okegs4ever

I have a 2005 a8 that i just purchased, the front struts were low, the driver side seems lower than the passenger side. Upon the mechanic jacking up the tire, he said there was a tear in the rubber boot on the driver side. I have made a video showing how the suspension looks and is currently acting, you can hear the compressor making the loud annoying noise but nothing is actually happening, any idea what the issue could be


here is the video

jakematic

Compressor is, or is close to being, shot due to an air leak in the suspension.
VCDS scan will tell more - probably going into thermal shutdown.
Relay possibly fused and may need replacing.

Find/fix all leaks in lines and replace any faulty air struts, rescan, etc.
Lots of threads with sources for parts if you don't want to spend thousands at dealership.
Several have done as DIY or used independent shops to repair.

Mister Bally

The compressor is making the classic noise that indicates one of the magnets has become unglued from the motor's cylindrical case.

Although not recommended by the manufacturer (WABCO-Westinghouse Air Brake Company), you can disassemble it and JB Weld the magnet back in place. If you're in there, also re-glue the other magnets because they are on their way out as well. Or, replace the whole assembly.

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

How many miles does this car have? The compressor may not last long if it keep making sound like that.

DA8

Yea, obvious compressor going bad due to trying to compensate for leak in 1 or more air struts.

Curious what is going on with the paint job? Was there body damage? Scratches? Or just changing color?

I am always curious why people will alter a factory paint process, especially one as high end as with the A8.

okegs4ever

car has roughly 131k miles on it. car was hit in the rear, damage was not extensive...i am going with a factory white color code, just wanted to change color since i didnt want to go back with the blueish color it had, it was between black or white and just went white because i dont think they came white with peanut butter interior for the 2005 model but i may be wrong

okegs4ever

quick question, on my a8 at the top part of the strut under the hood, it is loose by the rubber loom, i will try to get a pic tomorrow, but here is a sample pic attached from an s500 of the same area where mine is loose on both sides, will this possibly cause it to leak air and sag down? i cut on the car and went to the MMI display and select the option to lift the suspension and it went up a little bit and then came back down. Not sure if a relay could be causing this also, i want to chase all the cheaper channels first before diving into buying a strut or compressor.

quiksilverly

I will say this first. If you jacked the car up without turning on the "jack mode" in car setup, the strut can "drop out" past the oring in the lower sleave. I have done this and fixed it easily. After made the mistake though the compressor would just run and the strut would not budge as it had no seal below the bag. It's complicated. But the easy way to check would be to let the compressor run and spray soapy water at all 4 struts at the top and bottom of the outer casing and at the input lines to check for bubbles. I say check the back ones too because if you have a leak in the back, the car will never try to air up the front struts as it levels the back of the car first. Ask me how many months I spent chasing demons up front before I figured that out. The compressor may be a little loud but remember, as long as the piston is moving in that thing, it will make pressure. The magnets in the motor aren't preventing it from moving and you can troubleshoot that by unhooking the brown line at the compressor and see if it's pumping, if it is putting out air at all your good for now, it will eventually pump up at least one strut.
So in review, always turn off the system before jacking (jack mode), Spray everything while the comp. is running and look for leaks as this will save you alot of time, that air is going somewhere.

I would also just peak at the ride height sensors in the front to make sure the links are hooked up and correctly positioned. I spent 4 months on my car back end would go up up up and the nose never moved before I figured out the back ride height sensor links were on backwards Needless to say, I have been all over this suspension with a fine tooth comb and know it pretty well at this point. Hope some of this helps you.

2k6blacka8

I 100% agree with quiksilverly. You never jack this car up without going into your mmi and turning on the vehicle jack mode. I did that once, and that's the first week I had the car and I had to do a brake job up front. When I got done and let the car down, my car was so low up front the tires were touching the wheel wells. I had to start the car up so the compressor can lift the car back up and I was thinking to myself damn I know that wasn't a good decision. I used that feature and it puts the car back at the original or slightly higher when you lower it. When you start it after that the suspension will lower it back to originally set height. You'll weaken that compressor because it has to work harder or mess up the shock. I can't afford to spend $900 per shock for my stupidity. You live and learn lol.

Paveldn

Question:

Does the below information apply if the car is being put up on a lift at the hard points or is it if you are only jacking the car up in the front,back or on one side?

Just so that i know for future reference. When I read the manual it lead me to believe that jack mode should be used ANY time the wheels are lifted of the ground, even when it is done using a Hydraulic lift at all 4 hard points.

Thanks for any opinions..

Dan