# Air Suspension Fitting Corrosion Warming



## bravocharlie (Nov 14, 2003)

*Air Suspension Fitting Corrosion Warning*

By way of brief background, I have a 2004 Touareg with 180,000 miles. I recently noticed that the front left air suspension was sitting lower than normal after the truck had been sitting. I discovered that the shock was leaking air and in the subsequent days began getting "Running Gear Workshop" warnings on the MFI. I got both the orange ones and a red one that instructs you to stop immediately. It reset after parking, and restarting. In summary, I knew I had a problem.
Today, I stopped at the dealer and they confirmed that the fitting at the top of the air shock was in deed leaking. Attached is a photograph showing the fitting.
*It is important that you inspect these fittings ASAP if you have air suspension. There is a TSB that references corrosion and possible failure.* See TSB 43 07 01
Initially I was told that the entire air shock would have to be replaced but after doing research and with the assistance of Spockcat, I discovered that the fitting can be replaced assuming the female portion of the connection is not corroded. Replacing the entire air shock assembly is expensive.
Apparently, there have been some instances where the fitting has failed during driving and bad things happen.


_Modified by bravocharlie at 4:19 PM 2-1-2010_


----------



## spockcat (Jun 5, 2003)

*Re: Air Suspension Fitting Corrosion Warning (bravocharlie)*

There are 3 threads about this on Club Touareg as well as the TSB and a spare parts diagram:
http://www.clubtouareg.com/for....html
TSB and spare parts PDF are here: http://www.clubtouareg.com/for....html
http://www.clubtouareg.com/for....html
http://www.clubtouareg.com/for....html
This is primarily an issue for owners who live in areas where salt is used on the roads. So inspect your fittings immediately and get them replaced before they fail if they appear to have any significant corrosion.


----------



## Jimbuffalo (Sep 1, 2005)

*Re: Air Suspension Fitting Corrosion Warning (bravocharlie)*

BC-
Welcome to the STOP FAULT RUNNING GEAR thread. Your symptoms most closely matched mine as chronicled in this post:
http://www.clubtouareg.com/for....html
My dealership replaced both front canisters and later - when the fault returned - replaced the compressor and distribution valve. 
The other CT links spockcat provided focused on catastrophic failure and a hydraulic connector snapping...yours is like mine where the dealer detected a slow leak attributed to corrosion.
The replacement cans seem to be constructed of a different material (plastic collar vs. aluminum housing) and is used in (at least) 2010 models. The TSBs and ETKA PDFs give a great view into the front canisters.
Now I wonder...can the rears be far behind?
Good luck with your repair...keep us posted on cost.


----------



## bravocharlie (Nov 14, 2003)

*Re: Air Suspension Fitting Corrosion Warning (bravocharlie)*

*UPDATE*
The valve part (7L0-616-813-B) arrived at my VW dealer this morning and was installed.
This is what the value (right side) looks like all corroded.
*Old Corroded Valve*








When the service technician went to remove the old valve, it snapped off and he had to remove it with an extractor.
*Removing the broken valve with the extractor*








Once removed, this is the top of the canister with the valve removed.








*The broken valve removed*








*The replacement valve part*








Before the new valve is installed, a plug is inserted to close the hole so that the surrounding area can be cleaned and scrubbed thoroughly.








A special VW socket is used to remove and install the valve.








A VW wax spray is then applied around the valve prior to the installation with the plug still in place.








The replacement valve is then installed and the air line reattached by simply inserting it into the new valve body. No crimping or twisting required.








The valves are $142.00 each and it took 1.5 hours to complete the job (one valve). Since the other side of my front end is not leaking, I decided not to replace it. I did not want to take the risk of not being able to get the corroded valve out and damaging the canister which would have resulted in a much more costly repair. However, I did purchase a spare valve so if and when it fails, I have the part with me.



_Modified by bravocharlie at 10:17 AM 2-5-2010_


----------



## schubie (Mar 26, 2009)

*Re: Air Suspension Fitting Corrosion Warning (bravocharlie)*

Great pics and captions... thanks! http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


----------



## Jimbuffalo (Sep 1, 2005)

*Re: Air Suspension Fitting Corrosion Warning (bravocharlie)*

Well done, Bravo Charlie. Well done.
So far we have seen three solutions to leaking fittings:
Outright replacement with new canisters
Major repair..necessitating the removal of the canisters
This repair...the most logical and least expensive..done on the vehicle.
Nice.


----------



## bravocharlie (Nov 14, 2003)

*Re: Air Suspension Fitting Corrosion Warning (Jimbuffalo)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Jimbuffalo* »_Well done, Bravo Charlie. Well done.
So far we have seen three solutions to leaking fittings:
Outright replacement with new canisters
Major repair..necessitating the removal of the canisters
This repair...the most logical and least expensive..done on the vehicle.
Nice.


Thank you. I certainly beats replacing the entire air shock assembly. And, once again the forum has been very helpful in playing these issues out as age and mileage increase; thus resulting in new issues.


----------



## djnblood (Jun 27, 2009)

*Pictures Still Available???*

The pictures on this post have been removed. Do you still have them? Could I get them? Thanks.


----------



## pollop (Jan 26, 2015)

*Pictures...*

Me aswell, need to see the pictures..

Why are they removed?


----------



## spockcat (Jun 5, 2003)

This link still has some pictures: http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums/f...d-air-suspension-corrosion-problem-33373.html


----------

