Hey guys a little
stumped here . Have a 2005 Bentley GT. The two front shocks were just replaced(Arnotts) but after about 36 hours of not starting the car sitting ,the car comes down in the front on both sides nothing on the back just the front you start the car and they go back up no problems. my mechanic checked it he said the struts weren’t leaking and the lines weren’t leaking he thinks it possibly might be coming from the suspension air supply solenoid block in the back is that possible I just don’t know what else it could be .

 

I would say yes, it could be.

 

First off with your new car, have you bought a VCD scanner?

Before you start throwing parts at it, buy the Ross Tech https://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/index.html

Check out the codes it is certainly throwing and get back to this group.

Don't replace anything without a scan.

This is the one I bought. https://store.ross-tech.com/shop/vchv2_ent/

It's really just a cable and software for a laptop (Windows). I keep it in my glove box. Couldn't imagine owning a GT without it.

 

Oh, also, if the two front shocks were just replaced, I would go looking for the leak…at the two front shocks. Just sayin'

 

My car has exactly the same issue. I replaced both front struts myself with RMT rebuilt ones and the front drops about 3 inches over 4-5 days. it immediately goes back up when I start the car and no suspension MIL light is showing.

I checked for leaks using soapy water with the wheels off and no weight on the suspension and did not find any - though I'm thinking if there's no load on the strut it won't leak anyway. RMT says the struts were fully tested before shipping so they don't leak and I need to re-calibrate the system. I just have an Autel Diaglink not a Ross-Tech so I don't have any way to re-calibrate. If I'm not getting any MIL light I'm wondering if I should still get the Ross Tech to do a full diagnostic or just press my case with RMT and ask them for replacements ?

I appreciate any and all suggestions

 

Hello @mohara ,
First off the comment from RMT about recalibration is nonsense, you have a leak plain and simple.

Yes, you are correct, you need to have a load on the suspension to test for leaks, because if you have it jacked up by the body with the suspension hanging, the system actually releases air because it thinks it's to high, even if put it in jack mode and then jack it up, the struts will not have good pressure as the suspension is hanging on them pulling them down so the bag is not fully inflated.

See the thread linked below, you need to NOT use jack mode, you need to remove both front wheels, place either jack stands or floor jacks under the lower control arms ball joint area closest to the rotors on both sides to load the suspension and struts, start the engine and let the system fill and level, turn off the engine, then test for leaks by spraying the top (under the hood/bonnet, remove the rubber boots as shown in my pictures attached below, and spray these areas good) and bottom of each strut, the air line feeding each strut, the brass plate and residual valve on each strut, and finally if not first, spray the 6 lines on the valve block at the rear of the vehicle mounted on the compressor assembly itself, the only other item left to test for leakage would be the purple line at the accumulator tank located in the drivers side rear wheel well, BUT, if you have done the jack mode test of getting the vehicle to normal height, then putting it in jack mode, then the accumulator tank does NOT come into play, as the system is shut down for all movement.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ple-weeks.html

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Johnny

 

Thanks Johnny, I followed your suggestion plus the methodology suggested by Louis from Audiworld and I found a leak at the top of the passenger side strut - see attached pictures.

The only thing I did differently from your instructions was that I put the car in jack mode to lift it and get the wheels off then I propped up the lower control arms, took the car out of jack mode to fill the system then checked for leaks. I also checked the valve block at the rear but no leaks there. I didn't start the engine as there was enough air in the accumulator tank to fill the system.

My only question is will a leak in one side explain a drop in both sides ?

I'll pass the info to RMT and let you know the outcome.

 

Hello @mohara ,
Glad you found the leak, and I understand your putting it in jack mode first to jack it up, and then off after, either way is fine, your way was safer.

As to the starting of the engine, did the body of the vehicle rise up high enough to meet the standard height while the suspension was propped up, I meant to edit my prior response to state that the suspension should be placed in the lift mode (high setting/right suspension button), then test for leaks, I am just hoping that you had enough air pressure from the accumulator to properly fill the system without starting the engine.

As to both sides dropping when only one side is leaking, yes, that happens almost every time, especially in the front with the engine weight, as when your passenger side is dropping, and drops to a point where the system tries to fill it, the driver's side starts to loose air as the valves at the valve block open and close, one would think that only the passenger side valve should open, but, as the passenger side starts sagging it pulls the driver's side down a bit causing it's level sensor to call for air, if the compressor has been running to much due to the leak, it may be in time out mode for cool down due to over heating, then the accumulator is empty and the compressor is off, and the front will eventually fall to the ground on both sides, eventhough only side is leaking.

But be sure to double and triple check both sides up front for leaks, in lift mode if you can, and still have the vehicle propped up.

Johnny

 

Prior to removing the wheels, the moment I opened the driver's door I could hear air filling the system from the accumulator tank. The compressor did not start and I did not start the engine. This raised the vehicle to standard height. Then I put it into jack mode, raised the front on jacks removed the wheels, jacked-up the front wheel assemblies using bottle jacks under the ball joints then started spraying my soapy water over the air line connections on the strut as well as the bottom and on the top in the engine compartment. After about 5 minutes I took it out of jack mode and could immediately hear air filling the system from the accumulator tank - again the compressor did not start and I did not start the engine. Since the front of the car was on jack stands and the entire wheel assemblies raised on bottle jacks I could not tell how much it raised but I assume it was to standard height. I then removed the rear cover to spray the valve block and when I checked the fronts I could see the bubbles oozing out the top on the passenger side. Everywhere else looked ok.

So if a leak one one side will cause both sides to drop then I'm pretty sure it's just the passenger side that's leaking.

Thanks again for your help !



After about 5 minutes the bubbles started to ooze out of the top on the passenger side.

As soon as I took it out of jack mode I could hear air filling the system from the accumulator tank - the compressor did not turn on

 

@mohara ,
Glad to help !

But just to be clear on one thing, as I am not clear as to how you supported the vehicle, when you jacked the vehicle up and removed the wheels, you then placed bottle jacks under each sides control arms ball-joint areas, BUT, did you jack up the bottle jacks high enough to lift the body off of the jack stands that were supporting it, therefore putting all of the weight on the suspension ?

Johnny

 

No I probably didn't lift them enough to take ALL the weight, just some of the weight. Still it was enough to find the leak on the passenger side strut. The drivers side had no leaks with same weight, but I'll probably re-do the leak test just to make sure.

 

@mohara ,
I would agree to you doing a re-do just to be sure, would hate to see you go through this twice with RMT.

This just goes to show how are-not and rmt always claiming that the units are "fully tested and don't leak" is just bs, I have read about both companies having leaks, clunks, blowouts, bladder rings falling out, and so on...
It would be interesting to hear just how they test the units for air leaks after assembly, do they fill it with a minimal amount of air pressure, or the right amount to simulate load of the vehicle, then do they put each in a water tub like one would do when finding a leak on a tire bead and rim, or do they just add air and say well it held for so many minutes with no load on the air bladder.

It's just annoying how many times people have wasted their time and labor or paid for same to only receive defective units, and then denial or excuses after, like recalibration...

Johnny

 

This write-up is incredibly helpful. I shall be pursuing the same as my suspension on my '05 is doing exactly that, it drops and then refills without the compressor or engine running when I open the door without key in ignition. Level control height error on dash, and scanner shows "leak detected in system". My air struts are also not original, they were changed at some point with some chinese equivalents that seemed to work in other Bentleys. For closure, how did you resolve it? Did you change just a component or the entire strut?