Overhaul of air suspension compressor on 2004 Cayenne S

[isakpede]

Overhaul of air suspension compressor on 2004 Cayenne S

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Hello. I had the same problem as many of you, with "air suspension faulty workshop" alarm every time i started my 2004 Cayenne S. The alarm could appear immediately or after a few kilometers. I bought the repair kit for the air compressor with VW part number 7LO 698 030 (thanks to RFM for the tip) and put 45 minutes of labor into it. Now the alarm has disappeared completely. The kit was a bit expensive, around 260$ for one piston ring, one plastic hose connector, one o-ring and two 6x80mm stai

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• Author
  isakpede
• Category
  Cayenne (9PA, 9PA1) - Maintenance
• Submitted
  03/16/2009 07:30 AM

 

Edited February 20, 2010 by isakpede

[mudman2]

Thank you so much for this, I have had a compressor replaced (under warranty) and expect another before I am thru so this will help avoid that. Also look out for the struts on 04's, I had one blow up, that was expensive.

Mike

Hello.

I had the same problem as many of you, with "air suspension faulty workshop" alarm every time i started my 2004 Cayenne S. The alarm could appear immediately or after a few kilometers. I bought the repair kit for the air compressor with VW part number 7LO 698 030 (thanks to RFM for the tip) and put 45 minutes of labor into it. Now the alarm has disappeared completely. The kit was a bit expensive, around 260$ for one piston ring, one plastic hose connector, one o-ring and two 6x80mm stainless steel bolts. But compared to the price of a new compressor it was worth it.

I will add some pictures below to show all what i did:

First, dismantle the plastic protection cover under the right side of the car. It is about 6-8 torx screws.

Then unscrew 3 bolts holding the air compressor with a 13mm cup, and lower it as shown on the picture.

Follow the instructions included in the kit to dismantle the temperature sensor cable, air hose and the "cylinder head"

Follow the instruction including in the kit how to change the piston ring, O-ring and air-hose elbow.

Below the replaced parts are shown.

Follow the instructions including in the kit how to reconnect the air hose, temperature sensor cable and the "cylinder head" with correct torc,

Fasten the air compressor with the 3 bolts again and reassemble the plastic protection cover underneath the car.

Hope this guidance will be usefully for those who are getting tired of the " the air suspension faulty workshop" alarm.

Regards.

Isak

Norway

[isakpede]

It was just a pleasure Mudman! :D We have all spent enough money on VAG parts ........(i have owned a couple of VW and Audi's too....)

Just for the record, the compressor has a price on 1500$ at the Porsche dealer here i Norway. The same compressor for Tuareg at the VW dealer in the same area has the amazing price of almost 3000$.. :o ... (but VW sell the repair kit though).

Glad too be able to help others with the same problem. Hope i avoid problem with the struts. Owned a Allroad once, which i had to change one in the front. That was a job with 600$ in parts and a couple of hours in the garage, but i believe the same parts for the Cayenne is a bit more expensive and the job a bit more complicated.

Isak

Edited March 17, 2009 by isakpede

[sgmcleod]

Thanks for this, Helps me out bug time.. Porsche Canada is a rip off machine

[dasmall]

Bought a 2004 Turbo and I immediately had the "Air Suspension Faulty - Workshop" error light. Of course I took it to the dealer but the light did not come on while at their shop. But as soon as I would drive it - I would get the fault. Ran across this posting and thought I would rebuild before paying for a new compressor.

I bought the part from a local VW dealer for $170.00 USD and spent an hour following isakpede's posting. Very easy and immediately solved my fault.

My kit from Wabco contained a piston ring, two Torx bolts for compressor head and an o ring seal. No elbow is included nor did my unit need one. It was in good shape.

Thanks for the great DIY help!

compressor_2.pdf

Edited January 4, 2010 by dasmall

[DUTCH VanAtlanta]

I do have the instructions from WABCO and would like to scan an attach to this posting but am new to the forum and could use some help. Do I just uplaod the file in my post here?

Thanks for the great DIY help!

Please do. Hit the Edit Your Post button. Then click on the Full Edit. Just below your composition box is the place to add your attachments.

Edited January 3, 2010 by DUTCH VanAtlanta

[dasmall]

I do have the instructions from WABCO and would like to scan an attach to this posting but am new to the forum and could use some help. Do I just uplaod the file in my post here?

Thanks for the great DIY help!

Please do. Hit the Edit Your Post button. Then click on the Full Edit. Just below your composition box is the place to add your attachments.

I am checking to see if document is copyrighted.

[Cannoli]

For the past two weeks, I was getting the same fault (Air Suspension Faulty - Workshop). I just brought my vehicle in for a 60K mile service and thanks to you guys, I was able to tell my local Porsche dealership "NO, I'll repair it myself. I read on RennTech.org how to repair the air suspension compressor." I'm off to the VW parts department ...

[mattjtaylor50]

guys,

i have a cayenne turbo 2005 with techart lowering module installed

the system was working great. kept it in the LOW mode and when i lock it it drops to LOADING.

then all of a sudden about 4 months ago when the car raises itself back up to LOW level the air compressor turns on (as expected) but much louder than i originally remembered. it also stays on for quite a while and cylces more often when i am driving.

i took it to the stealership who were no help and said the sound is normal, confirming this with another CTT. since then i have been driving with it in NORMAL mode and the air compressor rarely cycles as it is not raising/lowering constantly but the noise is still loud when it does.

any ideas why this is happening? its frustrating as a i like to drive in low level.

do you think this air pump repair kit will correct the noise?

[dasmall]

Sounds like the compressor piston seal is worn. Mine was not really making a noise but it was constantly working to keep a certain PSI in the system.

See my post above, go to the VW dealer and buy the rebuild kit. Save the money and spend 1 hour to fix your problem.

guys,

i have a cayenne turbo 2005 with techart lowering module installed

the system was working great. kept it in the LOW mode and when i lock it it drops to LOADING.

then all of a sudden about 4 months ago when the car raises itself back up to LOW level the air compressor turns on (as expected) but much louder than i originally remembered. it also stays on for quite a while and cylces more often when i am driving.

i took it to the stealership who were no help and said the sound is normal, confirming this with another CTT. since then i have been driving with it in NORMAL mode and the air compressor rarely cycles as it is not raising/lowering constantly but the noise is still loud when it does.

any ideas why this is happening? its frustrating as a i like to drive in low level.

do you think this air pump repair kit will correct the noise?

[olegmedinskiy]

Hay I did the kit to and now all good in Seattle WA the kit costs. $27 bucks LOL the new compressor is $808 on eBay and the repair kit $27 bucks LOL

[mojoracerx]

Will this help if my car is sitting lower on the passenger side than the driver side? or, will I have to take it to dealership to have suspension re-calibrated? I too am having issues with faulty suspension code periodically.

Thanks,

Jon

[larojas]

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that I found the rebuild kit for USD 13.91 (on 1stvwparts.com). It arrived today and I will be installing it tomorrow. I'll update the post with the results.

Is the torque wrench absolutely necessary? I haven't got one and don't want to buy one just for this job...

(BTW I got the "faulty" message while at Lake Tahoe i.e. high altitude. Hasn't come on again since I'm back at sea level, but I will do the fix anyway)

[isakpede]

Hi.

Several months since I was in here now and it is a pleasure to see that people still find my DIY on the compressor overhaul usefull.

No, you don't need a torque wrench, just do not overtighten the screws. The secrews are only 6mm as I can remember, so be carefull not to overtighten and damage the threads in the compressor body. If you do, I believe you have to buy a new compressor......

Isakpede

[larojas]

Well I finally found the time and did the repair. It was quite easy although at first, afraid of overtightening the bolts, I untertightened them. The compressor still did its job but it was loud. Then I gave them a more vigorous tightening (previously they hadn't even reached the stop --oops!) and now all is well. I hope there was no damage from it.

Thanks everyone. I still can't believe it was so cheap ($23 with shipping).

Now on to the next problem: I have to figure out if something needs to be done about oil consumption (120k miles, uses 1qt every 400 miles). No visible leaks, so it must be burning the stuff.

[akt4rgtr]

Well I finally found the time and did the repair. It was quite easy although at first, afraid of overtightening the bolts, I untertightened them. The compressor still did its job but it was loud. Then I gave them a more vigorous tightening (previously they hadn't even reached the stop --oops!) and now all is well. I hope there was no damage from it.

Thanks everyone. I still can't believe it was so cheap ($23 with shipping).

Now on to the next problem: I have to figure out if something needs to be done about oil consumption (120k miles, uses 1qt every 400 miles). No visible leaks, so it must be burning the stuff.

Hi,

I had a look at the site you mentioned (www.1stvwparts.com) but couldn't find the repair kit. Could you please post a link to the kit you purchased?

Thanks

AK

[akt4rgtr]

Ignore my previous post. I managed to find the part on the wedsite by simply removing the spaces from the part no (7L0698030)

[azelaya]

Bought a 2004 Turbo and I immediately had the "Air Suspension Faulty - Workshop" error light. Of course I took it to the dealer but the light did not come on while at their shop. But as soon as I would drive it - I would get the fault. Ran across this posting and thought I would rebuild before paying for a new compressor.

I bought the part from a local VW dealer for $170.00 USD and spent an hour following isakpede's posting. Very easy and immediately solved my fault.

My kit from Wabco contained a piston ring, two Torx bolts for compressor head and an o ring seal. No elbow is included nor did my unit need one. It was in good shape.

Thanks for the great DIY help!

Hi there, I just buy my repair kit from ecsTunning and i think they have a error on there website because my cost , $9.90 for the complete kit , not only the bolt and o ringand seal, but inclued the hose and part of the compressor, if any one have this problem by fast and order from here , before they fix it, i call and they say that price is ok, and if you buy only the bolt, o ring and seal i will cost $180.00

Crazy. Here are the links

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Es289283/ES289283/ complete and $9.90

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Es414705/ES414705/ only bolt, o ring and seal $184.00

[NT_996]

For UK owners...

Just bought the repair kit from my local VW dealer.

7L0 698 030 (my vehicle is an '04 TT)

Cost was £62.

Just fitted it - it took approx 40-50 mins in total.

So far, so good...keeping my fingers crossed as the warning has not yet reappeared.

Didn't torque up, but you have to be careful to tighten the new bolts sufficiently, as they appear to resist before being fully tightened, so keep going until they finally lock up.

[Molgan]

Thanks for the tutorial, just did this today and it helped alot. Much easier when you can see pics of what you Will do before you start doing it.

[feralc]

Hi sorry to revive this old thread but I have the same problem, I purchased the kit that had everything (100698010a) because it was cheaper $131 shipped

The other one (7lo698030) that includes only the o ring the piston ring and the two bolts was more expensive

So I have all these now, the kit arrived with no instructions, the wabco PDF instructions that dasmall posted is kind of confusing, maybe because I haven't gone there and see it.

What do you guys think? Should I replace only the two bolts and the rings, or try to replace the whole kit now that I have it, I do not want to make unnecessary work and eventually break something for not wasting the rest of the kit.

Thanks

Edited January 24, 2014 by feralc

[isakpede]

I would have changed them all, if I had all these parts when I did the job. This job is not so complicated, just one screw in addition to the two on the cylinderhead. The plastic-pipe tends to be brittle, I guess that is the reason why it is included in the kit. Be sure to fasten the new hose-clamp properly with a pair of suitable pliers.

If you are unsecure on how to do this and have trouble getting the correct pressure (compressor does not stop), change the two screws, the o-ring and the piston ring and see if that rectifies the problem. If not, you might try to change the rest of the parts.

isakpede

[feralc]

Thanks for your reply, I found this video in youtube, it is for an audi allroad, but is pretty similar so now I have a good idea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mrULAK6Lwk

this guy is selling the repair kits for 29 pounds shipped!!!! it is just the two bolts and the two rings, but still a pretty good deal because the VW is selling for like 160 dollars, mine was the one that has everything and cost 132 (If I only knew)

Edited January 27, 2014 by feralc

[eaharwood]

Hey guys,

 

I just repaired the compressor with the kit on my 2004 CTT.  Everything went smoothly, got everything back where it should be, but I can't for the life of me get the yellow air hose back into the valve block.  It's like the threads won't grab. The brass fitting on the hose just spins and won't connect with the threads in the block.  I've been battling with this for an hour or so.  Is there something dumb I'm not getting?

[Ats Teppan]

Could any of you lads tell me, what repair kit should I buy for a 2009 GTS model?

 

A valve was changed on the suspension, it leaked from there. The compressor did a lot of working, maybe the repair kit will give it some more time.