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Buying used suspension air shock

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TRespect

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I'm thinking of buying a complete set of used suspension air shocks as spare parts.
My Treg is 135KM and 15 years old. It spends most of the year in the garage and I fear the bags will fail someday without notice when I need them most. I'm keeing this Treg and maybe taking him with me to the other side of life 0:)
There are a lot of oem used parts on ebay. The whole set will not go above 200€ including shipping.
What do you guys think?
Is is a good idea to have the shocks/bags ready in the garage in case of need or would you wait for things to go boom. I'm treating the bags like tyre here.
I know I can get new bags on ebay or aliexpress but I'd rather get a used oem part than a shady part. I use shady parts for troubleshooting only.
So can these units be stored cleaned and inflated and maybe in an air tight bag?
Any hints on testing the bags or checking for failure on the used parts?
 
#2 ·
I would just store them in a nice dry place, free from moisture. Only thing special I would do is to clean and wrap each one in a plastic bag.

The only way I know to properly test them is to install them. Yeah, not doing that.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Yep. Clean and store in an air-tight bag. Not sure I can inflate/deflate them to make sure the bags hold presssure. I started looking on on ebay today. I found different part numbers. According to etka there have been several upgrades since the treg launch. I will try to get recent parts. I think I can mix parts as I'm not sure of getting the 4 units from the same year/car. And I'm getting them just to be on the safe side. I might not have to use them at all.
The bags are made by Continental according to what I've read on the web and they are specced for 250km or 250 miles I don't recall which.


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#5 ·
Its a nice idea to keep the old car going and if it was just a metal item then storing something that is already 10 or more years old would be fine but I think the rubber will carry on perishing, get brittle and possibly pop when used again.

So personally I would buy used if and when needed or, preferably, buy new from Arnotts.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
Agree on the rubber perishing point.
I'll just treat them like tires, meaning storing them in a dry oxygen-free black bag to minimize the rubber deterioration.
Investment is not that big so I'll take the risk I guess.
 
Discussion starter · #8 ·
Thanks for the feedback. I already bought those o-rings. They are in the trunk :). Just ordered the rears for 110$ shipped from Germany. I will refurbish them and use them as training material to get ready for any repairs down the road. They came off a 2006 Treg.


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Discussion starter · #9 ·
Rear shocks received yesterday.
Teardown next weekend.
What do you guys wanna see :)
Anyone know how to test-inflate?
I don't know anything about this stuff so I'll be learning with a friend who has a 2003 Treg with air suspension too.
We will try to open one shock and refurbish it, renewing o-rings, seals and valves and learning how to troubleshoot this thing.
I read somewhere you can not inflate them easily.
Ideas or feedback on how to test, repair, refurbish and get them ready as a backup solution are welcome.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
Ok we are testing the shocks. They inflate and deflate correctly through the pressure relief valve. I understand how the relief valve works now. We haven't measured pressure but works like this: you inflate the bag up to about 50 psi and it starts hissing back if the pressure goes beyond that. Not sure of the numbers. So the relief valve accepts any pressure from the outside but only opens up at a certain pressure. That looks simple but well I'm learning :) There are two passages inside the valve. One in and one out.
Now how does the Treg deflate the bags since the pressure relief valve is a fixed pressure thing and no electronics are involved?
I guess this is done through the cdc valve on the lower part of the shock. I haven't gone through the ssp yet but I will.
Anyone know how to test the bag deflating without the shock connected to the suspension module?
The connector on the cdc valve has two wires. I guess it's some kind of voltage or polaty thing but I don't want to risk damaging the valve.



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#11 ·
Since you seem to have questions on the air susp.

This first link, is the same VW Touareg Air Suspension Self Study Guide.
http://www.volkspage.net/technik/ssp/ssp/SSP_302.PDF

I am attaching the VW Phaeton Air Suspension Self Study Guide. The system is almost identical to the system found on the Touareg, but this Self Study Guide is a lot more detailed.
http://www.volkspage.net/technik/ssp/ssp/SSP_275_d1.pdf

This last link is the Cayenne Workshop for the air suspension.
https://www.slideshare.net/alinecaliguere/suspesao-cayenne
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
Found some info in the Phaeton ssp, thanks to Nickyt.
So the system work like we found out:
- Compressor sends 3.5 bar to the bag (pheaton, maybe more for the touareg)
- Pressure relief valve will hold the 3.5 bar. Pressure relief valve is open in and close out.
- Air suspension module needs to inflate more => compressor sends more pressure. We are now above 3.5 bar and pressure valve is open both ways, in and out. The system maintains pressure above 3.5 using the Self-levelling suspension drain valve N111 which is located on the compressor.
So if you get stuck somewhere because of the compressor failure and you can get your hands on a compressor you can't put more than 3.5 bar in the bags with the oem the relief installed. You need a kit to replace the pressure relief valve so you can send more pressure to the bag. I might come up with something to keep in the trunk just in case. Maybe just getting a 10$ aliexpress valve (to have the correct thread size and o-rings) and add some manual shutoff valve to keep pressure above 3.5 bar. I already have two aliexpress valves in the trunk so I might hack one of them to test.
 
#15 ·
If a compressor failure is your concern, what would happen if you added a standard tire valve next to the line feeding the air expansion tank in the trunk?

You would just add air directly into the tank in an emergency. You would also need a portable truck tire air compressor. Those little car units could not handle it.

The system does not run the compressor much anyway. So, if we manually filled the air tank, it should be a while before the tank went empty.

That would seem to be easier then adding a way to air up at each shock.
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
Sitll don't know how the whole system works with a failed compressor. The tank holds 5 bars of pressure, maybe more in the touareg. Another situation is a broken hose or a leaking hose. I'm working on all kinds of emergency situations here.
The small compressors won't inflate the bag without removing the relief valve. You need more than 4-5 bar to push air through the valve. So if you need to inflate the bag at the shock level you need to remove the valve and use an emergency kit with a small compressor to inflate the bag to a desired height and drive carefully until you get somewhere to repair the system.


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Discussion starter · #17 ·
I haven't gone through all the ssps and available info yet but I'm starting to think the loading mode pressure is probably what the pressure relief valve can hold or a little more than that. With a working valve the bags will maitain 3.5 bar (phaeton system always) regardless of the system failure or not.
Another note is the tank only works at a certain speed. Over 35mph the compressor takes over.
I'll see if I vcds shows the pressure of each level and each side (front/right). Not aure there measuring blocks with this kind on info.


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TRespect
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