Thread: Changing the air struts in a Discovery 3

Further to this, before I started I emptied out all 4 airbags once the car was on stands, made it easier to disconnect air lines and the lower bolts. Car went into "pre-delivery" mode with a message "air suspension not in customer mode" at restart. I re-enabled the EAS and did an EAS self check via my rovacom unit, this took it out of pre delivery mode, took it off the stands, new air struts inflated, cycled through all suspension heights then went for a drive.

Checked ride height too, spot on at both front and rear, so no need for height sensor recalibration either.

Pretty happy with that I must say.

Revisiting an old thread as will be taking on the same job soon.

As already noted the BWI struts come from the former Delphi factory in the UK. BWI acquired the Delphi business back in 2009.

Interestingly, the Sales Manager at Advanced Factors says that the original labels and markings get removed from the struts before they are supplied to Advanced Factors.

So this should mean the struts are the same as the LR genuine items - just minus the labelling and LR mark up.

My front struts have now arrived and you can see where the labels on the strut have been peeled off. The only visible number on the strut itself was on the lower rubber bush which appears to be a genuine LR item.

Originally Posted by DiscoDB

Revisiting an old thread as will be taking on the same job soon.

As already noted the BWI struts come from the former Delphi factory in the UK. BWI acquired the Delphi business back in 2009.

Interestingly, the Sales Manager at Advanced Factors says that the original labels and markings get removed from the struts before they are supplied to Advanced Factors.

So this should mean the struts are the same as the LR genuine items - just minus the labelling and LR mark up.

My front struts have now arrived and you can see where the labels on the strut have been peeled off. The only visible number on the strut itself was on the lower rubber bush which appears to be a genuine LR item.

Make Chinese copy. Apply sticker like genuine. Peel off sticker to make people thinks it’s got to be genuine. Given how much effort gets put into copying things - I wouldn’t put it past them

Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster

Make Chinese copy. Apply sticker like genuine. Peel off sticker to make people thinks it’s got to be genuine. Given how much effort gets put into copying things - I wouldn’t put it past them

…yes - would be terrible to find out that Beijing West Industries was just a shopfront for cheap knock offs……

I will be examining the old vs new very closely to spot any tell tale signs…..🧐

Originally Posted by DiscoDB

Revisiting an old thread as will be taking on the same job soon.

As already noted the BWI struts come from the former Delphi factory in the UK. BWI acquired the Delphi business back in 2009.

Interestingly, the Sales Manager at Advanced Factors says that the original labels and markings get removed from the struts before they are supplied to Advanced Factors.

So this should mean the struts are the same as the LR genuine items - just minus the labelling and LR mark up.

My front struts have now arrived and you can see where the labels on the strut have been peeled off. The only visible number on the strut itself was on the lower rubber bush which appears to be a genuine LR item.

I did this job not to long ago with the same struts from AF , when doing the front the inside nut can be undone from the engine bay ,saves a lot of time and knuckle skin, jut need a long extension on the socket and all good. from memory passenger side air line is also visible so easy yo check for air leaks when using soapy water.

Bulletman

Replaced the 4 struts today.

Can confirm the BWI struts are the same as the LR genuine struts. Even though all the labels have been removed, you can see where the Land Rover logo and numbers stamped into the body of the shock absorber has been ground off. All the machining and fabrication witness marks also match in location and size.









My guess is BWI have to remove all the LR logo’s before they can sell as a non-genuine OEM part.

I also used a Gearwrench 19mm to 1/2in drive adapter to get to the inner top nut, and then a stubby flexible 15mm ratchet spanner to remove once loose.



Can see on the old struts that the rubber bushes are deformed and getting hard, and I can imagine the air bags are the same.

Only completed a quick drive around the block, but a definite improvement in ride quality. Should be all good for another 14 years or 160K.

Well done. I did mine at ~215000km then this highlighted that the control arm bushes are worn out as well. Definitely worth doing.

Hey fellas. I've replaced both my front struts today, got the beast back on the ground and torqued everything up.

I went to test it and it raises and lowered okay but after checking the GapIID tool my compressor was staying on so I thought I may have a leak. Went to check the hose and it burst off and went down to the stops.

I jacked the car back up and pushed the hose deep into the push fitting and tested again and the other side hose blew off.

When I installed the hose on the 2nd one which blew off I really pushed hard down to make sure it was seated so I'm worried about trusting it once I push them both back in again?

Any tests or tips to make sure it's seated?

Thanks