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2004 Mercury Marquis LS with the rear air bag suspension.
The bags are not leaking. The air compressor pump motor is very weak and sometimes does not cut in to inflate the bags. This results in the air slowly leaking out somewhere and dropping down to the stops. I can gently ‘tap’ the motor and it will cut in and inflate them. Can drive for a week as long as I turn the switch in the trunk to OFF.
Would you replace the pump ($300+) of install the Monroe spring suspension conversion kit ($200)…?
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I would do a bit more diagnosing before making a decision.
I’m kind of confused. You said the pump doesn’t turn on when it should, but then you said in order to keep it inflated you turn the pump off.I’ve seen it before where the pump will physically just not be able to keep up. However, the system did have an issue previous to the pump failing. But the fact that a tap will solve the pump issues, would definitely seem to indicate that the motor is heading towards complete failure.
It’s really up to you. You will probably lose some comfort with standard coils, but the springs themselves should never really fail. Personally I would replace the pump once and if it dies again just say screw it and put coils in.
Ya…. thanks….
Maybe do the ‘auto wrecker’ thing and try and buy a used one that works before spending $300 plus on a new one. The bags seem to be fine and will hold for a week if I deactivate the pump with the switch off. There must be an air valve that the switch activates when ‘on’, as it will only hold for a few hours.Thanks for the reply,
It takes about a week… maybe more, for the air to deflate from the bags while normal driving.
To inflate the bags I have to give the pump motor a few ‘taps’ with a wrench for it to turn on and inflate the bags. If I leave the switch in the on position the bags will deflate in a few hours and the pump does not cycle ‘on’ to re-inflate them. If I turn it to ‘off’ the air in the system will hold for about a week as I had stated. Appears that the pump is almost worn out, as it runs for a fair bit of time after I give it a tap to get it to turn on to pressure the system.
Just wondering if you had any experiences with these air systems on Crown Vics and Mercurys and if I should spend the money to keep the system functioning or just put in a coil spring replacement kit?Sounds like from your description that the air pump motor has failed however the bags on these systems do get old and will eventually leak so you might have to replace the bags in the future. They aren’t cheap either. Its really up to you but my vote would be to just put the springs in it and not have to worry about it ever again.
Given the age of the vehicle and the potential cost of the parts, I’d recommend salvage parts as recommended or converting to regular springs. I believe they’re available for that model.
Please keep us updated on how you decide to resolve the issue.
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