Air suspension woes ....

[philmoon]

As per usual pride came before a big fall....
I was telling a friend while on a planeback to brisbane how brilliant the range rover was and how it was so comfortable to drive , height adjustable etc etc. much better than his land cruiser sahara ....... Wife comes to pick me up from airport says somethings not quite right...
Any way spent the day trying to figure it out .... took it to get faults read and on the way there the front right just dropped to bump stops ...
so testbook attatched .. NO faults but car is registering it has one wheel at - 90 compared to the rest all being around the 0 ish (i think ... they were all positive numbers and the same anyway)
Guy with testbook trys to raise the strut nothing !! doesnt move !! no air sound tho ... so he then try the crosslink valve strut moves then huge wooshing noise as it goes flat ...
says its deffinatly the bag mate it must have a huge hole so I move car for him as they have a shuffle of cars ..... car comes up to level !!! stays there ????

I tried it back at home on full height and sure enough it stays up for an hour with no problem !! drove it to city .... flat to floor again ???? still no warnings ... compressor is slightly warm but thats it :(
Is it likely to be the bags in you guys opinions as Im going to have to strip the bugger down to fix it and Im gutted but dont want to pay for struts only to find it was the valve ....
Now the whole front of the car is to the floor but the back is in the air.

[Graeme]

The behaviour suggests a crack on a fold in the airspring that only opens at a particular height. However I would verify that its not caused by a faulty height sensor which requires that the air suspension ecu is disabled, most easily done by removing all fuses related to air suspension, then going for a drive to see if the suspension still drops. A cracked airline would most likely always leak so therefore unlikely to be the cause. I suspect a faulty valve block would always leak so probably not the cause either.

I was suprised that the rear airspings in my D4 had significant internal cracking after only 95K kms and only 3 years old.

[Summiitt]

I'm thinking the same as graham, the other springs wouldn't stay up if it was a compressor or computer issue. As a fix I think it's cheaper to replace a strut/bag assembly than just the bag?

[justinc]

just replaced a pair of front struts on an L322 for cracking and leaking. exact same symptoms and no faults recorded. Best thing to do is look up inside the strut at the bag as Graeme says where they fold over. Spray some soapy water and run the vehicle with doors etc closed. SHOULD see the leak. This particular vehicle had the LHF go first, and the RHF was close behind.


JC

[Homestar]

Mine was the same. I could drive it around and occasionally it would drop the RH front bag. Got to the stage it wouldn't stay up. Slapped new struts in, all good - it is a straight forward job.

How many KM has it got on it? They seem to go about 160 to 180 KKM.

[justinc]

Mine was the same. I could drive it around and occasionally it would drop the RH front bag. Got to the stage it wouldn't stay up. Slapped new struts in, all good - it is a straight forward job.

How many KM has it got on it? They seem to go about 160 to 180 KKM.

Yup, 187K :) Along with the transmission....:(

JC

[Declan]

Justic
I have just bought a whole set of air suspension front & back from china for $780 delivered to my door, just email this guy [email]heliospang@gmail.com ( his name is Robbin ) and tell him what you want, its a lot cheaper than going thru the UK and they supply all the dealers in the UK you can get any logo on the bags for an extra $20 each so if you need a new front set of air springs it might not be as bad as you thought good luck Declan if you have any questions just email me..

After calculated, the shipping cost for <1 x (L)RNB000750G , 1 x (R)RNB000740G and 2 x 1C4700> is USD180 to Australia. Then the total is as below:

1pc RNB000750G ---> USD220
1pc RNB000740G ---> USD220
2pcs 1C4700 ----------> USD160
Shipping Cost ---------> USD180
Total=============>USD780

[33chinacars]

Dont forget that it will not be just your air bags that are worn out but the shockers as well. To me better to replace unit as a whole

Gary

[justinc]

Yes way better to toss the strut as a unit. IMO the bag would last longer than the shock if used on unpleasant roads....At least the rear bags are independent of the damper...


JC

[philmoon]

really appreciate so many people taking the time to help me out here :)
I am going to order the front as struts as I'm of the same opinion as most of you guys about the shocks...... But I don't think mine has worn out through millage more likely age.... do I have the lowest K model 2003 ? .... 85k on the clock :) still smiling now as I bought it for only 20k quite a good buy I think ;) (bought about 4 months ago)
Any ways Declan is that the entire stut or just the bags ?? As I was looking at these
Air Spring Front LH Range Rover L322 (02-06) Delphi OE RNB000750 RNB000750G *** Island 4x4 - Specialists in Land Rover and Range Rover Parts and accessories for all models. UK and worldwide mail order. (http://www.island-4x4.co.uk/spring-front-range-rover-l322-0206-delphi-rnb000750-rnb000750g-delphi-p-1253.html)
with the exchange rate so good the front end should come in at around 700 ish and I was going to buy the lower control arms at the same time to get rid of that annoying clunk ... does he sell them ?? How did you find him .. website address ?
Really appreciate all help here guys :)

[ytt105]

Do you know of any more 85k kms, L322, TD6's for $20,000?

[Homestar]

... and I was going to buy the lower control arms at the same time to get rid of that annoying clunk

Haven't had that on mine yet, and it is about to click over 200,000km. Do the control arms really need doing at 85KKM???


Do you know of any more 85k kms, L322, TD6's for $20,000?

X2:). Good buy at that price.

[33chinacars]

:p
Do you know of any more 85k kms, L322, TD6's for $20,000?


BL**D# BARGAIN

I'll have 2 at that price please :p

[Declan]

philmoon they are full air bags with struts, I am in the process of fitting a snorkel Peter G sent me pictures on how to install it,has anybody changed there air suspension heights to the max as I have a RSW solutions diagnostic tool and you can change your heights but I don't what to go higher than the recommended height , also if anybody has managed to change there computer in the RR to allow the 4X4 to go above 50km hr before dropping the air suspension I would like to know how you managed it ,all the best to our RR brothers.
Cheers Deco.:twisted::twisted::twisted:

[Homestar]

BL**D# BARGAIN


Are you dodging the swear filter here or can you say bloody?:D

EDIT - turns out you can, so your not...:D

[harlie]

....
They seem to go about 160 to 180 KKM.

My experience is that bags have an average life based on years not KM - they split and perish. Usually about 8-10. A 2003 with 85km would line up with that theory.

[Graeme]

if anybody has managed to change there computer in the RR to allow the 4X4 to go above 50km hr before dropping the air suspension I would like to know how you managed itThe Llams system effectively does this by providing off-road height whilst in normal height mode. Pre-TR L322s need a hard-wired loom whereas L322 with TR take the normal plug-in loom.

[philmoon]

by the way Im not sure where you got td6 from but its petrol :)

[harlie]

..
if anybody has managed to change there computer in the RR to allow the 4X4 to go above 50km hr before dropping the air suspension I would like to know how you managed it ,...


the 50km/h point is hard coded, only way is with a custom firmware flash. If this was developed I'm sure many would be after it.

Other work arounds include resetting the standard height, Llams allows changing height via a switch (it intercepts signal and modifies it) so it can be changed/reset easily, other options (RSW or IIDTool) require resetting the values in the ECU. Big word of warning about resetting it higher and then selecting the off road mode...

Graeme here is a big fan of Llams – I believe he developed and sells it – although that is rarely clear when pushing it, to the point where I’m not exactly sure where the interest is. I’m not against commercial plugging – let everyone know if there’s an interest.

[philmoon]

can anybody tell me what the compression arm part number is ..... (front of car rear control arm the one that has a taper hole)
or can I just get a new bush thingy pressed into it i have been informed its a one piece unit but am really struggling to find them for sale so wondering if I have been miss informed?
thanks in advance :)

[33chinacars]

That explains the price.:p

[33chinacars]

Not quite sure what you meen . But here goes

Lower front arm is VIN dependant
Bush is : RBX00070

Upper front arm RH kit : RBJ000120 Ball joint to suit is VIN dependant
LH kit : RBJ000130 Ball joint to suit is VIN dependant
Bush is : RBX000200

All bush bolts are M14 x 103 mm . Nuts are M14

If you need more will require your VIN

Hope this helps

Gary

[philmoon]

Ok so I found a picture of the one I need (the lower in the pic) ... as described above Front passenger wheel lower arm ( the one closer to the back of the wheel arch)
Is this the one I need the vin for ?

[33chinacars]

Looking on Microcat the arm at the bottom of picture is the upper arm ( longer arm )

Upper front arm RH kit : RBJ000120 Ball joint to suit is VIN dependant
LH kit : RBJ000130 Ball joint to suit is VIN dependant
Bush is : RBX000200

[33chinacars]

If your arm is O'k then just replace bush & ball joint. 3 different ball joints between 2002 -2009.

Gary

[philmoon]

do the bushes require being pressed in with a workshop press or are they just a push fit ?

[33chinacars]

do the bushes require being pressed in with a workshop press or are they just a push fit ?

Don't know. Sorry Phil

Gary

[33chinacars]

Just had a look at RAVE. There is a special LR tool for removing & installing bushes. But you could do the same with a couple of sockets & a long bolt. Should be fitted in pairs.

Gary

[Radix]

Just had these replaced on mine. They needed a 30 ton press ( to get the old ones out) and needed to make an special tool to help push the bush in as the metal around the rubber bush is soft, the bushes also require alignment to the arm, if you haven't done this work before I'd suggest a good Indy to it! I took my lower control arms off the vehicle, dropped them in to the Indy garage for them to press them in.. If you do it this way good luck with the ball joints, one of mine was a real ### to get out..

[philmoon]

I will just buy new ones then lol thats too much effort they are only 80 each

[philmoon]

but thanks guys really appreciate the help and peoples patience with me :)

[philmoon]

Ok so i fitted the arms took it for a spin only to still hear the noise !! ARRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH....
I cursed the stealer who told me it was the arms cursed some more then came up with what I thought was a cunning plan to hear were the noise was coming from....
So i set up a ramp on drive then proceeded to get the wife to drive up and down it turn etc...... every time I looked at the ground the noise happend :censored:
I gave up looking for it that way but just for the hell of it I climbed underneath and double checked the tightness of the Anti roll bar where it attatches to the chassis..... a tiny and i do mean tiny bit loose maybe half a turn when hanging off them (2 per side) ..... NOISE GONE woooooooooo hoooooooo
so moral to the story stealers are stealers and I just spent lots of money for not tightening 2 bolts :p
But happy now at least :)
Thanks for your help guys :)

[Kel72]

Hi Declan, I'm new here and have just experienced the air suspension woes on my 02 L322 Rangie - front is down and will not move.

I was just wondering how smooth it was to deal with the guy from China (Robbin) and if he has a website? I saw that you provided his email address. Also ,how your suspension is going after a few years of use.

Many regards

Kelvin

[Homestar]

Just a quick note on the suspension bushes. I've just spent the day doing one side of the rear in mine - there are 7 bushes all up on each side if you do the lot, and it's not a job to be taken on lightly at your average home workshop. Thankfully I was in my mates fully equiped truck repair shop so I got it done, but some of the bushes take a LOT of pressure in a press to shift them. The biggest issue I had by far though was getting the drive shaft out of the hub - it was rusted solid and took my mates 50 tonne air over hydraulic press to get it out - maxed out - I didn't think it was going to shift. Why the factory couldn't use a blob of anti seize is beyond me....

Also busted the wheel bearing as well - the front sleeve was rusted solid to the hub, so the press actually broke the bearing apart getting it out (which Yu need to do to remove the brake backing plate so you can press the hub assembly bushes out). A LOT of heat from the oxy was required to move the sleeve after I had freed it.

So, guess who's buying wheel bearings on Monday... :D

Hopefully I'll have the beast back on the road again soon.