Thread: EAS woes - I'm thinking of going over to the dark side

Bugger!

Originally Posted by p38arover

Maybe it was the off-roading and river crossings I'd done just before leaving River Island. I'm glad it didn't fail whilst I was doing that.

It might have gotten a little p rick while at River Island .

Originally Posted by Scouse

It might have gotten a little p rick while at River Island .

No, I didn't see you there, Scouse.

I checked earlier today and neither rear bag would hold air. I started on the RHS, pulled the wheel and wheel arch liner but, whilst I could hear the leaking air, I couldn't find the leak. So I've replaced the spring with another (secondhand unit) and am monitoring the various spring air pressures.

I noticed the top plate is warped as if it's not sitting against a flat surface. I also saw that on an earlier spring replacement but can't see anything obvious on the body construction that would cause it. I need to have it on a hoist to check it properly.

Would you believe the LHS is now not leaking even though it could easily be heard earlier.

I'm very tempted to go to coils.

Don't do it Ron! You know as well as others that the EAS can be a trying thing!

I'd suggest that being a simple air leak, the bags are either getting old or are faulty. I wouldn't swap to coils unless the EAS was completely knackered and it was big $$$ to repair - a simple air spring and leak check is much less costly and easier to do than swap to coils!

Cheers
Keithy

Yeah, I know, Keith, but had this happened out on the track I'd have been in trouble. Put in coils and one no longer has any worry about suspension.

After replacing the RH bag, the car has stayed up in extended mode all night.

I suspect the bag I removed is leaking around the top. I'll change the top plate. Scouse has suggested getting some tyre sealant and brushing that around the joint when refitting the bag.

Could be a good idea with the tyre sealant if you plan to reuse the bag.

Would the outcome be different had you had the RovaCom and laptop with you (and a spare bag)?

Life is about taking chances! If you live in fear of something happening you tend to see the worst when something does go wrong! Personally I'm not at all worried about EAS issues. I always carry the Faultmate and a spare front and rear spring, so mechanically speaking the car will always be driveable. Might make up an emergency bypass kit one of these days to cover software/electrical breakdowns.

I hope it works out for you in the end mate!

Quite frankly, I don't think it would be that easy to change one in the field. One has to jack the chassis up a fair way and drop the axle to get enough clearance to change a rear.

I did it with a trolley jack under the axle lifted quite high, then I inflated the bag via the manual inflation system to get enough clearance under the chassis for a chassis/axle stand.

Then I dropped the trolley jack to lower the axle.

I do have a Rovair manual bypass in case the ECU fails. I won it at Cooma in 2008 for having the best P38A in show. See http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/...tml#post926024

It is a hotly debated subject at the moment on the P38 Facebook page as to how long it takes to swap springs out. I can do all 4 in my driveway in an hour easy.

I had to replace a right rear in the bush (a very hot and miserable day to boot), managed to do it using a high lift jack and the bottle jack in 20mins.

It's all about how keen you are to do it!