Air suspension question.

I'm not sure one of the air suspension systems is holding pressure. One seems to have dropped very slightly. I may be wrong and am keeping an eye on it . 
But. 

Would this be considered normal or acceptable just like a cars tyres which can loose a pound or two ? Or should they stay exactly at the set pressure ?

The van is an AS Kemerton September 2013 with 9,000 miles and it has the Alco top up kit.

Thanks, 

Just had the air suspension near side rear replaced on our 2013 Sussex Duo (under warranty).  Air bellows unit punctured by incorrect assembly by AlCo.  It has been recorded that the mounting bolts should be nut on top and bolt excess length above.  I believe the unit was assembled with the bolts hanging down with the length fouling the bellows under certain loads. All hearsay but supported on several websites.  I am now awaiting the offside to puncture soon - but of course I am now out of warranty!
maricardo

I find that mine gives different reading depending on how level the van is. One side drops pressure a bit when parked in my drive, but is OK when I check it at the garage.

Yep, like DavidT says, the pressures vary with even a slight slope across the van (one side pressure goes up, one side down a similar amount). 
We found to our cost that even with the mounting bolts fitted correctly the bellows can be damaged by the bolts if you let the pressure drop too low (some air loss seems to be perfectly normal). We now carry a Halfords Essentials track pump , which is less than a tenner, weighs only a few ounces, and two or three (easy!) pumps is all it takes usually.I have even blown up a car tyre from flat without much effort. No need for fancy 12volt compressors etc.

This the wee compressor I have. Got it from Costco on offer for 18 quid .. Brilliant bit of kit !
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Anyway thanks all for the replies ! 

So what is the default setting PSI wise ? Our one is set quite low at the moment so may need a bit more air ..

Thanks again !

When I bought the van, the salesman said that the pressure should be about 2 bar. The mechanic there told me that he would set it a little bit lower (1.5 bar). I therefore have them at 1.8 bar (split the difference). I have no idea whether this is the best pressure but it feels comfortable enough and we've done about 3000 miles since buying the van at the end of April.

Thanks all it really helps ! I will set the system at 1.8 bar and monitor it over the coming weeks.

Thanks again !

Just had Al-Lo Air Tops fitted by A/S factory. Was told:

(a) that on uneven ground, the pressures will be different; that's normal.

(b) the default setting for the LWB Boxer is 1.8 bar, and for the SWB Boxer (such as our Nuevo) is 1.6 bar (23psi).


So I'm following what A/S have told me (1.6 bar / 23 psi each side) - which was the pressure when handed over to me.

Has certainly improved handling, especially on roundabouts.

I have after the advice here set my suspension to 1.8 bar. Parked on on our level drive they have stayed exactly the same so they should be fine. 

Thanks !

As long as it stays within the green it is safe. I have mine set at 2.5 bars and is a smooth ride.

Hi Guys .. I noticed a few days ago that one of my AL-KO readings were zero (previous day was normal.. I blew it up but again the reading is back to zero again.. Im assuming i have a puncture.. Was the conclusion that it was the dealer (Marquis) who was responsible for repair (although my van is nearly 4 years old now) ? 
Does anyone know how much it is to have this repaired ? 
Im currently in Kent awaiting the Dover ferry on monday evening but I'm from Newcastle so i would like this sorted urgently if possible .. Any suggestions please guys ..

Many Thanks Ian ...

Our Al ko units failed last year. If you can get underneath and look for potential damage particularly caused by bolt heads. I contacted the AS service centre and was asked to send photographs of damage that I found. Apparently some of the units were fitted incorrectly and AS refitted new units at their cost but we did have to go to Willersey to have it done. I cannot say if this would be the same for everyone but we were very pleased.

I have had mine set between 1.8 and 2.0 bar for the last two years covering 8600 miles. In all that time, travelling over some really bad roads, especially in France, the pressure has not altered by more than 0.1 or 0.2 bar.

Frank

My ones are now set at 1.8 BAR as recommended above. They are holding the pressures bang on. I have noticed they do vary slightly when on uneven ground again as said above. 

I will be having a look at the bolt arrangement on them soon . 

Thanks.

ok thanks for the reply Pootler...

We had retro air suspension fitted to our 2009 Symbol at a show by Air Ride. Within 12 months we noticed the van leaning to one side whilst on the drive and suspected an air bag problem. I pumped the pressure up and with some old carpet under the van crawled under to have a look but nothing obvious. So found an empty detox disinfectant container with the hand pump spray ,washed it out and filled with water and washing up liquid with plenty of bubbles. Back under the van applied to the suspect air bag and hay ho there was the pin hole puncture making lots of bubbles. Luckily ours was changed under warranty and only had to go about 10 miles from home to have it changed. The bubbles method also works to test your air pressure lines for leaks, if squirted on the exterior of the pipe runs from your air bags to the point of inflation. Ours are mounted just inside the passenger door step. Hope this is of help

pootler wrote:Our Al ko units failed last year. If you can get underneath and look for potential damage particularly caused by bolt heads. I contacted the AS service centre and was asked to send photographs of damage that I found. Apparently some of the units were fitted incorrectly and AS refitted new units at their cost but we did have to go to Willersey to have it done. I cannot say if this would be the same for everyone but we were very pleased.

Hi there,

I have the same problem , failure caused by bolt heads puncturing the rubber bellows. Mine are fitted with the bolt head to the underside and therefore the thread and nut topside. A S have quoted to replace and this is quite costly. (£280 +vat, supply only). My Sussex is just over 3 years old. Was your failure within the warranty period ? If I replace them I think panhead (round type) bolts would be better to avoid re- occurrence .