2007 Expedition EL Limited Air Suspension Issue

[birdyismydog]

Hello,

I'm frustrated to say the least.

Rear end of truck sagging. Air Suspension message came on.

Dealer diagnosed compressor gone bad and wanted 1k. Local repair shop completed the job for $460.

They got the compressor to come on and I think they just manually initiated getting the rear pumped up.

Some additional work was required to program/recalibrate. Dude stopped by and this did not work. Said programmer could not communicate with back end.

I drove home. Back end is still up.

Questions/Feedback

Pay for another 1hr of labor and hope for just leveling sensors. Possibly replace more parts such as the right and left level sensors? Approx $80 each. ~$300 repair. That's if I pay for install and $125 calibration.

Alternative, conversion kit install. $800-900 job. Just live with the fate of once the Air Suspension acts up then get rid of it by installing struts.

Your feedback and experiences are much appreciated.

-Justin

 

[montecarlo31]

Personally I would keep the air springs and take it to someone who knows what they are doing.

You could also try and troubleshoot if yourself with the schematic, have you checked for things like power to everywhere there should be power? Checked for continuity in the harnesses? Did you turn the air suspension back on in the dash and check the fuses?

 

[GAINMOB]

buy conversion kit and be DONE with this for ever...go on ebay and buy suncore conversion kit for your year...hate to tell you this...but the failure is on time...they last 7-10 yrs before going bad...i paid less than $400 for the conversion kit and the shop i deal with did the job for $250...air suspension parts will fail and will get costly especially if you arent doing the work...NOW...all i have to worry about is bad struts...well worth it so u wont have to throw money at it in the future

 

[GAINMOB]

fuel pump assy and alt are next on the shelf life list...its time for them too

 

[montecarlo31]

buy conversion kit and be DONE with this for ever...go on ebay and buy suncore conversion kit for your year...hate to tell you this...but the failure is on time...they last 7-10 yrs before going bad...i paid less than $400 for the conversion kit and the shop i deal with did the job for $250...air suspension parts will fail and will get costly especially if you arent doing the work...NOW...all i have to worry about is bad struts...well worth it so u wont have to throw money at it in the future

Ehhh...1,000 bucks isn't much to maintaining a car over 7 years and it's well worth not worrying when you load 800 or even 1,000 lbs of people and gear into the truck. Put 1,000 lbs in a rear sprung expedition and it brings the suck, I've experienced it first hand.

 

[GAINMOB]

not in the expedition...ppl are pulling 6x's that on the conversion and have reported HAPPILY results...check out suncore conversion kits...strutmasters conversion kits...and arnott conversion kits...why not decrease that yearly avg cost with the conversion and furture repairs...just suggestions...thats all we do here

 

[Rocky mahmood]

Man fix a normal suspension and cancel the fault that will show in the computer through new programing..

 

[GAINMOB]

u can fix that fault without programming

 

[montecarlo31]

not in the expedition...ppl are pulling 6x's that on the conversion and have reported HAPPILY results...check out suncore conversion kits...strutmasters conversion kits...and arnott conversion kits...why not decrease that yearly avg cost with the conversion and furture repairs...just suggestions...thats all we do here

Did you read my post? Pulling has nothing to do with what I said.

 

[GAINMOB]

i mentioned pulling becuz some of the ppl on here have very high weight at the tongue which would affect how it sits in the rear...i've packed a lot of weight in the back on drop springs and it did just fine

 

[robitailleguy]

Hi, first: excuse my spelling: I'm a french Canadian from Quebec City...Something going wrong to me with your problem: 1- if only the back of your truck was down, the problem is not related to the air compressor, because in these case, the front of your truck will be down to ( you certainly have front air suspension to ). 2- there is no computer programming for the air suspension, this is work with a leveler ( a small metal arm working by gravity like on 10 wheels trucks ) I got the same problem as you last week and it was just the back leveler arm leaving is bracket, mecano as just to clip back in place....Maybe someone try to made money on you ????

 

[birdyismydog]

Air Suspension Working Now / Calibration Needed

Just wanted to provide an update.

My 07' EL Limited only has rear air level bags...not in the front. Replacement Air Compressor is working now, the truck is rising and lowering. However, the Check Air Suspension message still appears on startup. My personal mechanic was available to review the codes and clear a couple faults. His scanner will not program the air suspension. I'm headed to the dealer one more time. This time I plan to get new height sensors for the back and then calibration. My preference is to replace them due to age 7-8 years, not sure how long height sensors are supposed to last but for $80 each its worth the replacement if I'm getting calibration done.

Now on a side note, the shop that replaced my compressor had a mobile programmer person try to calibrate and this failed..that's what my personal mechanic pulled from the fault codes. He searched the error codes and I asked me if the Door Ajar message is an issue. No. But I remembered the mobile programmer guy never shut the doors to perform the calibration. I suspect his attempt failed cause he did not close the driver door while in the truck. The suspension will not raise or lower with doors open, so it seems.

I'll keep you guys posted on whether the dealership completes the calibration and replacement of height sensors. One thing I've learned, the Ford dealers love to rip people off with service charges. You really have to do your homework to prevent getting overcharged. I paid ~$460 for the local repair shop to replace the compressor/install. Dealer initially asked for $1,000. My personal mechanic guy was free.....Should be interesting to see what dealer charges for air suspension calibration.

-Justin