Thread: Suspension lifetime

Originally Posted by PerthDisco

Failures in the EAS generally mean leaks and sinking car overnight. At some point though the shockies have to wear out but the genuine equipment seems exceptionally robust and long lived.

I think we are saying the same thing. I agree EAS often outlives the shocks. The EAS system, eg in actively keeping the car vertices/level, masks a failed shock.

Good to know i'm not imagining things then, now looking for more reasons to spend cash on the old girl...

Time to start shopping around for struts I suppose. Maybe after the xmas rush has died down.

I sourced mine from the UK. Keep an eye on the UK Brexit trade deal. If that doesn't happen then the Pound will go down - much quicker than a Land Rover air strut with a leak...

204500km and whilst the EAS is 100%, the shocks inside are shagged. The air bags are now what is providing some damping, but the ride is very harsh. I started to notice it around 185-190k km. I reckon 200000km from a set of struts on a vehicle such as this is commendable.

I will be changing out all four early in 2021.

New air spring/damper assemblies on all corners was part of my mid-life refresh @ 135000 km, so I asked my dealer if they had any equipment to actually test the performance of the damper, (I live in hope ) and as expected the answer was no. Anyway, Pedders Suspension advertise a suspension test, so I talked to the guy about how the test is conducted to try and make up my mind if it was likely to provide any useful information, my thought process was to do a before and after test to see if I could get some base line data. Unfortunately after talking to him I was not able to get enough technical information about the test to make a decision but I did it anyway. My subjective assessment is that the rear dampers have degraded, certainly enough to warrant replacement so it's still on the imminent to-do list. Just FYI, I have put in a table of the results of the original damper tests below. The car "passed" but I don't have the judgement criteria against which to assess the results, hence my old Vs new comparison.

		Front Axle			Rear Axle		My comments below
	Left	Diff	Right	Left	Diff	Right
Resonant Frequency (Hz)	14	1	13	15	1	14
Road Grip (%)	84	6	79	72	1	72	Stated Test Limit <=30%
Time to maximum control (S)	5		5	4.5		4.5	Unknown parameter limits
Wheel weight (kg)	633		682	727		715
Pedders Performance Factor	50		50	55		55	Unknown value
Axle weight (kg)		1315			1442

I have a very strong dislike for Pedders.
I’ve seen way to many people taken for a ride.

I once took a vehicle that had just had all bushes, all springs and shocks replaced and asked for advice.

They suggested I need to pay for the test, which I did.
Amazingly it failed for worn shocks and bushes.

When I suggested they now look underneath the vehicle (was an XF sedan at the time) they did, and then began to back peddle quickly.

I was given a refund for my test and ‘apologies’.

Originally Posted by Tombie

I have a very strong dislike for Pedders.
I’ve seen way to many people taken for a ride.

I once took a vehicle that had just had all bushes, all springs and shocks replaced and asked for advice.

They suggested I need to pay for the test, which I did.
Amazingly it failed for worn shocks and bushes.

When I suggested they now look underneath the vehicle (was an XF sedan at the time) they did, and then began to back peddle quickly.

I was given a refund for my test and ‘apologies’.

This can vary from shop to shop. They are basically a Macca's. I've never been to one for a test.. But my experience is inline with your previous comments about 100,000ks. I waited way to long to change mine.. The difference was scary. I wouldn't go past 150,000 on factory's and 100,000 on replacements now. I've got a young family, boat chasing us and ****ty roads. It's money well spent for me. And I don't like spending money

I'd be very cautious of running the shock/airbag assemblies past 10 years as the rubber of the airbags is very old and likely a failure liability waiting to happen - and failure of one could lead to bigger costs through burning out of the compressor etc. trying to compensate for the air leak.
The shock part is past it's best after 100,000km too. Less if they've been required to do some significant work.
From memory your looking at around GBP 600.00 plus delivery costs for all four corners from the UK in OEM (BWI) spec - not a bad price when you consider that's for four new shock absorbers and four new air bags!