RRS Rocking...

[Rob king]

My 07 RRS has done 160km and I see that the shocks are delphi (sticker says 2006), so fair to assume they are original, and getting to the end of their life...
However, recently I have noticed the vehicle rocks side to side more than I recall it did a yr ago.
Front to back is fine and the nose stays level accellerating or braking hard.
I've pushed down on all 4 corners and it returns to level with no bounce...
This is confusing because it seems to pass the crude 'shock test'.... (but I'm no expert, especially on the air sping with damper setup)
If a damper(s) has worn and lost resistance - surely the car would lift fore and aft as well as side to side?.. and it would bounce when tested.
I did a forum search earlier and found a reference a couple of yrs ago to a cross-link valve... that it would allow the airspings to pass air side to side if stuck open.. and yes I have engaged L4WD in the recent past which may have opened the valve. But there has been no fault warning.. however that would give the same symptom...
I do not have DRS, just DSC. So it may not apply, perhaps there's a diagnostic indicator?
Has anyone in the great LR collective experienced this?
My first reaction was the dampers are sloppy. But now im not sure..
If so, is it worth replacing just the dampers with airsprings this old?
many thanks, Rob

[Graeme]

At 160K the shocks may be more or less OK or may be totally useless - my D4s only last around 60K where I drive. My D4's air-springs had significant internal cracks on the folds at 90K so got replaced at that time but the cracks may have been worse than most in line with the shorter than usual shock life.

How are the sway bar bushes? They can clunk over bumps when worn but not so much on smooth roads so you might not notice any noise. They don't have to be worn much to allow noticible sideways roll.

The cross-link valves are unlikely to be stuck open because if there's dirt in the system then the corner valves that get a lot more use are more likely to stick which would show-up as levelling problems. A cross-link valve stuck open may cause problems trying to adjust the height of those 2 corners as both corners would be adjusted together rather than individually when levelling on uneven ground.

[Rob king]

Graeme, Thanks.
Yes, the sway bar rubbers are worn and new ones were already ordered.
There is a clunk on rough ground.

I didn't think these would amount to much movement, but your note that they 'allow noticable sideways roll' is very encouraging. And that would be consistent with the symptoms.
$40 and some elbow crease is far more palatable than a new set of shocks!
Although I suspect that won't be in the too distant future.
I'm not the first owner and I've only been bush a few times in this one, but I suspect it didnt get much use outside Wollahra beforehand.

Also I noticed the rear bush on the front LH lower suspension arm has a very small lateral movement too - So seems the time for suspension bushes in general. Nothing to lose in doing these first.
Thanks again.
Rob.