cssnms

The hole is close to where it blew out before, near the connector to the air bag. When inspecting the hose, it appears as though it blew out from the inside out as there was a small hole with plastic/hose shreds protruding out and I saw no evidence of where it appeared to have rubbed against anything. It was installed along the same path as the factory house connecting straight to the air bag.

The original hose that blew out was original to 2005 so chalked it up to be old. Replaced it along with air bags and rear shocks. The replacement hose was a brand new OEM line which was installed just last week. My GX had been driven maybe 8 miles total so even if rubbing on something I would think it would take longer than 8 miles to wear out the line. This is a pretty solid pneumatic hose/line, that is 5mm in diameter, not sure what the psi rating is.

Davenlei

iTrader: (1)

That is strange. Not sure if there are separate solenoids for each side but wondering if a solenoid on one side is getting stuck on/of and pushing all the pressure to that side but I would think the connector would separate or the air bag would blow first. Is it possible the line is getting kinked/bent from suspension articulation when driving? In eight miles if a line is getting kinked and unkinked a few hundred times, I could see it weakening and blowing out.

chiph9

Did you get the line replaced at the dealer? If so you should be covered under the parts warranty.
(but you might have to pay labor again - not sure)

Chip H.

cssnms

the line and replacement is the cheap part. The line came from my dealer.

cssnms

the solenoid valves are attached to the reservoir. There are three different valves that make up the solenoid assembly. If thought is it's the selnoid/height control it is part of the reservoir assembly which is $1k. My gray market source I can get it for $400+ but have to wait for shipping. I just dont believe it's that otherwise I'd think we'd hear about it more.

cssnms

So another detail I left out, the section of the exhaust muffler/tailpipe rusted at the connection point and became disconnected. A technician at my local Lexus dealer has never seen this type of failure before and really didn't have any answers. The only thing we can think of at this point is that maybe the failure had something to do with the exhaust becoming separated and the high heat that's being discharged on that side of the car is collecting up along where that hose runs which caused it to soften fail under pressure.

Going to have the exhaust section replaced and and new hose installed and will see how it goes. If it fails again, I may try replacing the reservoir/selenoid valve assembly.

cssnms

As a follow up... I had the exhaust replaced and the new (2nd one) air li e installed. I picked the car up and it rode great. After about 35 miles of driving the line blew out again.

I think it's between maybe the ride height sensor on that side is bad or the hight control solenoid attached to the reservoir is bad. I hope it's just the former. I dropped it off with my dealer so that hopefully they can connect to the diagnostic system so that hopefully it can tell us for sure if it's the height sensor.

NTH

Christ!!
I recently did coil conversion to Dobinson IMS and could not be happier. Hope your issue gets resolved soon.

cssnms

Thanks for the feedback. Considering I just replaced the rear dampers ($1k) and bought new air bags I think I am committed to sticking with the adjustable air suspension. I do appreciate the adjustability and leveling capabilities. I also have an overseas grey market source for OEM parts that is +/-50% less than ordering from a dealer so it makes the cost more palletable.

It appears the cause of my issue is the solenoid valve that feeds the right air bag had failed and was over inflating that side which caused the air line to burst. This time it actually burst my new airbag, so I have to buyer another - $150 for an OEM bag. Unfortunately the solenoid unit is attached to the height control reservoir tank so I have to buy the entire assembly. This would normally be a $1k+ part but I am able to pick it up for $500.

cssnms

Update

New compressor and height reservoir tank installed. All is good.

GSGXNC

I solved my original issue and, since there weren't any replies yet, I will just edit my post. I finally realized that I didn't actually replace the 10a fuse under the hood. Instead, I borrowed the horn fuse but totally forgot about it. I forgot that I swapped the horn fuse back after my initial test.

But, for future reference, if your air springs blow out or leak and you switch to coil you can add helper airbags and use the middle and high settings. I don't think the springs will let the vehicle drop to the low setting. Maybe it is possible to reconfigure the ride-height sensors so the what appears as low is actually where the springs hold it but then I am not sure it could reach the highest setting. I intend to leave mine as is and see if it will reach low with a load on the back

srtsweep

I noticed the other day a really bouncy drive on my gx 470. It was coming from the back and I would bounce up and down on any little bump.

I've searched through many of the threads here and started looking at my rear air suspension system. When I first got under the car the bags had a little air in them. I tried to raise the height from N to high, but I didn't hear air moving. I jacked the car up and took a look at the bags, but didn't see any obvious holes. My measurements off the ground on both sides were equal and about 33 inches. I moved the height control to low and nearly all the air was gone. When I tried to go back to N or high, again, nothing happened. I never heard the compressor kick on. I tried to do a reset, once by removing the negative battery terminal and the other by placing a wire in the OBD connector, the top in the 4th slot from the left, and the bottom the 5th slot from the left. On the latter attempt I pumped the brake and got a beep to tell me it had reset. When I started my vehicle again, I did not hear the compressor ever kick on the bags are completely deflated.

At this point I'm assuming it's a compressor/bag issue. It sounds like likely I have a hole in a bag and maybe burned out the compressor. I don't have any direct evidence of that, but it sounds like it based on everything I read this is just a very common occurrence. Any more diagnostic ideas before I break down and buy new bags and a new compressor? Anyone know the correct fuse to check? I have no dashboard lights on right now. Car is 2004 w/ about 200k miles. I know the bags were replaced about 4 years ago, but can't vouch for their quality as it was before I bought the vehicle. Also please someone talk sense into me and remind me I cannot drive it right now. Thanks.

ALAN553

Won’t know if air bags have a leak until you can pump them up…if the compressor isn’t running….that pretty much answers part A

IanB2

The parts are all 18 years old, so you might want to consider replacing the other airbag at the same time, or converting to a rear coil suspension setup. The prices for aftermarket airbag replacements have come way down from what they were 8+ years ago, but still more than a coil conversion. Some people love the rear airbags for towing and ride quality reasons, I've never regretted switching to coils.

srtsweep

Thanks for the replies. I checked the fuses tonight and they seemed to all be ok. I think next it to check the connector going to the compressor to make sure it is getting power. After that a new compressor and probably new air bags just for completeness sake.