Thread: Front dropping overnight

Even though mine is a D4,the valve block was the issue,it was around 4yrs old when it went,less than 50K.

Then 5 months later the new one failed.Since it was replaced,all good.When the second one went it was on the bump stops if not driven for three days.

MR auto did mine,it took them a while to sort it,especially the second time.

They mentioned something about watching the gallery pressure during the day,but i can't remember exactly what they said.
Is that the pressure up stream of the valve block?

The slower leaks like you have are a frustrating PITA.

The reservoir pressure will drop every time the vehicle attempts to re-level.

The D3/D4 valve blocks are the same design, possibly only with different orifice sizes as is the difference between the Disco front and rear valve blocks. A new valve block is likely the cheapest component to replace but wont fix the problem if the O-rings are leaking. At least the Discos with their double wishbones don't rotate their air-spring top seals when the steering is turned.

Edit: The symptoms suggest that air is leaking from the cross-link valve and escaping to atmosphere - valve block repair kit ordered.

Hey, my first post here since I bought my L322! I've had my L322 diesel for 3 years now and was bragging to my mate that his Commodore has had more problems in that time than my RR; but I ran out of luck. I have a mate in Hobart (I live in Devonport on Tassie's NW coast) and he has a VW workshop with a diagnostic computer that can calibrate the RR air suspension. He, being a VW man, and me never having owned a RR with air suspension, we were scant in knowledge of this system. When I first bought the RR in Nov '14 he checked it and it threw up no codes. We did a thorough service changing all fluids and filters at the same time but shortly afterwards I got the "air suspension inactive" error message that didn't respond to the full-lock exercise, so on my next trip to Hobart he got his hardware out and recalibrated all 4 corners. All was well...the suspension did all of the right things going up and down and settling into the "motorway mode" when it should, but in the next 3 years the rear suspension gradually settled and was never as high as the front. Last month I went to Hobart and we had another attempt at recalibrating, but the rear suspension refused to respond. For the sake of equilibrium we decided to lower the front suspension to the same height as the rear but when his computer sent the "lower" message to the front left side...it went UP! Quickly! I dived at the dashboard switch with the intention of hitting "lower" to bring the suspension down but accidentally moved the switch up :-( BANG! The airbag blew. Driving back to Devonport (280km) with the suspension on the bump-blocks was no fun... I've ordered a new strut from the UK and it should be here next week however I'm puzzled about 2 things: first, will the suspension ECU have remembered the "too high" setting on the front so that the suspension goes up on restart and bursts the airbag: and what would cause the rear suspension not to respond to calibration? I'd appreciate some advice on the first and a confirmation of my diagnosis that the centre valve block may be...well...blocked. What do you guys think?

Depends on what he did. If he manually activated the valve in a test function it will not have saved, however from what you describe it sound like he has done a height adjustment save. If this is the case then yes, it is saved.

there was a bug in my diognostic kit that caused this exact scenario with the front left, needed a firmware upgrade for the diognostic gear as it was not possible to calibrate down due to the bug. I have heard of others finding the issue as well with different diagnostic software.

it is possible to see, check the live values of each height sensor, front left will be way out which is what has been introduced by the bug in his diognostic software. If he saved the setting (backup) before changing them, restore the original, if he didn't don't let him touch your car again as that is a rookie cockup.... you will need someone else with a kit that works.

Better question is why are you needing to change this? I would be trying to identify what has thrown it out of whack.

Originally Posted by tassiel322

in the next 3 years the rear suspension gradually settled and was never as high as the front.

If you're using the gap between the top of the tyres and the bottom edge of the guard above (eyebrow height) then the front is meant to be higher than the rear.

G'day Harley. I'm about to fit the new strut. What I intend to do is allow the compressor to inflate the airbag enough to install it then pull the fuse to the suspension ECU. This should prevent further inflation until i get all 4 wheels on the ground. After that I'l have to play it by ear until i can get the car to someone with diagnostic gear. As for finding where the problem originated: I'm pretty convinced the rear valve block is at fault so that'll have to be pulled and stripped then new seals fitted. Living here on the NW coast of Tassie is a problem coz there's nobody locally that has Autologic or any diagnostic gear to enable me to pinpoint the problem. That means a 150km trip to Launceston at the best or over 300km to Hobart to get it done free by my mate, but from what the posts from you guys say, his diagnostic tool may be faulty.

No, Graeme. I'm using the gap from the bottom of the wheel rim to the mudguard.

OK. Strut installed and holding pressure. The problem with the rear suspension is still there, of course, and is actually worse than it was and is riding on the bump blocks. So....I suppose one of the valve blocks is at fault.
IMG_0252.jpg IMG_0251.jpg

The "air susp inactive" is alive, of course and won't respond to full-lock turns. The centre knob LED shows normal height but the suspension won't lower.

So how do I tell which one without diagnostics? According the the online workshop manual the valve block next to the air tank isn't serviceable while the block that controls the air to the rear corners is by cleaning, and then replacing the seals. I'm happy to do that as it's a low-cost operation, but the centre block.....
So, helpful guys, is there a way of telling which one is at fault?