Suspension lifetime

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Originally Posted by TopEndThom

Interesting info. At the end of the day the new ‘bwi’ struts (front and rear) feel great. I’m not sure I’ll get the opportunity to push them as far as the originals - 203,000km - but here’s hoping the car lasts that long

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I would be confident they are BWI and last as long as the originals.

Even though we talk about the original being Delphi/BWI, I believe the air spring itself came from Firestone. I can see evidence of the Firestone sticker on my original struts but the print was all faded and so is now unreadable.

Update,

Just did a suspension calibration, and the suspected air spring leak is no longer the case. Been a few days and the car is sitting still with the fuses pulled out, not even the slighted drop when measured. I guess there is more to EAS that I would have known.

Next cards on the list is to monitor the valve block or have its seals replace as precaution.

I’ll keep the BWI’s in mind next time.

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Originally Posted by imaz

Update,

Just did a suspension collaboration, and the suspected air spring leak is no longer the case. Been a few days and the car is sitting still with the fuses pulled out, not even the slighted drop when measured. I guess there is more to EAS that I would have known.

Next cards on the list is to monitor the valve block or have its seals replace as precaution.

I’ll keep the BWI’s in mind next time.

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I’ve rebuilt the compressor a few times and it’s a joy to now have a spare Hitachi so a serviced one is ready waiting for the inevitable ‘slow to fill’.

From a wrecked D3 I have the three valve blocks which I’ve rebuilt with kits. The centre one is easy and was replaced a while back at last compressor swap.

I’m about to do the front and rear valve blocks - the rear being quite a sod to access. Everything is pretty much as new then other than my old struts.

If you see a wrecked D3/4 jump in and pull out these parts including wheel height sensors. When removing just cut the air hoses takes 2 minutes that way. They are great to have on hand for swap outs and fault testing as the system ages or as travelling spares.

If you enjoyed making model airplanes and mechano as a kid you’ll love rebuilding these items then they are ready for when you’ll definitely need them.

Edit: let me confirm the rear block is very difficult to access. Coming in from the spare wheel recess is essential to access the output lines. I also undid the park brake box to get a bit more room. Removal can be done by feel but installation is a right pain as the fittings want to cross thread and you need to be very careful getting the alignment right at the start with no room to work. There’s only one sequence of doing it that works. Also the fittings don’t like turning easily on the hose so try and get some silicone spray in there to help them turn so you can start them with your fingers. Take extreme care they are in properly before putting a spanner on them and remember to change the orings on the hose fittings.

I thought I’d ruined one but luckily I had a chopped off fitting from the car I got it from and was able to use it as a tap to clean up the threads. Be very careful!

The front is easy and you only need to peel up the bottom edge of the wheel liner enough to see the valve behind it.

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Originally Posted by PerthDisco

I’ve rebuilt the compressor a few times and it’s a joy to now have a spare Hitachi so a serviced one is ready waiting for the inevitable ‘slow to fill’.

From a wrecked D3 I have the three valve blocks which I’ve rebuilt with kits. The centre one is easy and was replaced a while back at last compressor swap.

I’m about to do the front and rear valve blocks - the rear being quite a sod to access. Everything is pretty much as new then other than my old struts.

If you see a wrecked D3/4 jump in and pull out these parts including wheel height sensors. When removing just cut the air hoses takes 2 minutes that way. They are great to have on hand for swap outs and fault testing as the system ages or as travelling spares.

If you enjoyed making model airplanes and mechano as a kid you’ll love rebuilding these items then they are ready for when you’ll definitely need them.

Edit: let me confirm the rear block is very difficult to access. Coming in from the spare wheel recess is essential to access the output lines. I also undid the park brake box to get a bit more room. Removal can be done by feel but installation is a right pain as the fittings want to cross thread and you need to be very careful getting the alignment right at the start with no room to work. There’s only one sequence of doing it that works. Also the fittings don’t like turning easily on the hose so try and get some silicone spray in there to help them turn so you can start them with your fingers. Take extreme care they are in properly before putting a spanner on them and remember to change to orings on the hose fittings.

I thought I’d ruined one but luckily I had a chopped off fitting from the car I got it from and was able to use it as a tap to clean up the threads. Be very careful!

The front is easy and you only need to peel up the bottom edge of the wheel liner enough to see the valve behind it.

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Rear EAS blocks on a D4 slightly easier but not much. The passenger side rear is a right pita.

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Originally Posted by Eric SDV6SE

Rear EAS blocks on a D4 slightly easier but not much. The passenger side rear is a right pita.

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Definitely something to do if ever you did a body off project then it would be a 5 minute job!

Thank you Josh,
I like the idea of replacing a worn shock into a good airbag, with a Bilstein. Makes much sense.
I went to a Range Rover Club NSW Meeting 2 weeks ago.
It was reported that replacing the shocks inside an airbag can be extremely difficult to re-seal. Having to fit, test, fail, remove, refit, test etc. Sometimes six times.
Any thoughts please?

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Originally Posted by Jeffoir

Thank you Josh,
I like the idea of replacing a worn shock into a good airbag, with a Bilstein. Makes much sense.
I went to a Range Rover Club NSW Meeting 2 weeks ago.
It was reported that replacing the shocks inside an airbag can be extremely difficult to re-seal. Having to fit, test, fail, remove, refit, test etc. Sometimes six times.
Any thoughts please?

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I thought they sell the air bag replacements alone for the D3/4’s which you can reuse existing shocks or on a new shocks.

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Originally Posted by imaz

I thought they sell the air bag replacements alone for the D3/4’s which you can reuse existing shocks or on a new shocks.

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If you’re replacing a bag, the shock is worn out. Shocks have a finite life as do the bags. Just do as a unit and be done with it.

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Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster

If you’re replacing a bag, the shock is worn out. Shocks have a finite life as do the bags. Just do as a unit and be done with it.

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Just replying to the guy above, if he wanted to use billsteins instead.

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Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster

If you’re replacing a bag, the shock is worn out. Shocks have a finite life as do the bags. Just do as a unit and be done with it.

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Bilstein don't supply a unit that I can find, just a shock. My bags were fine at 220ks, my shocks were knackered. I can already feel that in 80k my shocks are on the go again. I will be buying Bilstein shocks, and reusing my bags. LR sell a seal kit to do the job. I could buy new bags aswell.. But they're fine. Hopefully I don't eat my words