Compressor repair.

[~Rich~]

Hi all,
My mechanic gave me a practically new Suspension air compressor to have.
It has a couple of things to rectify so I'm asking the questions here:

The easy one is the Dryer, I have emptied out the desiccant to recycle and want to know about how long to either microwave or oven bake.
Are the brown ones normal, they seemed to all down the compressor end.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/12/233.jpg
Next the 10mm tube inlet had been cut off flush with the tube intact, I managed to remove the black tube but removed the Collet and broke the "O" ring.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/12/234.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/12/235.jpg
Do I just have to purchase a new 'O" ring for this inlet?

The most difficult repair is where the small black tube connecting the Orange outlets has broken on the compressor block.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/12/236.jpg
Can this be replaced?

Thanks in advance. ;)
It would be nice to have a compressor as a spare for an upcoming desert trip.

Regards Rich.

[bbyer]

I have read of guys successfully drying the desiccant but I would wonder if one was not better off purchasing a new replacement air dryer from Land Rover. I say this as per the link below, LR was having problems with early production D4 compressors that appear to be related to air dryer problems. It would seem to me that if too many of the beads turned to dust, that you may end up with a plugged air dryer and problems similar to the early D4 production units.

Also I do not think that orange O ring is really required so with a replacement air dryer, you just may have yourself a good compressor. In fact I wonder if that compressor did come off a D4?

You might consider purchasing a new compressor bracket as those things get broken and it can be a nuisance out back.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/98795-do-not-expect-eas-work-off-road-d4-4.html

[barney]

I have some large bags of desiccant I use in my cupboards to prevent mould. I scored them out of some machinery I commission from the US. it has the recharge instructions printed on the cloth bag that to recharge it, you need to put it in an oven at 300 degrees for 10 hours - seems a little excessive to me.

[unseenone]

There is an excellent thread of a rebuild including part numbers on the disco web site. I have ordered the parts, but have not done the work yet. It includes a section on the dryer and methods of renewing the silicon.

DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - Suspension Compressor / Suspension error (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic65683.html?highlight=%2Bcompressor+%2Brebuild )

Cheers

[~Rich~]

Yes I'd seen this thread but it does not cover the second and third point I asked at all.
The dryer is easy, it's the pipe connections I'm concerned about.

[sniegy]

Rich,
The problem you have is chasing parts that cannot be purchased as they are not available as separate items. (Land Rover only sell the part as a whole unit)
The only way to obtain these parts is from another non functioning compressor.
I would drop into a dealer & see if they have any they are going to bin & ask if you could have one to tinker with!
From what I see, you have found out about the desiccant.
The "O" ring cold be purchased at any place who sells "O" rings.
The most difficult is the repair to that broken hose, the pic doesn't truly show how it was broken off, you could possibly tin it together but would need to be careful of heat on the body of the compressor.
HTH in some way
Cheers

[barney]

the older compressors used in the D2 were a identical match for the blue tongue and big red compressors which i think were made by Thomas and rebadged. i haven't seen the D3/D4 ones, but they are probably outsourced and if you can identify the original manufacturer, you could probably get parts for them.

[Graeme]

I recall that someone posted that the collet c/w o-ring could be purchased although not from LR. I suspect that a general purpose O-ring wont withstand the heat, perhaps requiring a special form of Viton ring.

[TDV6]

Try "The Airbag Man" in Strathpine, QLD, ask for Brett Curtis

Web Airbag man (http://www.airbagman.com/)

Have fun,

Ryall

[~Rich~]

I found a website that offers the Desiccant plus repair kit parts for the Compressor:
DiscoveryParts - Luftfederung - Kompressor und Lufttrockner - Alles für Land Rover Discovery (http://www.discovery-parts.de/de/Ersatzteile/Kompressor.aspx)
Site in German so use Google Translate to read.
Golden Brown in colour too!
Maybe L/R changed the supplier of the stuff as it sounds like originally it was Blue once rejuevenated and the one I had turned Golden Brown?

Got some cool gear, I like the roof rails and bars.
DiscoveryParts - Airlineschienen - Alles für Land Rover Discovery (http://www.discovery-parts.de/de/Zubehoer/Airlineschienen%20Dach.aspx#AirlineschieneDach)

[unseenone]

I can't see ordering it from Germany. There is some very useful information there however.

The Silica Gel can be renewed by microwaving it. The extra long wrench might be handy. The other part is standard LR. What would have been interesting is if they had parts available for rebuilding the motor, etc. I have to say, that if someone spoke/wrote German and contacted them, they may have sources for the other parts, because they have some drawings I haven't seen before which appear to have part numbers on them (attached).

Additionally, a picture is worth a thousand words, they link to quite a gallery with pictures of the compressor. LR3: Kompressor und Lufttrockner - Land Rover Discovery 3 - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/klausnahr/sets/72157627369427732/)

What is particularly useful, is the extensive effort in the step by step pictorial, which includes active zooming on various parts at each step of the way, outstanding work there..

Here is what I got out of the translation..

This is from the web site.

Suitable for: Land Rover Discovery 3 / LR3, Land Rover Discovery 4 / LR4, Range Rover Sport

Land Rover Part Number: Compressor Repair Kit LR020590

Manufacturer: compressor repair kit original Land Rover part, various rest.
Scope of supply: compressor repair kit, 1 filling silica gel (150 g), 50 g silica gel as a replacement if something goes wrong during filling, ratchet wrench, extra long 10 mm

One interesting thing, after doing a very little bit of digging on the Silica I found this web site http://www.cwaller.de/esili.htm which if you scroll down to the "orange" gel, which appears to be the one in the German kit. Worth taking note of is the fact they mention this replaced the Blue Silica, which in some circumstances causes cancer. I have seen the Blue Silica pictured on the disco3 web site, so it may be safe to say you want to be careful with it, or having contact with it and disposing of it as hazardous material.

I found a web site, which sells the Silica in bulk, which is a bit too much for our purpose.. Suppliers: USA: http://www.silicagelpackets.com/silica-gel-packets/loose-bulk-silica-gel-non-indicating-and-indicating-white-orange ; UK:http://www.geejaychemicals.co.uk/silicagelsachets.htm ; Australia: Still looking

[101RRS]

It is a shame that LR did not decide to use a product that is freely available - like household desecant which is available at the local supermarket for a few $$. Then make this a serviveable item to be replaced at each 12,000km service - if also used with a simple water trap would work very well.

Garry

[Clammy]

You can order the 250g of orange silica gel beads at http://www.silicagel.com.au/products/250-Grams-Loose-Orange-Silica-Gel-Beads-%252d-Self-Indicating-.html

only $14.50 + postage.