Thread: Air suspension miss or hit?

Best thing is to agree with the Prado fan boys. Means there are more Rovers for us and we can afford them

Thanks for the responses, have a great Christmas

Originally Posted by Brendan1477

Cheers for the responses, I've always wanted a disco and since moving to Australia from the UK there now is a legitimate reason to buy one, but wife is ringing in my ear about reliability and getting stuck in the outback "can't you just buy a Prado!! All our friends have them" "ohhh a Land rover not here in Australia mate" is all I'm hearing

Usual Toyota propaganda. Toyota's break down too.

Originally Posted by Brendan1477

Hi all, I'm looking to buy a second hand disco 3. I've noticed a couple for sale without the air suspension, given that the main problem with this car is the suspension I'm I wiser to buy one without?
The car will be going off road and towing a camper trailer.
Cheers

Hi, there are issues with air suspension. If the air drying dessicant in the compressor got moisture saturated it can turn into fine dust that gets blown into pipes and valve blocks, they then do not seal properly and the car slowly sinks, then the compressor has to run a lot more, then the battery suffers because the compressor starts straight after the engine has just been started and if it’s hot the a/c gets cranked up and sucks more out of the battery. Then the fault bongs start and you grind to a hault with voltage related communication issues between modules.
Keep dessicant fresh, clean grit/dust from o’rings in valve blocks, o’ring kits for these are available.. if raising slowly and other problems get a compressor rebuild kit which is fairly easy to do and cheap.
P.s piece of mind coils would give less sleepless nights.
However I have air with llams and it is great. A very cheap suspension lift kit compared to coils and shocks.

When I researched buying my 3 I thought just Like you and looked for an airless model but bought an air suspension version and am very glad I did, if you tow anything air levelling is brilliant, remember 3 s are getting on a bit in years maint is as always the key

"can't you just buy a Prado!! My last 4wd was a Prado, I owned it long enough to know the Discovery is a better vehicle. I just drove around Australia. Broke a windscreen, wheel brake sensor (soldered it up) and wore out a set of tyres. Great car, best I 'be owned.

Originally Posted by Spuds

Hi, there are issues with air suspension. If the air drying dessicant in the compressor got moisture saturated it can turn into fine dust that gets blown into pipes and valve blocks, they then do not seal properly and the car slowly sinks, then the compressor has to run a lot more, then the battery suffers because the compressor starts straight after the engine has just been started and if it’s hot the a/c gets cranked up and sucks more out of the battery. Then the fault bongs start and you grind to a hault with voltage related communication issues between modules.
Keep dessicant fresh, clean grit/dust from o’rings in valve blocks, o’ring kits for these are available.. if raising slowly and other problems get a compressor rebuild kit which is fairly easy to do and cheap.
P.s piece of mind coils would give less sleepless nights.
However I have air with llams and it is great. A very cheap suspension lift kit compared to coils and shocks.

Thanks for the comment. I absolutely agreed that the air suspension is a must have on the Discovery. Do you think I could do this maintainence work of the compressor in the parking lot？Do you have more information to share with us？

Originally Posted by Brendan1477

Thanks for the responses, have a great Christmas

the responses are a bit misleading as they are glossing over the known faults, some of them are showstoppers. User 'Spuds' has given some good advice.

Do more research, on this forum and the Disco3.co.uk forum and make an informed decision. For instance, why do people fit LLAMS systems?, or go to the trouble of putting in different height offset calibrations for off-road?

The D3 / D4 air suspension is one of the best and one of the worst aspects of the car. You now have only one realistic choice of shock absorbers, and if the air suspension drops its bundle you are not moving anywhere. Coils will never do that to you.

And if you are planning a big trip, get a diagnostic tool and get familiar with it...... regardless, buy one anyway.