I know you have heard horror stories about the suspension on your Mark VII. Well, it's not that bad. You can change a front air bag in less than 30 minutes after some practice. For this you will need the following special tools: a flat head screwdriver. That's it. Let's get started.

First, shut off the air ride suspension (switch in the truck, above the spare). Now jack up the car and remove the wheel on whichever side needs the bag. Did I mention you should put the car on jack stands? No? Ok, PUT THE CAR ON JACK STANDS!!!! Jacks fall, topple and just collapse, don't trust them. I digress. Ok, you should now be looking at a large donut looking rubber cylinder. This is the air bag. It will look nothing like your new one. That is ok. There is a solenoid located in the top of the bag. Remove the electrical connector, but leave the air line connected to the solenoid. A C-clip holds the solenoid in place. Remove the C-clip using the screwdriver. You can now rotate the solenoid in it's hole. Step back, because when you twist and pull the solenoid all the air pressure from the bag will be released. Luckily, Ford put a safety catch in the solenoid barrel to keep it from shooting out. Once the air is out, continue twisting the solenoid until it can be pulled free from the bag. You do not need to remove the air line, just gently push the solenoid out of the way. The bag is held in place by a lock ring at the top of the bag. There is a metal spring lock that keeps the lock ring from turning. You should feel your fingers around the top of the lock ring until you hit the spring lock. Push it down and rotate thel lock ring counter-clockwise. The ring should then drop down and the top of the bag will be free. Now, grab your specialty tool (screwdriver) and look under the A-arm. There is a metal square on the bottom. Pry this off. The bottom of the bag is now free. Collapse the spring and it should pull out.

Your new/rebuilt bag will not look like the bag you took out. It will be thin and long versus the short donut you took out. Slip the new bag in place. Make sure it is rolled correctly (the bag should be rolled down over the bottom rubber piece). Put the bottom of the bag into the hole in the A-arm, then slip the top into place. You will have to rotate the lock ring around until it reaches the correct tab openings. Twist it clock-wise until the lock spring snaps into place. You can now slip the metal square over the bag knob that protrudes at underside of the A-arm. Use a little dab of white lithium grease and lube up the solenoid seals. Now re-insert the solenoids, rotating it until it bottoms out in the bag. Slip the C-clip around the barrel of the solenoid. Re-connect the electric connection to the solenoid. You are now ready to inflate.

One of the hardest parts of this job is getting the bag to inflate straight. I found that the Lincoln jack comes in handy for this. Place the jack in the wheel well, above the brake rotor Using a piece of wood to keep from damaging the fender, expand the jack until it starts to push the wheel/hub down. You want to only go an inch or two. This will stretch the bag a little and help it inflate correctly. Unbolt the ride height sensor and let it hang loose. Make a mental note of which hole the sensor was bolted into, this controls the ride height. You can now turn the air suspension back on. Now to fool the suspension. Push the ride height sensor together (shorten it). The compressor will now come on and the bag will start to fill. Keep an eye on the bag as it fills. Do not allow it to twist or bend to one side. It will fill up and maybe make a few pops. Keep your the sensor compressed until the bag looks fat and round. Bolt the sensor back on.You can now remove the Lincoln jack and put the tire back on. Lower the car to a little less than normal ride height. Do not remove the jack, use it to hold up the car. The suspension will fill the bag and pick the car up off the jack. Your done. Congrats, you just saved yourself several hundred dollars.