Minor leak after valve block overhaul

[wayneg]

On Monday I did the O ring overhaul on the EAS valve block. I was meticulous in keeping everything spotless, replaced in original order and position. After refitting and testing all seemed well and I left the car overnight in the garage without driving. The following morning the car was on the bump stops and after starting the car it was obvious the air tank was empty also.
Once pumped up the suspension behaved normally. Day 2 in the morning the car had not moved in hight but the tank again appeared empty. I checked every air connection to find a very small amount of air escaping via the exhaust outlet on the side of the valve block. Day 3 Car does not sag overnight after leaving on high setting and tank took less time to fill and pump cut out. Very small leak still at exhaust outlet
Questions.
As the problem seems to be getting less by the day can I live in hope it will sort itself out as things bed in?
Is there one seal that I should take particular interest in when I take the valve block out again for a recheck.
Anyone else had issues after the re-seal kit fitted

[ytt105]

This one's right up my alley!

It's your NRV, (non return valve) on the exhaust side.

Take it apart again and look closely at the domed part of the valve and you will probably find it is pitted or grooved and the air leaks past the very small o ring.

I tried to rebuild mine with some liqiud steel, but before I actually used it I managed to get an old good one that works great. Thanks Paul!

Touch wood the EAS has never worked better. I just got back from taking a couple on a tour over the Brindies and as they were elderly I dropped the car everytime we stopped. Very impressive!

Got bogged on the access road to Mt Coree. It took a bit of road building to get through but the guests just loved the 'little bit extra' we threw in.

Didn't tell them I was looking for a place to set up camp for the night!

[wayneg]

Thats great info.
When I was doing those small seals I took a double take at the end of one of those valves as it looked misshaped to my eye. Now for more exact advice please. Is the exhaust valve the nearest one to the exhaust outlet?

[PaulP38a]

pretty sure it's the NRV with the dome pointing down in to the main block, and the other 2 are pointing up.

Here's a work in progress where I'm trying to document the valve block flows and components. Maybe someone has already done it (please!)... or if you want to add/correct my errors... all input welcome.

Cheers, Paul.

[Nomad9]

Hi Paul,
Thanks for the picture this is great. I've been having an air leak problem for a while now and I'm trying to find the culprit. What I did was bring the vehicle home put the vehicle in the garage and set the suspension on the highest setting and leave the drivers door slightly ajar to prevent the computer doing it's caretaker thing, switched off the interior light to prevent the battery going flat and then left the vehicle alone until the following morning. I've now identified that the dodgy "system" is the offside rear corner, I took the wrong air line off the valve block and this depressured the system, so I was reluctant do this another three times to find which port was the right one. It's always going to be the last one no matter which order you disconnect them. I also used the emergency shraeder (spelling) valves to identify the problem being in the valve block and not the air bag and the tubing. Gee these things are fun aren't they......... Again thanks for the picture.

[PaulP38a]

Happy to help Nomad9. If the problem is just with the connection at the air spring, try cutting 5mm off the end of the air line with a sharp knife or air hose cutters and re-seat it

Repeat for each line, and at each end until problem is gone. Next step is take the valve block out and check the 2x 6mm o-rings under the collet for the problem line.

cheers, Paul.

[wayneg]

Today I stripped the valve block again and gave everything a thorough inspection before re-build. This time I cleaned all the O-ring lube ( supplied in the kit ) from the rings and refitted them dry. I cleaned again all the NRV mating surfaces before re-fit and re-cleaned the diaphragm seat I did come across one thing that could have been a cause of a leak, one of the O-rings on the shaft of the solenoid next to the pressure relief valve had not seated correctly and was partially crushed. As I kept all the old O-rings I found the best of the old ones and re-used that. After re-fit and air up all seems promising. Left the car for 3 hours and re-started and checked if the compressor was running. Thankfully no, so the tank appears to be holding pressure again, car is sitting 4 square and I couldnot hear any of the solenoids clicking , fingers crossed!
Now I am hoping some one might have one of the shaft of the solenoid O-rings spare. This is the very fine one.

[wayneg]

aaaa

[PaulP38a]

yep, give me a call or e-mail... you have my details.

Cheers, Paul.

[superquag]

The above sounds a bit familiar...

Did an O-ring overhaul recently, and now the Left-rear will often deflate overnight... Definately the Valve-body end, and I suspect that particular valve assembly.

The annoying thing is, that it does'nt always do it ! At first it was every night, and now, most nights... I'd like to think its slowly improving, but one night both Left sides were down!

Incidently, I've put in a manual EAS Kill-switch, which has the same effect as un-plugging the COM connection. This allows me to totally disable the EAS computer so that the (delicate) little air-pump has minimal work to do.

I took the advice and cut & trimmed all the air-lines going into the valve body.

- Any one else have this 'inconsistant' problem ?

James.

'95 Classic Vogue SE.

[PaulP38a]

Hi James

assume you have done the "soapy water spray" test to confirm that there is no leak at the collet in to the valve block?

Next step is to pull of the solenoid for that corner and confirm that the o-ring on the shaft is sealing ok (i.e. not crushed) and the foot of the solenoid is sealing. I have lightly sanded mine to smooth out the rubber feet at the base of the shaft.

I still get the occassional unexplained drop overnight though. Mine sat for the past 2 days in my front yard, on a slope, and did not lose any noticable height. Other times it can sit flat in the garage overnight and lose height.

Cheers, Paul.

[adm333]

FWIW here is a little trap that I fell into doing the same job.

The resulting failure was a little more epic but its something to note anyway.

See this thread

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/p38a-range-rover/126614-valve-block-rebuild-aware.html

Dave

[superquag]

No prizes for guessing... Naturally I've chuckied out the old O rings, as you do....

At least I know "why" :(

Thanks to all, and 'no', I dunno how it happened.

James

The 'EH', '95 Vogue with leaking air suspension.....

[33chinacars]

Yes I had that Too Superquag. But I never throw anything away. Just picked out a good? used one Fixed

Gary

[PaulP38a]

I think we should throw some spares in to the O-ring kits we sell at Hard Range for situations like this.

Personally, I don't throw out my old o-rings at all. I keep them in a container to use as packers/washers for fiddly and vibrating bits, and in case I need to re-use the better ones.

What is the consensus of a "reasonable" number of spares for each type? Put another way, which ones are more likely to need revisiting after assembly?

We already supply extra o-rings for the 6mm and 8mm lines, and an extra for the NRV's. Your "reasonable" views wanted ;)

Cheers, Paul.

[DT-P38]

Had unexplainable slow leak(s) causing "drooping" following the Valve Block rebuild done the other week...

No visible soapy water issues so pulled the whole thing back out. While checking all the o-rings were actually put in, an extra o-ring (? who knows how ?) fell out from under a solenoid cover - so I think, maybe it had been stuck up there and created the problem. Yippee, quick fix! Put her all back together and still drooping after an hour. Crap.

Whipped it all out again and virtually rebuilt it completely. No errors, No visible issues. Reconnected it to the pump and plugged it all in without re-installing and got it going. Sprayed the old soapy water everywhere and no visible leaks. Crap.

Jumped on here and found this thread and remembered I hadn't checked those little light weight o-rings on the solenoid shafts. Back to the car and spray around the solenoid covers... sure as eggs, bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles!

Pulled the offending "leakers" and remembered I had twisted the shafts when re-installing (in an effort to try and seat them) and had actually monstered the o-rings. Luckily, I had some spares on hand.

Morale(s) of the story...

1. Don't twist the solenoid shafts to seat their o-rings, just align carefully and tighten squarely.
2. EAS is best understood when problem solving.
3. AULRO ROCK'S for DIY'ers.

Hoo-Roo, Dave.

P.S. To answer that year or two old question Paul, add a few spares of the solenoid shaft rings to the kits. The seem to be the most delicate and easy to damage.

[DT-P38]

Photo of the 3 solenoid shaft o-rings I damaged and the extra that fell out of a solenoid cover!