Hi,

I have a 2003 lincoln navigator that has something wrong with it. The entire car will not rise- it dropped on its on and when we drive it to the mechanic it bounces like crazy. My normal mechanic works on asian cars and does not have a machine to see what is wrong. he thinks it is electrical bc he tried replacing some pump that makes the car rise and when he put the new pump in no air was getting to that compressor pump? so he knew it wasnt the pump but something else that is causing it to not work.

We took it to the dealership and they said it could cost between $600 to $6000. What kind of estimate is that- I think they are trying to rip me off.

Please help- I do not know where else to turn.

 

Does it have aftermarket bags? What I mean is, can you raise and lower it with a switch? If not, then it sounds like It could be a problem shocks or struts.

 

Hi- thank you so much for responding. no nothing has been done to it. Before it would sometimes drop the front and eventually rise back up after we drove the car for a bit. now the whole car is dropped. My mechanic who is normally so great is saying that it may be electrical- could it be that? I would hate to replace all the shocks and struts and it correct nothing. the poor car has been sitting in the driveway doing nothing for two months now.

sorry if I sound stupid.

 

Why do you think you sound stupid? This is out of my knowledge. Someone else is going to have to take this one. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

 

thank you again- I wasn't sure if shocks or struts are replaced or just repaired. Hopefully someone kind will reply to this and help me. Have a great night!

 

Frankly I wasn't aware that air ride suspension was an option on the Navigator, but apparently that's what you have. Pretty complicated system because in addition to the pump you also have the airbags at all four wheels plus the air lines to inflate & deflate AND the sensors and controller to make it all work. Don't know about Navigators, but the old Town Cars that crap the air-ride are often converted to traditional-style suspension.

Here's some info:

http://www.strutmasters.com/luxury-s...rsion-kits.htm

 

thank you so much! I did not know this was an option!

 

on a vehicle just 5 years old, i wouldn't expect a catastrophic failure that would make me want to change over the entire suspension. there are a couple service bulletins on that system. they obviously had trouble with sensor arms becoming disconnected...more common in the back but it also happens in the front. it can result in air ride not working at all. a new style arm replaces the old one and eliminates reocurrence.

the other thing they had trouble with was air solenoids leaking. i can't go into all the details but again, the solenoids are replaceable and not that expensive.

as far as being ripped off, i can't help but wonder what the dealer did to arrive at such a vague estimate. did they actually perform any diagnostics? did they use a scan tool? they should have. if you just asked them what it could be, then I understand the estimate...best case-worst case. but if you paid diagnostic time and that's all the better they could do, find another dealer. the system just isn't that complicated and they should be able to give you a detailed estimate in about an hour. the service info I read was very straight forward and the diagnostics all made sense. now...air suspension springs and controllers are VERY expensive. about 600 per corner for the springs alone, but the liklihood that you need 4 springs is very remote. why don't you have your regular guy look it over underneath and check to see if any height sensors are disconnected.

 

wow you're great- that is one of the best responses that I heard. I had my regular mechanic look at it and he put in a new compressor and that did not work so he knew it wasn't my compressor. he thinks it is something simple that can be fixed but without the proper machine he can't tell. should I take it back and have them run a full diagnostics and give it to my regular mechanic? is it something that they can print out?

 

what about using a conversion kit- someone else said that would be cheaper and then I don't have to worry about it anymore. I looked at strutmaster and strut 4 less I think.

where are the tech bullitans that talk about this?

 

Thanks for jumping in, carguy; good p.s. on the age angle that I should have included. Would be pretty unlikely to have blown bags or even a bad compressor.

This should keep you in reading material for a while, trammie:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/tsb/tsb.p...03/d-NAVIGATOR

 

I also have a 2003 Nav and this happened to me. I went under the front wheelwells and reconnected the sensor arm- by hand, no tools needed- it was under warranty and I went back to dealer and had them put new improved arms on later. Try that first. It came off on a potholed railroad crossing.

Don't replace the air suspension, it will cost more than a minor repair. The air suspension should run for 250K or more.

Now where can I find a cheap wheel center cover- some punk snatched my wife's right rear center tire cover last night!

 

Thanks OP PHIL for responding. Sounds like the this might be the original posters problem, which was also stated by Scott (carguy).

 

if your mech started by changing out the air comp, you need a better mech. that would be easy to test with out just changing out.
Murphy was and optimist