Hello All,

I am having a problem with my 2005 Navigator 2wd suspension. I have done a lot of research, and I seem to be having the opposite problem, from other people.

My rear driver side is sitting much higher than the passenger side. When driving, when in park, and when the motor and system is off. In all these positions the problem is occurring. Now every once in a while it will sit perfect, which confuses me even more. This is not to say that the air bad on the passenger side is too low, it is just that the driver side is way too high. I was driving too fast and hit a pothole. After that, is when I noticed the ride wasn't even. It was noticeable even while driving.

Now things I've done,
Replaced the solenoid on rear driver side.
Checked height sensor
Took to dealership for diagnostic, said they did a adjustment to airbag, but that after that they would have to start replacing parts. Also said height sensor was not damaged.

Another fact, Nav sits perfectly even and holds when air bag system is turned off.

So it's either something not releasing air, or a sensor right? I thought the height sensor in the back was the only sensor for the rear, am I wrong? What else am I missing?

Thanks,

 

For 2005 there is a separate height sensor at each front wheel and one for the rear. Since the driver's front seems to be too high to you, I would suspect that height sensor as being the problem.

 

It is the driver rear that is sitting high.

 

Okay, I missed that. In that case it could be the front passenger sensor that is not pumping the front right corner high enough, which in turn causes the left rear to be higher.

 

The front is perfectly fine, goes up and down, and sits at a good level.

There is the same space between all the tires and the top of the fenders on all the tires except for the rear driver side, which is double the space from the rear passenger side.

 

I recently had the displeasure of fixing a 2003 navigator with 4was. The pump and relay were bad, so they got replaced (vehicle would not rise). Both front height sensors replaced with the inexpensive doorman height sensors (still didn't want to come up) **and by the way, spoke to an honest dealer, you do not have to have the height recalibrated with new sensors, but only if the suspension control module is replaced**. So I got an air solenoid wire pigtail from the junk yard, plugged it into the air solenoids on each front wheel applied power, and jumped the power on the relay harness. The front left would air up, but the right would air intermittently. So, I replaced the right front air spring solenoid (but truck still didn't want to rise properly). It seemed that when the vent valve, built into the compressor head, would open to vent to level off the right side, the left also seemed to drop a little. That is when I dug deeper into alldata, and I found this: DIAGNOSIS OF INTERMITTENT AND/OR UNEXPECTED RIDE HEIGHT BEHAVIOR
1. Leaky air spring solenoids usually result in intermittent and/or unexpected ride height behavior. The vehicle may not have been driven long enough to set a pneumatic failure DTC (C1725 and/or C1726) in the VDM/4WAS module, and the warning message may or may not be turned on during system malfunction.
2. Leaky air spring solenoids do not leak to the atmosphere, but instead to the airlines within the system. Inability of the solenoids to stop air flow will usually be apparent immediately after they are commanded to close.
3. Some symptoms of leaky air spring solenoids are the following:
a. Front end low and rear end high.
b. One corner drops more than it should during a height change process or while vehicle is parked.
c. Rear end high and front end near or at normal height.
d. Front end low and rear end near or at normal height.
NOTE ANY OF THE PREVIOUS ISSUES MAY BE INTERMITTENT IN OCCURRENCE.
NOTE DO NOT RECALIBRATE RIDE HEIGHTS SIMPLY BECAUSE THE RIDE HEIGHTS APPEAR INCORRECT. INCORRECT RIDE HEIGHTS ARE ONLY A SYMPTOM OF A DIFFERENT SYSTEM PROBLEM AND DO NOT INDICATE A NEED FOR RIDE HEIGHT CALIBRATION. ALL RIDE HEIGHTS ARE 100% SET DURING VEHICLE MANUFACTURE AND WILL NOT CHANGE OVER TIME. RIDE HEIGHT CALIBRATION IS ONLY NEEDED WHEN A HEIGHT SENSOR OR AIR SUSPENSION CONTROL MODULE HAS BEEN REPLACED.
4. Diagnosis Steps:
a. Disconnect and remove the airline union at the midpoint of the right hand frame rail near the body mount. Pressure will be relieved in 3 to 5 seconds.
NOTE WHEN THE SPRING SOLENOIDS ARE OPEN, THE VEHICLE WILL LOWER QUICKLY.
b. Verify that the air suspension solenoids close properly:
Using the NGS (or WDS Software version B25 or later), cycle each air spring solenoid (LF, RF, LR, RR) one at a time from open (on) to closed (off). Air should flow from the open air line when the solenoid is opened, and should stop when the solenoid is closed. After closing the solenoid, cap the open line with your thumb to see if the air continues to be released from the air spring. A buildup of pressure in the line (i.e., all spring solenoids are off and the compressor is not running) identifies a leaking solenoid(s). CYCLE EACH SOLENOID SEVERAL TIMES AS THE PROBLEM MAY BE INTERMITTENT.
c. Replace the leaking solenoid or solenoids with a revised part 2L1Z-5311-AA.
NOTE WHEN REPLACING A LEAKING SOLENOID, CHECK THE SOLENOID DATE CODE ON THE SIDE OF THE NEW SOLENOID BODY. THE DATE CODE, SHOWN IN STAMPED LETTERS IN JULIAN FORMAT, SHOULD BE ON OR LATER THAN 0363. IF IT IS EARLIER THAN THIS DATE, THE SOLENOID IS SUSPECT AND SHOULD NOT BE USED ON THE VEHICLE.
d. Retest for leaky solenoids.
e. Road test the vehicle to ensure a robust repair.


It was the left front air spring solenoid intermittently sticking slightly open, not leaking air to the atmosphere, but instead it was leaking into the lines. So when the control module tried to level the right side, by opening the right side air spring solenoid and then the vent solenoid in the compressor head, the left side would also drop some. The control module would the repeat, trying to drop only the right side to get the truck level, but the left would also again drop because the valve was stuck slightly open. So all in all, it cost $50 for a pump and solid state relay from a salvage yard (got lucky found an aftermarket pump), $200 for height sensors left and right (found on rock auto under an expedition as they didn't list the $99 sensors both left and right for the navigator), and $54 for two new solenoids from autozone. Total parts$304. Now the navi rides correct and doesn't feel like it's on the bump stops, all of this done without a scanner. Hope this helps others out there, as it is also a problem with the rear air spring solenoids as well.

 

Sounds like when your vehicle is attempting to kneel, for the easy entry height, that your passenger rear solenoid may be slightly stuck open. When the vent solenoid in the compressor head opens, along with the two front right solenoids, to vent to the kneel position, your passenger rear is also venting due to it being suck open. This can cause the rear to get lopsided. When you shut the air ride off this disables the air ride computer control of the suspension, and thus the vent solenoid in the compressor head will stay closed, and is possibly why your passenger side will hold air for extended period of time. Hope this helps

 

Also during normal operation with the switch on, when the control module tries to level the front out, returning to normal ride height from the kneel position, the passenger rear side is venting while the computer is just trying to level out the front. This also will explain the uneven appearance of the rear suspension. Sticking solenoids can be intermitent, sometimes working correctly, and other times sticking open allowing air to bleed from the bag into the air lines.

 

Very clear and concise explanation.

 

Thank you, it's a weird problem to troubleshoot. Just want to help others out there

 

Thanks Kayleemichaels,

So I take it that the first thing I should do is change the rear passenger solenoid right? I changed the driver side one, but this makes sense.

 

I don't know how much those solenoids cost, but if they're expensive you might try to swap the solenoids around to see if the problem moves. Like swap it left to right and see if the problem switches side.

 

Well have the one from the drivers side that I swapped, so most likely the old one is ok. So I'm going to put that one on the passenger side. Plus if that doesn't work I'll buy another one. they are only like 20-30 $'s.