Frequently Asked Questions

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Ordering & Shipping

In July of 2016 Arnott transitioned to a dedicated focus on Arnott Authorized Distributors in the EU and ended direct sales to consumers and workshops. Arnott’s authorized distributors provide workshops and their customers with a variety of benefits including better pricing, multiple payment options, local warehousing and shipping, and easier returns for cores and warranty items.

By selling only through Arnott Authorized Distributors, Arnott is better able to focus on providing superior customer and technical support while also being able to service our distributors better.

Arnott’s website continues to offer detailed product information and installation resources but no longer offers its products for sale via the website. Visitors to ArnottEurope.com can easily find a searchable database with listings for Arnott Authorized Distributors located throughout the EU. The distributor listings provide the ability to zoom into the distributor’s location on a map as well as click links to the distributor’s website, phone number and email address.

If you cannot find a local distributor in your area, please feel free to contact us so that we can help you find one.

About Arnott Products

Arnott offers a Two-Year Warranty for customers on all Arnott parts. Improper use or installation is not a manufacturer’s defect. The Arnott Warranty is non-transferable. Arnott’s non-transferrable Warranty replacement is handled by the Reseller or Repair Shop.

Most Arnott parts have detailed installation manuals which are available for download by visiting www.ArnottManuals.com. These downloadable manuals are available as PDFs in English or can be accessed and translated as a web page using Google Translate. Some parts include Technical Service Bulletins (TSBs) that alert installers of common installation issues they should be aware of. Any product TSBs, along with multi-language instructions for accessing and downloading Arnott’s Manuals, will be included with your product. Arnott also has a growing selection of professionally produced Installation Videos that are linked to their products on www.ArnottManuals.com.

Confused by ride control terminology? Arnott has a compendium of ride control and suspension terms. The online dictionary includes almost 100 terms broken down in alphabetical order. The list includes popular terms used in Arnott part descriptions along with other terms from the suspension and air suspension industry. To access the list please click here.

Completely new air struts and remanufactured air struts as well as the coil conversion kits are mostly assembled at Arnott’s Florida facility using high-quality foreign and domestic components. Foreign materials are part of many of the import cores Arnott remanufactures and various components used to assemble Arnott springs, new and remanufactured parts, and conversion kits. Almost all the air springs for the European market are assembled in Europe, the remaining are assembled in the USA. All WABCO compressors are manufactured in Germany and the finishing touch is being given in the Netherlands or the USA.

No. Arnott air springs are just like the originals. You will not notice any difference in ride quality. Arnott designs its air springs with the same spring rate and load capabilities set by the original manufacturer.

On average, an air suspension part should be replaced between 6 to 10 years or between 90.000 to 160.000 kilometers because the rubber will have dried out. Off-road use also influences how often the replacement should be done. Over this time, the rubber bladder dries out, and cracks appear around the bottom piston. Compressors usually wear out because of leaky air springs. However, the computer and height sensors generally last the life of the vehicle.

Arnott Remanufactured OE struts use the vehicle’s internal electronic controls to adjust factory supplied suspension controls such as auto-leveling and/or auto damping (where available). Arnott designed new struts use custom-tuned shocks that don’t require or use the factory air suspension controls.

While many of Arnott’s compressors come from the Original Equipment Supplier, they often are not exactly the same as the original compressor. Some Arnott compressors feature improvements to the original design such as different wiring harnesses, brackets and filters. Others may require the re-use of stock mounting hardware or wiring. In some cases, the compressor is different because the OE compressor changed supplier. Arnott tests every compressor and includes all the necessary mounting hardware, accessories and installation instructions and backs its compressors with a Two-Year Warranty.

Installation/Troubleshooting

If you like the load-leveling capabilities, or if you tow with your vehicle and/or vehicles that are converted to natural gas, then you should repair the air suspension system. If you are tired of replacing the many components of which your air suspension consists, then the coil spring conversion kit should be perfect for you. Please bear in mind that you should check with the local authorities whether you are legally allowed to convert your car from air suspension to coil spring. Legislation around this varies per country.

Absolutely not! Arnott conversion kits are designed to bolt directly to your vehicle’s suspension. No special tools are necessary to install Arnott conversion kits. Arnott kits come preassembled and ready to bolt in. All Arnott suspension brackets are specifically engineered for your vehicle, and CNC-machined at the Arnott factory in Florida, United States.

The air lines are removed from the used part by pushing in on the fitting and pulling out on the air line at the same time. The fitting usually has an orange plastic ring around it. If it does not, simply push in on the brass fitting instead.

Vehicle Information

The right and left sides of an automobile are determined as if sitting in the car facing forward. Thus, the left side is on the left when sitting in the car facing forward, and the right side is on the right. For most cars, the driver’s side is on the left, and the passenger sits to the right of the driver. For cars in Great Britain, Ireland, Cyprus and some other former British colonies — where they drive on the left side of the road — the passenger sits on the left side, and the driver (along with all the driving controls) is on the right.

In many cases, a malfunction light on the dashboard indicates a problem. A complain may also be that the car is not leveled or is no longer leveling to driving height. Leaks are often the cause of a malfunctioning compressor. They can be found with a soap and water solution. Fixing these will prevent new compressor malfunctions down the line.

AIRMATIC® is a Mercedes-Benz trademark for air suspension. ABC stands for Active Body Control which is hydraulic suspension instead of air suspension. ABC was a rare option. You can tell which suspension you have by opening the hood of the car and examining the top of the shock absorber.

If the car is equipped with AIRMATIC, you will have obvious air lines leading from the top of the shocks.

Mercedes-Benz AIRMATIC

If your car is equipped with ABC, you will have small black electrical plugs leading into the top of both shocks.

Mercedes-Benz AIRMATIC

ADS stands for Active Dampening System. ADS is optional, nevertheless most of the vehicles that have this option do come with ADS. You can easily check to see if your vehicle is equipped with ADS by examining the AIRMATIC control buttons located on the dash panel below the Air Conditioning controls. Please see pictures below.

Mercedes-Benz ADS or not

For most Arnott products we recommend replacing them in pairs since the old ones usually have experienced the same wear and tear. However, for most air springs this it is not mandatory. An exception is the Mercedes-Benz E-Class W211 rear air springs, which must be replaced in pairs. This is caused by an improvement in design, whereby Arnott’s rear air springs eliminate the OE air reservoir thereby saving the installer hours of time.

Arnott compressors for Land Rover LR3, LR4 and Range Rover Sport may need a software update after installation. Since Land Rover moved away from Hitachi to another compressor supplier, a software update has become mandatory. Without this update, the compressor may not function well and this could void the warranty.