jz-is-fishing
21st December 2011, 04:47 PM
Just wanted to share some discoveries and experiences regarding my bad air spring and shock. BTW I am not a mechanic so follow my tips or suggestions at your own risk; I'm just sharing my experiences. The rig a 2006 HSE LR3, with about 165,000 km on the clock. I've looked through and learned from this site so wanted to share.
Prices quoted are in USD and in the US.
First off attached are several pictures and a few PDFs.
The PDFs are very instructional and show how to remove the struts and remove/replace the shocks. One is by Koni and the other by Martin Lewis on DISCO3.CO.UK site. With these two docs you don't really need any further info. Koni does not provide anything but basic instructions in the shock kit.
The photos show the bad air spring, a good one, off the same rig, and a new one. Also shown is the part number RCQ 000030 - the VOSS Connector and the location of the special mention spacers and O-rings from the paragraph below. The Voss Connector is the same part for both the air valve blocks and the air spring.
Special Mention: Neither of these PDF write ups mention much about the two O-rings and two green spacers, located inside the bottom of the black plastic sleeve which holds the two large O-rings at the base of shock; near the metal disc which forms a part of the shock. I believe it is Martin's which mentions to inspect them - also best to put them on the shock before the plastic sleeve and then just push the plastic sleeve over them once they are in place. The order from the bottom up (starting at the metal disc is green, O-ring, green, O-ring. BTW these O-rings and spacers are not part of the Land Rover rebuild kit mentioned in the PDFs. They basically form parts of the seal for the air spring around the shock - check to see if they are in good shape.
Bought the Koni Shocks FSD 2100-4069 (specifically for the LR3) from 1XRacing.com, in the USA, cost was about $820 plus shipping. These guys were great and fast. The even aided me in getting Koni USA to ship direct to me so that I could get them onto the rig in time for my Xmas trip. BTW MSRP is $1450.
The bad air spring, which I know seems to be rare, I bought at Atlantic British, but it's also several other places, such as Lucky8 and also British Pacific, for much less than Land Rover. I'm sure Rover Parts West also has them but I did not know about these guys until after I purchased the air spring. I did buy some Voss Connectors from them for 50% of what I would pay the dealer, they even had 2 in stock, basically $20 each, part number RQC 000030, which fits into the air spring for the airline.
I opted for one air spring rather than 2 one for each side of the axle and the shocks which came out a little more money than buying 2 LR struts for the front axle. I figured that the air spring if OEM would basically be the same as the old one - I hope I'm right and it appears so but my long trip will confirm or disprove my thoughts and whether or not I'll have to do the other side..... Let's see if this is right bbyer.
BTW there are some Greek Shocks, see the Disco3.UK site under "heavy duty dampers" I was looking at trying to get these but it required a minimum order of 5 sets to get the guy to make them, between $1300-$1800 Euros a set. They do seem to be the best out there but the time to get them was too long for me, considering my current problem. The guy to contact for the Greek shocks is Pantellis - seems like a good guy to me.
Anyway the discoveries:
BAD AIR SPRING BAG (right front), not sure what caused the leek but it was coming from the rotted out area on the top center as pictured. Looks to me like someone must have gotten something corrosive on it. It was actually braking up and some of the bits and chunks, etc were found inside the air spring when I took it apart.
The symptoms were a slight sag in the right front of the vehicle after standing for a bit, plus it felt like the car was out of alignment and pulling to the right a bit, then occasionally all seemed fine (guessing the suspension corrected itself), then it would pull slightly again. This lasted a long time many months, before I found out what it was.
I have had a few amber suspension warnings come on during a turn or if making a slight swerve while driving. This was not consistent however. Note I also run shortened height rods (12mm), so this was a possible culprit.
Lastly, about a month ago I was jacking up the other side of the rig, which put more load on the right front side, and then I heard it - air venting and then saw this strut lower to bump stops. A little more checking in extended height more and the leak was evident for about 20-30 seconds. A little soapy water a mirror and light and I could see the leak.
The new air spring was a Genuine Part from Atlantic British but comes with a Firestone Bag installed.
INSTALL, as per the PDF instructions, with the exception that I did not remove the wheel well linings or the plastic fenders (eyebrows). Managed to get in there with a combination of tools - 15mm flexible ratchet wrench, straight wrench, straight socket wrench with short socket and an adjustable handled socket wrench (one which allows different angles of the handle, also had a bent s-shaped wrench, plus a 12mm basic wrench for the Voss Connector. The bottom mounting bolts for the shock are 24mm and the other side I used a 13/16th, not sure what that is in mm, 21? The front right was the hardest, followed by the rear left sides.
You can re-use the same Voss connectors and do not have to buy new ones, but I am glad I did have a few on hand. On two of the struts it was just way easier to place the new Voss Connector into the air spring before mounting it, then just slipping the air line into them. The space and tolerances of the airline make it difficult to try to reconnect the Voss connector and removing the Voss connector from the airline will in most cases ruin the collet. I managed to re-use 2 of the connectors by leaving them on the line and refitting the connectors and I replaced 2 with new - way easier.
REBUILDING THE STRUTS - You do not need the special LR tool to inflate the air springs before installing to insure the air spring is seated correctly. I used my compressor and a soft rubber tipped air gun. Martin's write up gives another suggestion.
Don't forget the 2 spacers and 2 O-rings mentioned earlier. Also there would seem to be 2 types of spring aids, one the white plastic as pictured in Martin's write up and the other a black round one pictured in Koni's write up.
I did not buy nor use the Band-it Thrift Tool and steel bands to seal up the rear struts' dust boots. The boot kits can be purchased at the shops mentioned above and come with new steel bands, which I think are 27" long. I just used some wide plastic Zip Ties, 36", from Lowe's. They worked fine thus far.
The rebuilding of the struts was pretty easy, much easier than taking the struts off the rig, went fast.
All in all it went well, although it's back breaking work and took me a leisurely weekend to install rebuild, test and ponder. As far as I can tell the shocks are better, smoother and handle better in turns. I'm sure they live up to their reputation and feedback reviews. I am looking forward to testing them out more thoroughly on the longer trip with a load. The lean, while standing, seems to be gone; which should get rid of the annoying pull.
The other air springs seem to be in good shape. They still seem supple and not dry like the bad one, although the right rear, same side as the front, was the in the next worse condition (not bad though) and the left rear in the best shape. I'm wondering what caused the damage. The shock towers were in good shape but there was some rust and etc on the bad air spring's side and a little on the same rear side. Also I noticed an opaque white film on the inside of the airlines and was wondering what this is? I can make several guesses but if anyone has experience or knows please share.
Hope this is informative and perhaps useful if anyone is considering the upgrade...
Cheers
Prices quoted are in USD and in the US.
First off attached are several pictures and a few PDFs.
The PDFs are very instructional and show how to remove the struts and remove/replace the shocks. One is by Koni and the other by Martin Lewis on DISCO3.CO.UK site. With these two docs you don't really need any further info. Koni does not provide anything but basic instructions in the shock kit.
The photos show the bad air spring, a good one, off the same rig, and a new one. Also shown is the part number RCQ 000030 - the VOSS Connector and the location of the special mention spacers and O-rings from the paragraph below. The Voss Connector is the same part for both the air valve blocks and the air spring.
Special Mention: Neither of these PDF write ups mention much about the two O-rings and two green spacers, located inside the bottom of the black plastic sleeve which holds the two large O-rings at the base of shock; near the metal disc which forms a part of the shock. I believe it is Martin's which mentions to inspect them - also best to put them on the shock before the plastic sleeve and then just push the plastic sleeve over them once they are in place. The order from the bottom up (starting at the metal disc is green, O-ring, green, O-ring. BTW these O-rings and spacers are not part of the Land Rover rebuild kit mentioned in the PDFs. They basically form parts of the seal for the air spring around the shock - check to see if they are in good shape.
Bought the Koni Shocks FSD 2100-4069 (specifically for the LR3) from 1XRacing.com, in the USA, cost was about $820 plus shipping. These guys were great and fast. The even aided me in getting Koni USA to ship direct to me so that I could get them onto the rig in time for my Xmas trip. BTW MSRP is $1450.
The bad air spring, which I know seems to be rare, I bought at Atlantic British, but it's also several other places, such as Lucky8 and also British Pacific, for much less than Land Rover. I'm sure Rover Parts West also has them but I did not know about these guys until after I purchased the air spring. I did buy some Voss Connectors from them for 50% of what I would pay the dealer, they even had 2 in stock, basically $20 each, part number RQC 000030, which fits into the air spring for the airline.
I opted for one air spring rather than 2 one for each side of the axle and the shocks which came out a little more money than buying 2 LR struts for the front axle. I figured that the air spring if OEM would basically be the same as the old one - I hope I'm right and it appears so but my long trip will confirm or disprove my thoughts and whether or not I'll have to do the other side..... Let's see if this is right bbyer.
BTW there are some Greek Shocks, see the Disco3.UK site under "heavy duty dampers" I was looking at trying to get these but it required a minimum order of 5 sets to get the guy to make them, between $1300-$1800 Euros a set. They do seem to be the best out there but the time to get them was too long for me, considering my current problem. The guy to contact for the Greek shocks is Pantellis - seems like a good guy to me.
Anyway the discoveries:
BAD AIR SPRING BAG (right front), not sure what caused the leek but it was coming from the rotted out area on the top center as pictured. Looks to me like someone must have gotten something corrosive on it. It was actually braking up and some of the bits and chunks, etc were found inside the air spring when I took it apart.
The symptoms were a slight sag in the right front of the vehicle after standing for a bit, plus it felt like the car was out of alignment and pulling to the right a bit, then occasionally all seemed fine (guessing the suspension corrected itself), then it would pull slightly again. This lasted a long time many months, before I found out what it was.
I have had a few amber suspension warnings come on during a turn or if making a slight swerve while driving. This was not consistent however. Note I also run shortened height rods (12mm), so this was a possible culprit.
Lastly, about a month ago I was jacking up the other side of the rig, which put more load on the right front side, and then I heard it - air venting and then saw this strut lower to bump stops. A little more checking in extended height more and the leak was evident for about 20-30 seconds. A little soapy water a mirror and light and I could see the leak.
The new air spring was a Genuine Part from Atlantic British but comes with a Firestone Bag installed.
INSTALL, as per the PDF instructions, with the exception that I did not remove the wheel well linings or the plastic fenders (eyebrows). Managed to get in there with a combination of tools - 15mm flexible ratchet wrench, straight wrench, straight socket wrench with short socket and an adjustable handled socket wrench (one which allows different angles of the handle, also had a bent s-shaped wrench, plus a 12mm basic wrench for the Voss Connector. The bottom mounting bolts for the shock are 24mm and the other side I used a 13/16th, not sure what that is in mm, 21? The front right was the hardest, followed by the rear left sides.
You can re-use the same Voss connectors and do not have to buy new ones, but I am glad I did have a few on hand. On two of the struts it was just way easier to place the new Voss Connector into the air spring before mounting it, then just slipping the air line into them. The space and tolerances of the airline make it difficult to try to reconnect the Voss connector and removing the Voss connector from the airline will in most cases ruin the collet. I managed to re-use 2 of the connectors by leaving them on the line and refitting the connectors and I replaced 2 with new - way easier.
REBUILDING THE STRUTS - You do not need the special LR tool to inflate the air springs before installing to insure the air spring is seated correctly. I used my compressor and a soft rubber tipped air gun. Martin's write up gives another suggestion.
Don't forget the 2 spacers and 2 O-rings mentioned earlier. Also there would seem to be 2 types of spring aids, one the white plastic as pictured in Martin's write up and the other a black round one pictured in Koni's write up.
I did not buy nor use the Band-it Thrift Tool and steel bands to seal up the rear struts' dust boots. The boot kits can be purchased at the shops mentioned above and come with new steel bands, which I think are 27" long. I just used some wide plastic Zip Ties, 36", from Lowe's. They worked fine thus far.
The rebuilding of the struts was pretty easy, much easier than taking the struts off the rig, went fast.
All in all it went well, although it's back breaking work and took me a leisurely weekend to install rebuild, test and ponder. As far as I can tell the shocks are better, smoother and handle better in turns. I'm sure they live up to their reputation and feedback reviews. I am looking forward to testing them out more thoroughly on the longer trip with a load. The lean, while standing, seems to be gone; which should get rid of the annoying pull.
The other air springs seem to be in good shape. They still seem supple and not dry like the bad one, although the right rear, same side as the front, was the in the next worse condition (not bad though) and the left rear in the best shape. I'm wondering what caused the damage. The shock towers were in good shape but there was some rust and etc on the bad air spring's side and a little on the same rear side. Also I noticed an opaque white film on the inside of the airlines and was wondering what this is? I can make several guesses but if anyone has experience or knows please share.
Hope this is informative and perhaps useful if anyone is considering the upgrade...
Cheers