AHC Globe leak (1 Viewer)

[2002TLCyes]

Well I did an AHC fluid change this weekend. Before I even started, I went to put the suspension in Low mode, and siphoned out the fluid out of the reservoir. When I laid down to start draining the fluid out of the bleed fittings, I noticed a few drops of fluid hanging from the globes. Seems like I saw them on all of the globes, but definitely on both the front and rear driver side.

I went on with the fluid change anyway. I only did the 4 bleed fittings, didn't find the fifth one. Filled up with 2.5 liters of fluid and tested it. It seems to work now, but I haven't put it in low mode yet, which is when the leak became apparent before the fluid change. Does this mean anything - the beginning of the end of the system?

 

[geanes]

Firstly, the 5th bleed valve is on the accumulator located on the drivers side frame rail. It is between the front and rear globe assemblies. The leak at the globes could simply be that they aren't torqued correctly. Wipe them thoroughly and then drive. See if any fluid manifests then.

 

[flintknapper]

I've never heard of a Globe leaking 'externally'. Internally...yes. But I suppose fluid could be coming from one of the lines...particularly if they are rusty. They might be leaking down onto the exterior of the globe.

As @geanes suggests: Wipe them down, drive and recheck.

It would have been a good thing to have bled the Accumlator, it holds quite a bit of fluid. A second bleeding after a few months might be beneficial if you don't discover any leaks. You will never get all the fluid out the hydraulic cylinders (shouldn't really call them shocks) and since you missed your accumulator...you have a mix of old and new fluid.

 

[2002TLCyes]

Darn, makes sense. I will follow your advice, will clean them up, drive and see what happens.

The fluid that I drained was more greenish and looked like an oil/water/air emulsion. Does that usually rise or settle? Just wondering if after sitting for a while, would that old dirty stuff maybe all accumulate at one of the cylinders, or in the tank so I could drain it out specifically without having to do a whole drain and re-fill, since I forgot to drain the accumulator.

 

[geanes]

Darn, makes sense. I will follow your advice, will clean them up, drive and see what happens.

The fluid that I drained was more greenish and looked like an oil/water/air emulsion. Does that usually rise or settle? Just wondering if after sitting for a while, would that old dirty stuff maybe all accumulate at one of the cylinders, or in the tank so I could drain it out specifically without having to do a whole drain and re-fill, since I forgot to drain the accumulator.

Oh god! Please tell me the fluid wasn't greenish. It should have been brownish worst case. The fluid itself, when new, is pinkish. I've heard incidents of people putting "other" hydraulic fluid in the AHC system which can severely damage it. I even read one where someone put green washer fluid in the system thinking that the reservoir was for the wipers! "Oil/water/air emulsion" sounds bad to me.

Did you take any pics of the fluid you drained?

When I first flushed mine, the fluid looked like coffee (dark brown). I refilled with genuine AHC fluid. 30k later, I flushed again and the fluid came out the color of iced tea (not bad). The tell tale sign of a failed globe (at least when draining fluid) would be the dreaded "milkshake" or foam. If you see that, you have a gas/fluid mixture that's indicative of a blown diaphragm in one of the globes.

 

[2002TLCyes]

I mean it wasn't green like grass, but it was definitely a very dark greenish hue. And it was an emulsion because it was foamy in the reservoir at first, and then when I was bleeding the valves, it was definitely like a foamy milkshake.

Are there any tests I could run to see if this system has any problems? I am not driving it yet, it's just sitting in my yard, but I've been working on it last night and had it idling for a while, put the suspension in HI mode and it stayed there quite happily. The VSA OFF and some other VTM or something light came on for a few seconds for some reason after it idled for a while, but then it went away when I put it in drive.... I don't know...

 

[geanes]

You need to run a "graduation" test if you haven't already.

Drop rig into Low, wait for pump to stop, turn off engine and take note of fluid level in reservoir located against passenger side firewall. You'll see "graduation" marks on the reservoir.

Start motor and cycle through to Hi, wait for pump to stop, turn off engine and take note of fluid level in reservoir.

Ideally, there will be a 14 mark difference in fluid level. 9-11 would be fine. 7 or lower and you're at end of life. That means possible globe or globes replacement. I would doubt the accumulator or pump would go bad.

 

[2002TLCyes]

Will try that out, thanks. How do you explain this test and what would cause there to only be a 7 mark difference? I haven't really seen clear instruction as to what level of graduations the fluid should be at when we're flushing our fluids. I eyeballed 2.5 liters back into the system, but I would expect there to be clear instruction as to which graduation my fluid should be at, say, at the N setting.

 

[PADDO]

Will try that out, thanks. How do you explain this test and what would cause there to only be a 7 mark difference? I haven't really seen clear instruction as to what level of graduations the fluid should be at when we're flushing our fluids. I eyeballed 2.5 liters back into the system, but I would expect there to be clear instruction as to which graduation my fluid should be at, say, at the N setting.

If you search the key terms “permeates” and “permeability” posted by me you’ll get a number of hits from over the years where I’ve discussed why globes naturally go flat and why the L to H reservoir check goes from 14 graduations (new) to 7 (functionally expired) to 4 (ruptured).