difference does not mean one should perpetrate the deception.

A remanufactured unit has all working parts replaced to bring the unit to OEM factory specs.

A rebuilt unit only fixes what is required to back into working order, but NOT to OEM specs.

So, being arnott only inspects and test the used strut damper for leaks and it being operational, then cleans and paints said used unknown milage damper, and installs a new air bladder (air spring), it is NOT a remanufactured unit as arnott claims, it IS a rebuilt unit.

Remember people, the strut and the air spring are 2 separate pieces that together make up the unit.

 

@Johnny : I have the brand new Arnott on my White one and so far 3k miles without any issue... I hope it last at least 5 years...
for the riding : because I didn't drive it at 300km/h... most of the times is less than 150km.h.. and my feeling is it like ORiginal shock on the Black one...
it did change the air spring damper if u switch between Comfort and Sport.. the car feeling Tight...
I heard there are a new one call Bilstein.. do u ever try it? lot more expensive than Arnott and only 2 year warranty..