So I'm looking at an 03 Allroad that the owner says is has dropped as low as it can go and the suspension won't inflate. The car is about 2 hours away so not a quick drive. I'd like to know if I could disconnect each spring from the onboard pump and use my own compressor and try inflating each spring. I'd make a specialized adapter to allow me to connect to the spring or "tube" (IDK what they are called that carries air from compressor) and put a valve in it so the air can't come back out.
So basically I'd connect a new hose with a valve to the spring, then inflate it to whatever PSI is needed, close the valve and see if the bag looses pressure (I could even put a pressure tap in with the valve).
I figure if this works I can at least drive the car up onto the back of a trailer and even if it is a slow leak, it should stay inflated long enough for it to be driven onto the trailer, and then re-fill it again to get it off. After that I'll deal with the springs or replace them with a non-airbased system (really don't want to do that though).
The seller has only had scrap/salvage offers for the car b/c he has no idea how to look at anything mechanical, but the records look good, last 12 years were owned by same person and driven by a mom with young kids, so it is actually in good shape and was well maintained.
I'm just worried that there will be some other unseen problems with the car, though he said it was driving great until he noticed it was getting really low, and then parked it until now (month or so later). Worse case scenario I'll part it out, I'd really like to get some experience with this car/engine as I loved my A6 when I had it, but it was a 2.8. I'd love to drop the 2.7T into a B5 Avant body and make the car that would be fun as well. IDK if it would drop into an A4 avant body easily, I'm guessing it would but I'd like to find a manual trans to go with it, but best case, the Allroad will be in good condition.
Anyone have any ideas on the airspring issue and what I'm planning on doing, if it will work and if the hose connections would be fairly accessible?
So basically I'd connect a new hose with a valve to the spring, then inflate it to whatever PSI is needed, close the valve and see if the bag looses pressure (I could even put a pressure tap in with the valve).
I figure if this works I can at least drive the car up onto the back of a trailer and even if it is a slow leak, it should stay inflated long enough for it to be driven onto the trailer, and then re-fill it again to get it off. After that I'll deal with the springs or replace them with a non-airbased system (really don't want to do that though).
The seller has only had scrap/salvage offers for the car b/c he has no idea how to look at anything mechanical, but the records look good, last 12 years were owned by same person and driven by a mom with young kids, so it is actually in good shape and was well maintained.
I'm just worried that there will be some other unseen problems with the car, though he said it was driving great until he noticed it was getting really low, and then parked it until now (month or so later). Worse case scenario I'll part it out, I'd really like to get some experience with this car/engine as I loved my A6 when I had it, but it was a 2.8. I'd love to drop the 2.7T into a B5 Avant body and make the car that would be fun as well. IDK if it would drop into an A4 avant body easily, I'm guessing it would but I'd like to find a manual trans to go with it, but best case, the Allroad will be in good condition.
Anyone have any ideas on the airspring issue and what I'm planning on doing, if it will work and if the hose connections would be fairly accessible?
