Puncture in GenIII arnott air spring

[glenhendry]

Issue:
I was out camping this past long weekend when My 2000 4.6 was riding on the bump-stops and wouldn't come up. I could see that the compressor was running (I have an indicator light) and but there was only 50psi in the tank instead of 150psi (I have a guage on it running into the cabin).

Actions:
After doing a check on the compressor output, I noticed a hissing sound and my ~1 year old Arnott Gen3 air spring was losing air audibly. I was 200kms from home, without all my tools, but my friends (Pajero, Hilux & L322) were quite impressed when I replaced the front air spring within one hour by myself with a shifting spanner and pliers. I was carrying a front and rear air spring in my spare wheel well :thumbsup:

After thoughts:
I was expecting these springs to last a LOT longer than that. It is clear that the puncture was a rubbing issue, not an acute incident.
- Why is the bag that is designed to fit within a P38 spring tower not the right shape?
- Why is it rubbing?
- Is the other side about to fail too?
- Does anyone else's GenIII rub on the inside edge against the spring tower?
- Can I send back to Arnott?

[banarcus]

Nice of you to have a couple of spare bags. Good work there.

As for the arnotts bag, is there anything sharp or otherwise that's protruding from the spring tower? Maybe something like a rock or stick got caught between the two? Only going by your photo, it appears to be at least rubbing in a very localised area where a foreign object was hiding??

[TheTree]

Mate

I'll double check the fit of mine when I get a chance

Nice work being prepared :)

Steve

[finallyrangie]

Just a thought do you have a bullbar, winch, dual batteries or the like, I believe there have been some issues with the bags rubbing if they are supporting extra weight , more pressure expands the bag a bit more.

Most of the lift kits have top spacers on the front to move the spring down out of the tower a bit to provide clearance as a result of this tendency .

Worth looking at the other side, if it is being caused by extra load you might see the same thing there .

Good luck and keep us posted
Well done for the speedy repair, must have impressed a few people

[benji]

Feel free to use the photos I posted and my name in any emails you send to them.
They've a history of being good with the gaurentees though. There were no questions when I needed a replacement.

Edit: Hammer reminded me that I've also had to grind some weld slag off, especially on the rear as the bag was pushing hard up against it.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

[Hammer H]

Same happened to me, and I found where the bag had failed there was a lug of weld it was rubbing against, arnotts sent me out two at only the cost to post the faulty bag to them for inspection, they were very good, I grinded flat the weld and now I have a spare.

[glenhendry]

Great info all. Thanks for the comments. You are right that the rubbing is localised. However, the OEM spring was in there for 12 years and never touched the (as predicted) bit of welding slag I found in the spot of the rubbing. Very sloppy work there LR!

I will talk to Arnotts and advise.

[Hammer H]

The Gen 3s are wider than the originals, that's why it's not a problem with the originals. I'd recommend for anyone with gen 3s to check for any weld sticking out that could cause this problem.

[benji]

Especially the slag around the left rear bumpstop bracket, and doubly so if yours is lifted.

Sent from my SM-G900I using AULRO mobile app

[glenhendry]

My response from Arnott yet...

[glenhendry]

Arnott have said, "You are out of warranty, feel free to buy a new one". I will investigate alternatives and compare. Mine were 3.5 yrs old.

The real point here is, if you have Arnott (ie fat) Air Springs that are less than 2 yrs old - check them now!!! Especially if you have any welding dags in your spring towers.