Thread: Looking at 2002-2003 td5, airbag question ??

Generally the 7 seat versions (and high end models) had the SLS (airbag) rear suspension, while the 5 seaters had coils at the rear. There were some years early on where you could option on the air rear to a 5 seater.

Cheers

Steve.

Originally Posted by Keiththebricklayer

I looked at a few and I noticed they had airbags?

Then I looked at 2 more recently one 2004 and another 2003 and they had coil rear springs ?

They said it was always like this?

And doesn't have the airbag button either?

I thought they all had it standard ??

Please explain?

Thank you

If you search the forum you will see a lot of discussion on which is better - airbags or coils. Airbags and the compressor need replacement every 5 to 10 years (depending on how you drive, where, etc), but when the system is working (no leaks etc) the car is level, no matter what the load - none to 7 people plus stuff (trailer etc). So, no lights pointing into the sky at night etc. You can also lift the back of the car up by 30 mm or more from inside the cabin if you bottom out. I have also read that the car does this by itself under certain conditions. Also, if you have the optional remote (most people don't), then you can lower the car to make it easier to put, say, a trailer on. However, the air compressor itself, whilst heavy construction, is pretty well useless - it only has a 5% duty cycle, so any leaks not attendedto quickly causes it to fail. You can modify to put in a better compressor (ie better duty cycle, and use it for airing up as well), but I haven't seen any kits for this yet.

A piece of advice I read in these forums was - if you are going somewhere remote or doing hard core 4 wheel driving, put springs in, as they are more reliable. (No need to worry about sensors being broken, airbags failing, compressor drowning etc) Otherwise, use the airbags. BTW - if you have airbags you can swap them in and out relatively easily - about 1 hour of work. But you will need to have the nanocom or similar to turn off / on the SLS option on the car. I believe that the rear shock absorbers can remain the same? If not, then add more time for the change over.

If you are doing a lift with airbags, kits are available. But check if spacers are legal in your state. I believe that lifting would be easier with springs, but having had a lifted coil spring car, I prefer the standard height, as the disco is taller to start with than my previous Rangie. I can get into most car parks (2m or more) with standard height, don't have to have live with the 'jacking' or 'bucking' that occurs at times and the disco does't drag its arse, due to the air bags keeping it all level.

My 04 td5 has air bags. At 145000k the compressor has not missed a beat despite being drowned a number of times. I have replaced the airbags when one leaked but they are regarded as a consumable item. I have bought the compressor "reconditioning" kit which I'll fit in the near future as (hopefully) preventative maintenance. There are also simple kits to inflate the bags with your tyre compressor if the vehicle compressor fails. Overall I have found SLS useful, including for towing, and reliable. This post will probably end that.
Cheers

I went on a trip to the Snowys over Christmas.
2 x D2 with airbags.
1 went down RH rear.
Driver tasked with towing home a trailer with one side down. IMHO not fun.

I have just fitted 2 inch spring lift in rear. Great to tow trailer and on trails except steep downhills unladen when the rear shocks topped out noisily.

Seeing I mainly use mine for long trips to remote places I prefer springs.

Regards Philip A

Like a lot of SLS owners,for any long trip I make sure I carry a spare airbag. Have not had to use it yet, touch wood. My one and only bag deflation was in the driveway. Pluses and minuses for sls, in my case still on the plus side at least for now. Carrying a spare airbag (for bag failure) and an emergency inflation kit( for kaput compressor) hopefully covers all bases. Plenty of stuff on this site re: simple DIY inflation kits