Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide: How To Change Air Springs For An 03 Town Car
What if you know how to change air springs for an 03 town car?
What difference could it possibly mean to your DIY skills? Well, you’ll have all the information needed to get you started on changing the air spring for any 03 lincoln town car right in this post.
As a side note, I will also share the following with you;
- 4 common airbags suspension problem
- 4 strong indicators your 03 town car has an air suspension problem
Ready? Let’s fire away!
What Are The Common 2003 Lincoln Town Car Airbag Suspension Problems?
The most common airbag suspension problems are inclusive of the following;
- Wear and tear; due to the passage of time, the airbag suspension in your ‘03 town car is expected to wear out as they approach the end of their useful life.
- Faulty air compressor: in normal situations, the air compressor ought to stay inflated so the vehicle can maintain its desired height. However, with a faulty compressor, the vehicle keeps on sagging.
- Airride suspension leakages: the rubber components of the air suspension system are expected to deteriorate over time.
- Malfunctioning air dryer is another common problem; this causes excessive moisture accumulating in the airbag suspension.
If you're considering an upgrade or replacement, you might want to explore Vigor Air Ride's collection of air springs
4 Symptoms Of Poor Air Suspension In 03 Lincoln Town Car.
These are strong indicators to watch out for if you suspect a failing air suspension system in your 03 town car. They are:
- Each ride seems less comfortable than the previous one: The purpose of air springs is to ensure comfort while driving, bouncy or uncomfortable journeys indicate a bad air suspension.
- The car keeps sagging below its normal level even when it’s not in motion or its weight sag on one side of its rear end.
- You hear excessively abnormal noises from the rear side of your car when it’s in motion:
- Your instinct says your driving doesn’t seem right particularly when you’re driving along a curve. While your gut feeling could be wrong, it could also indicate a bad air suspension.
Sneaky tip: The airbag suspension in your vehicle works round the clock, regardless of whether your car is in motion or not.
A Step By Step Guide On How To Change Air Springs For An 03 Town Car.
Before we get started on the procedure to follow. First, let’s take a closer look at the materials you’ll need to do a good job. You can get all of them from online DIY stores or a local shop in your neighborhood.
Materials For Changing The Air Spring On Your O3 Lincoln Town Car
- Basic toolset containing screwdriver, pliers, hammer, flashlight, and so on.
- Ratchet
- New Airmatic suspension kit
- Protective face mask
- Pry bar
- Vehicle lift, if unavailable, get hydraulic jack stands with a jack.
How To Change Air Springs For An 03 Town Car?
For your convenience, I will segment this instruction into 3 stages, namely;
- Preparatory activities
- Removing the old air spring, and
- Installing the new airbag suspension.
Makes sense. Right?
Image: 2003 Lincoln town car compatible air spring
Preparatory activities
- First, straighten the wheel then switch off the ignition of your car.
- Next thing is to open the luggage compartment of your lincoln town car and switch off the air suspension. The air suspension is situated on the right side of the luggage area.
- Now, you can go ahead to disconnect the battery.
What next?
- You can now go ahead and lift the vehicle to a position that will enable you to work conveniently from under. Use a vehicle lift to do this and if unable use hydraulic jack stands.
Sneaky tip: Ensure you follow the instruction of your car manufacturer as it relates to lifting the car at appropriate lifting points.
- Do you have that figured, yet?
Carefully take down the wheel by first unfastening the lug nuts holding the affected rear-end wheel in position.
Removing the old air spring
- The next thing to do now is to remove the metallic clip that connects the air springs to the chassis of your vehicle. You’ll easily find the clip just by putting your hand into the space above the wheel well of the affected rear-end.
- Go under the vehicle to pull off the electrical connector from the air ride spring of your car.
- With the aid of nose needle pliers, carefully remove the air spring solenoid retaining clip.
- Rotate the solenoid in an anti-clockwise manner till it reaches the first stop and carefully pull out to deflate the air spring of any remaining air pressure.
- Once you’re sure the air spring is deflated;
Turn the solenoid again (anti-clockwise) and dissociate the solenoid from the air spring by pulling it gently.
- With the aid of a pry bar, remove the spring seat clip connecting the axle to the piston.
- Done? Remove the air spring.
If you follow the above steps to the latter, you’ll have the removed air springs from your 03 town car in your hands by now.
The next stage involves installing the new air springs you bought as a replacement. Stay with me to find out how to do this appropriately.
Installing the new airbag suspension
- Change the o-rings on the air spring solenoid removed earlier from the car. You can remove the old one with a screwdriver and insert the new one with your bare hands.
- Go ahead and install the new air springs on the car, and ensure you fasten all the joints disconnected earlier the right way.
- Restore the metallic clip back to its position.
- Install the solenoid and replace the solenoid retaining clip.
- Restore the electrical connector and clip the bottom of the air spring piston to the axle.
The one you unsnapped with a prying bar earlier, do you remember?
Sneaky tip: it is noteworthy that the piston is secured before pressurizing the air springs of your 03 town car.
- Now, restore the wheel and tighten the wheel to the manufacturer’s specification.
- Lower the vehicle back to its standard height, reconnect the battery and switch on the air suspension (check the luggage area for the button)
In Conclusion
We have established a detailedly instructive guide on how to change air springs for an 03 town car, common problems that may damage your air spring amid other useful insights.
So, what do you think about this post? Leave your comment and let me know!
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