Hydraulic suspension is one of the most effective ways of improving your car's suspension. The system has an incompressible fluid, pump, pushrod, sphere and the suspension arm. All these components work together to change the height of your car as you would like. Just like many other parts of your car, the hydraulic suspension system is bound to have some problems. For you to rectify these problems in good time, you need to know the tell-tale signs that your hydraulic suspension system will give. If your car has a hydraulic suspension system, here are some of the things that will tell you when it has a problem:

High Temperature in the Hydraulic Fluid

If the fluid in the hydraulic system heats up to very high temperatures, it has adverse effects on the components of the system. Particularly, the heat damages the oil seals and degrades the oil itself. Whenever you load your car, the hydraulic fluid responds by generating an equal and opposite reaction that enables your car to maintain a particular heat. This process generates heat, which should be dissipated from the fluid to the reservoir. You can easily tell if the system is overheating during routine inspection of the fluid in the reservoir. If the fluid's level is low, and the temperature is significantly higher than normal, then the hydraulic fluid is overheating. You should refill the reservoir to the right level and remove any obstruction to air circulation around the reservoir such as the build-up of debris.

Abnormal Noise

When your hydraulic system produces noise during compression or decompression, there may be cavitation or aeration of the hydraulic fluid. Cavitation occurs when the hydraulic lift supplied to any part of the system isn't enough to meet the compression or decompression requirements. This, combined with the heat in the system, creates cavities of vapour that produce a knocking sound when they are compressed or decompressed. On the other hand, aeration happens when the hydraulic fluid is contaminated by air, producing a knocking sound. In case of such noise, you should check into your repair centre and have the problem addressed.

Reduced Response Speed

If your hydraulic suspension has reduced its speed when decompressing or compressing, then a problem is imminent. This can be caused by a leakage in the system, which keeps it from generating enough force to change the car's height as fast as it should. Leakages can occur in seals, valves, actuators or the pump. If you notice slow operation, you should have the hydraulic system inspected.