This IS why the front air spring fails.

[harlie]

Hi Guys

I thought some would find this interesting, if not helpful.

It appears all of us here, myself included, were of the opinion that a failure in the front air strut is due to the air bag, which in this case is standard rolling bellows. We all point to a fatigue crack in the bag usually where it is rolled over in normal height. In a former life I had a lot to do with heavy vehicle air suspension systems and this is definitely the case with them. However in the case of the front air spring on the L322 this is not true. OK there will always be some cases...

After much reading and testing with a 15 day old strut that has failed I can report that the vast majority of failures are not the bag. Most failures are due to internal seals.

In the case of our front strut assembly it is a standard rolling bellows, but unlike the rear air springs, or the air spring under trucks, it is fitted over the shock absorber. There are a series of seals and O rings (I count 9 in total) that seal the air spring components (top plate and bottom piston which is plastic) to the shock absorber passing through them. There is also an upper strut mounting face (contains the 3 top mounting bolts) which is connected to the air spring top plate via a bearing which allows it to spin so the entire shock absorber and air spring can spin back and forth during normal steering.

The upper mounting face contains the inlet port for the airline to connect to the air spring, internally the air passage allows for rotation between the 2 plates. At this stage I haven’t determined exactly how or what this internal system is. It is in addition to the 9 seals, and all replacement air spring assemblies I have found (like in pic) have this already installed and sealed in the 2 plates when it arrives.

Clip in the link below posted by Storey of RSW AllComms fame.
Air spring/Shock Absorber separation

This also explains why rears are more reliable. The rears are simply a rolling bellows fitted over a complete piston, and complete top plate which has the inlet port. There is no holes passing through these 2 components that need to be sealed. When these go it is either the bag or clamp at either end.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Great post Harlie,,
straight to TGO;)

[Pattenshill]

Great Post

And it raises the question whether replacement of the O ring seals is a repair option?

[harlie]

I believe it is more likely to be the arrangement between the two plates that allows for rotation. The one I have that failed @ 15 days is definitely leaking there. I will update this IF the supplier doesn’t pick this unit up, I really want to take it apart and document what's in there, BUT I don’t want to dismantle it and have them ask for it.

So far the supplier has not come back to me for its return. The new one arrived and I’ve informed them that Aus post want $189 to send it back. That was month ago now – how long do I need to wait??

The assemblies seem to be lasting about 170-200K before they leak. My experience with rolling bellows is that they last 8 -12 maybe 13 years no mater how many KM, more affected by heat & climate and ironically if they sit for periods of time in the same position they don't last as long (trailer that gets parked for months at a time for eg) - So if you were to replace all the seals you would likely only see a couple years before the bellows split.

Talking about this with a good friend of mine who bought a L322 TD6 new in 2004 (not a member here), he mentioned that he had one fail when his car was about 8 months old - came out to garage one morning and it was all wonky, car was picked by Southport dealer and returned next day with new front drivers strut.

[Declan]

Does anybody know were you can get a resealing kit for them if you needed to, as it would be handy to have one set?.

[donrover0]

And is the "shockie" rebuildable/recon-able?

[rar110]

just reviving Harlie's thread. can new seals/o-rings be purchased and shock refurbed?

[chaybra]

Good write up!

Unfortunately (Or fortunately) i had the latter option of failures where a nice sharp bit of slate rock got flicked up and put an inch long cut in the bag...no seals for this one! I since replaced both and you will be happy to know, with a blown front bag, you can still drive at a comfortable height the 400+kms home!!!!!!!!

but the good news is, I have been meaning to pull the damn thing apart and see how it is constructed and replace with on of these kits to keep as a spare.

NEW Front Right AIR Suspension BAG FOR Range Rover Land Rover L322 2003 2009 | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Front-Right-Air-Suspension-Bag-For-Range-Rover-Land-Rover-L322-2003-2009-/401047804392?hash=item5d604fd9e8:g:qUYAAOSwJcZWgO-0)

The bag let go at about 180,000kms im now pushing 220 :eek:
and hoping the rears hang on a bit longer.
I will also look into looking for options to increase the travel of the bellow and the shocks out of curiosity, but im doubtful due to cost effectiveness.

[rar110]

Ive started looking around and getting prices for front air bags and struts.

I found a place in Brisbane who is a distributor for Arnott air suspension.

Parts - Three Point Classic (http://threepointclassic.com/parts/)

Also I had a closer look at my air bags and they are not at all cracked like in the above video. If anything they look quite consistent all round. The rolled area doesn't look much different to the other areas.

[chaybra]

I sourced mine from Island 4x4 in the uk, about 900 delivered from memory for 2

[rar110]

I sourced mine from Island 4x4 in the uk, about 900 delivered from memory for 2

I got a quote from another big UK parts supplier for 2 x Delphi units, which was nearly $1400 delivered. Island 4x4 were about $140 cheaper for 2 units assuming freight is the same.

It sounds like two Arnott refurbed units available in Brisbane will be about $1200 pick up. However, they need to confirm their units will fit as only list L322 supercharged and pre 2007 units. They indicate one of these does fit but is a few mm shorter than unit with the correct part number. They are calling me back to confirm they have fitted one to a tdv8.

LR Direct have 4 options for front right units. One is "OEM", one is LR workshop approved, one is Dunlop OEM and most expensive is LR.

[James l322]

Thanks for the post Harlie.

I completely agree. I got a leaking right front suspension, asked the local aftermarket dealer and was told I had to buy a whole strut for buku-bucks. I then found that I could get bags from the US - China actually. When I went to fit it I discovered that the leak was actually the o-ring seals at the bottom of the bag. A complete set of new upper and lower o-rings only cost me $10 per bag, which would have saved me over $400 if I checked first. You will need 1-2 uppers and 2-3 lowers (depending on the bag). The dimensions are upper: 18mm ID x 2.0mm dia. Lower: 65mm ID x 5.4mm dia. The ones that came with the Chinese bags were slightly smaller dia and the lowers leaked the first time.

I'm now pretty good at pulling them off and can do the whole job in about an hour. You will need an impact tool for the upper nut - just used my trusty Dewalt 3/8" drive kit. It is also easier to get the air line off with a 12mm split socket. The trick to getting the o-rings back inside the bottom of the bag is a bit of rubber grease and pushing them in individually with a blunt instrument - I used a plastic door panel removal tool.

James

[33chinacars]

Don't forget though that your shockers will be getting a bit on the used side as well

[Roadrunner230]

does anyone have a range rover l322 front air spring assembly diagram schematic. I need the location of the o rings and where they go. Going to try to replace both front bags with new ones OE.