Air Ride Suspension quit working after tire shop reinstalled spare tire

[starshipcommander]

1998 Explorer Limited with 119,000 miles... After getting four new tires, and getting the spare tire repaired, I noticed something strange about the ride. It seemed super hard and you could feel every bump. I thought it was the new tires, but on a slant the auto leveling was not working and the height looked maxed out almost like it got a two inch lift kit. The air ride switch is on ! I have a theory they damaged it when they re-intstalled the spare. Is it possible to damage the air ride during a full tire change or while raising the spare into the undercarriage? Thanks in advance for your thoughts

 

[410Fortune]

IN the back cargo area, remove the drivers side access panel, there you will see a switch AIR RIDE on and off

it is likely that they turned the air ride off because they had to put your truck on a lift, they simply forgot to turn it back on.

 

[starshipcommander]

IN the back cargo area, remove the drivers side access panel, there you will see a switch AIR RIDE on and off

it is likely that they turned the air ride off because they had to put your truck on a lift, they simply forgot to turn it back on.

the switch was the first thing I checked. not the problem. Thanks

 

[410Fortune]

the air pump/tank and lines are up there above the spare, have you considered dropping the spare and have a look?
check fuses
Sorry I missed the part about the switch!

 

[nameskreen]

I had that problem once on my 98 Limited. I unhooked the battery for a few minutes and it seemed to reset the compressor and leveled everything out

 

[1998Exp]

1998 Explorer Limited with 119,000 miles... After getting four new tires, and getting the spare tire repaired, I noticed something strange about the ride. It seemed super hard and you could feel every bump. I thought it was the new tires, but on a slant the auto leveling was not working and the height looked maxed out almost like it got a two inch lift kit. The air ride switch is on ! I have a theory they damaged it when they re-intstalled the spare. Is it possible to damage the air ride during a full tire change or while raising the spare into the undercarriage? Thanks in advance for your thoughts

Known problem: the guys at the tire shop neglected to switch off the auto leveling before raising the truck on the lift (the switch is behind the panel on the left side of the cargo area, and a label there clearly warns not to raise the vehicle before turning it off). If you use a jack, there is danger that the system will attempt to adjust and it will fall off the jack. On the lift it attempted and got out of range, leaving the shocks (probably those on the rear axle) with no air - hence the rough ride. Mine fixed itself after about 100 miles when the same thing happened. Found out somebody's advice to switch the system off, jack the rear up so the axle can hang on the springs, lower back down, and switch back on. Hasn't happened again, so didn't try that trick -- may or may not help. There is probably a way to reset the system with an advanced scanner, like Forscan. Hopefully someone in the know will chime in.

 

[starshipcommander]

I had that problem once on my 98 Limited. I unhooked the battery for a few minutes and it seemed to reset the compressor and leveled everything out

thanks I will try that

 

[starshipcommander]

Known problem: the guys at the tire shop neglected to switch off the auto leveling before raising the truck on the lift (the switch is behind the panel on the left side of the cargo area, and a label there clearly warns not to raise the vehicle before turning it off). If you use a jack, there is danger that the system will attempt to adjust and it will fall off the jack. On the lift it attempted and got out of range, leaving the shocks (probably those on the rear axle) with no air - hence the rough ride. Mine fixed itself after about 100 miles when the same thing happened. Found out somebody's advice to switch the system off, jack the rear up so the axle can hang on the springs, lower back down, and switch back on. Hasn't happened again, so didn't try that trick -- may or may not help. There is probably a way to reset the system with an advanced scanner, like Forscan. Hopefully someone in the know will chime in.

thanks I will try that as well

 

[starshipcommander]

I had that problem once on my 98 Limited. I unhooked the battery for a few minutes and it seemed to reset the compressor and leveled everything out

It fixed itself. I noticed the pump came back on after driving to work today!

Known problem: the guys at the tire shop neglected to switch off the auto leveling before raising the truck on the lift (the switch is behind the panel on the left side of the cargo area, and a label there clearly warns not to raise the vehicle before turning it off). If you use a jack, there is danger that the system will attempt to adjust and it will fall off the jack. On the lift it attempted and got out of range, leaving the shocks (probably those on the rear axle) with no air - hence the rough ride. Mine fixed itself after about 100 miles when the same thing happened. Found out somebody's advice to switch the system off, jack the rear up so the axle can hang on the springs, lower back down, and switch back on. Hasn't happened again, so didn't try that trick -- may or may not help. There is probably a way to reset the system with an advanced scanner, like Forscan. Hopefully someone in the know will chime in.

It fixed itself after about 40 miles, I noticed the pump came back on as i parked on a slight grade. Thanks for your very thorough and thoughtful reply. What a wonderful resource this forum is. Best regard dave

 

[fast_dave]

@starshipcommander

Great to see the collaborative effort between @410Fortune @1998Exp & @nameskreen got your problem fixed!

Since some of our forum members are newbies to the platform, here's a FordTechMakuloco video link for Future Reference in case somebody else has the same issue: