Air Suspension and being lazy

[NTBeyond]

Being a lazy sod I figured that if the vehicle was rasied up and I placed a car stand under the jacking point, then lowered the suspension, it would lift a wheel off the gound if needing to change it.
Doesn't work. Bloody computer, too clever for me.

[gghaggis]

It does work, at least in a D3.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/1117790-post35.html

??

How did that lift a wheel off the ground?

[WhiteD3]

Silly me, misread the orginal post! :angel:

[Forest]

What about if the door is open, or does that only work the other way round, (lowered, and using a jack to raise??)

[Celtoid]

Isn't the whole point of the superior LR suspension and traction control system, keeping the wheels on the ground....LOL!!!!

I was actually amazed, when on what I thought was pretty flat ground, seeing how much travel the suspension actually had when compensating for uneven terrain....the clearance was huge. Or should I say 'articulation'.

:)

[jonesfam]

Last time I jacked mine up to change a flat tyre it had gone to extended mode when I got all 4 wheels back on the ground.
Don't know how it did that when the engine was off & the tail gate was open most of the time.
Jonesfam

[Beamin]

Applying a similar sensible assumption, I thought the air suspension switch would make life easier when I bogged the D4 properly on the beach, by letting me select access height (from extended mode) to raise the wheels out of the big holes I'd dug them into while the car rested comfortably on its belly. The plan was to fill the holes with sand and timber then lower the wheels onto the new firm surface by selecting off-road height and then be able to drive out.

I thought that wasn't a bad idea but the computer sneered at my idiocy and wouldn't let me do it, not even to select road height. No amount of pleading and pointing to the incoming tide and setting sun would change its mind. Fortunately dial-a-friend worked and he arrived with his recovery gear in the nick of time.

[Nomad9]

Hi Forumites,
When I jack my D3 up I select off road height as per the manual and jack up on the chassis rails placing the chassis on axle stands, all four wheels off the ground. When I lower the vehicle back to earth the suspension always goes to it's lowest point, ie access, as soon as I switch the engine back on the vehicle goes straight back to normal road height, I assumed this was normal because that's the way it's happened every time I do this. Is this not normal?

[Dingmark Jim]

I did a bit of simplistic maths and the air suspension bags are not able to suck a wheel up off the ground. The bags are way too small in diameter to be able to suck the weight of the wheel+tyre+brake+suspension up even if they contained a perfect vacuum. I also suspect that all their seals would fail if exposed to a vacuum instead of pressure. In addition to the onboard air compressor, the D3/4 would need a vacuum pump to make this work (no, don't even think of using the brake system vacuum system to suck up a wheel - those things have caused enough probems:mad:) . .

[kenl]

I don't know how it works but... A big But.. I remember reading that the one wheel will lift up when it senses that that wheel is being jacked up to change the tyre..

And when I had a puncture repaired a few months ago, I mentioned it to the guy in the tyre shop, he looked at me strangely... But that look changed when he started jacking and the car then lifted the wheel clear of the ground.

I think the key may have to be outside the vehicle for this to work, but it did lift up..

[Pedro_The_Swift]

VID Please!

[Jesse B]

I don't know how it works but... A big But..

I think the key may have to be outside the vehicle for this to work, but it did lift up..

Sorry Ken - not questioning your experience with this one, but (like many I suspect) I'd love to know if/how this occurred. The one flat I've had resulted in much jacking - up and up and up! - to get the @!$* wheel off the ground! Pretty sure the smarty-pants vehicle went into extended mode, just to stretch the challenge... :eek:

[gghaggis]

As Dingmark indicated, the car _cannot_ "lift" a wheel off the ground - the air-bags cannot "suck" in to lift it. We jack dozens of D3/D4/RRS's and can confirm that this won't happen. However, it's possible that the car can sometimes readjust the other 3 wheels which may make it look like one wheel is lifting faster than the jack is raising, but it's not.

Cheers,

Gordon

[NTBeyond]

[QUOTE=gghaggis;1329303]As Dingmark indicated, the car _cannot_ "lift" a wheel off the ground - the air-bags cannot "suck" in to lift it.]

Regrettably, I now have to agree. I jacked up a wheel using all possible variations and have come to the conclusion that it won't lift a wheel or allow it to lower onto a stand.
So much for being a lazy sod.