Disco II Air suspension – the definitive guide

My rear suspension drops all the way down on both sides overnight. It is not a sudden drop. It returns to normal ride height on starting and appears to show no ill effects. Is this just likely to be the bags going porous as a pair or something more sinister (and therefore more expensive)?

thanks for the above thread , it is the only one that so far has come near to giving me an answer to my problem , and believe me i have searched , the pic of compressor was great too , more pics of those things mentioned may help too. anyway my problem is this , my 99 discoII air suspension is going down whilst i am driving , it will not raise , i notice at lights that it is constantly adjusting also, this becomes a major safety problem as one can imagine , what happens is the compressor will inflate both bags when i start up car , they dont leak at least no hissing is heard when fully inflated , but when i start driving any change in incline or a hard bump will start it to deflate , if this happens soon after rolling the compressor will start and maybe inflate them again , but they again deflate soon after , now when it is sitting it will stay inflated unless air temp drops to freezing , it will stay up for weeks if not driven, i am thinking height sensors are faulty , both sides lower not one or the other , sometimes though i think it has a slight lean to the passenger side but i only notice this when deflated , also it seems the passenger rear wheel arch seems a little lower than driver side again only when deflated ( i think) .. sorry for the length of this post , any help will be greatly appreciated , it is a 7 seater.. but i think here in u.s.a i can convert to springs if i have to , if i do would the struts need changing too .. thanks again for the very informative thread..

Hi all
I have a big problem with my TD5 air suspension. It is permantely down, very very low (only since yesterday).The drivers side about 3 inches lower. Nothing changes when I start her up, although I can hear a noise on both sides for a few seconds after starting, not the normal air sound when it works, I guess this is from the compressor. I have no idea what the problem is here, I am a woman after all & we are programmed to not understand cars! ..... having said that, after reading the very informative thread, I have just inspected the underside & see that the plastic arm on the ride height sensor box is broken on the drivers side! Is this the problem? Can someone please advise as to what I do next? Is it a job for a Landrover specialist? Many thanks in advance. X

ggwhizz said:

Hi all
I have a big problem with my TD5 air suspension. It is permantely down, very very low (only since yesterday).The drivers side about 3 inches lower. Nothing changes when I start her up, although I can hear a noise on both sides for a few seconds after starting, not the normal air sound when it works, I guess this is from the compressor. I have no idea what the problem is here, I am a woman after all & we are programmed to not understand cars! ..... having said that, after reading the very informative thread, I have just inspected the underside & see that the plastic arm on the ride height sensor box is broken on the drivers side! Is this the problem? Can someone please advise as to what I do next? Is it a job for a Landrover specialist? Many thanks in advance. X

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Do this fix and do it quick... a false reading from a broken sensor could cause an air bag failure...or worse an accident!!

this is a NOT a job for a specialist, anyone who can hold a spanner can do this...

buy a new ride height sensor (for about 25quid)....
(they are not handed so you dont need a right or left one.)

1. unplug the electrical connection to the old one, careful not to break it...
2. undo the bolts holding it in place.
3. throw it in the bin
4. bolt the new one back into it's place.
5. re-connect the electrical connection
6. job done.

start engine see if normal height is resored.

1. once normal height is restored, grab a tape measure and measure from the center of the wheel to the top of the wheel arch.
2. do the same on the other side.
3. compare measurements
4. if out by much, go take it to a dealer for a 'Suspension re-calibration'

the broken arm on the suspension sensor is giving a false reading to the computer, which is why it is down.
if it gives an extreme wrong reading, then the bag will inflate, keep inflating and burst... then you're in a whole lot of trouble.

Thank you for the reply. I have now got it booked in with a Land Rover garage tomorrow. Probably could have done it myself but think it will need a re calibration as today (out of necessatity) I've driven her the very short journey to work & I've managed to get the back end to go up & down by moving the arm (with a long rod so as not to get my arm crushed!), although both sides won't level up completely. The cable attached to the plastic part is also broken as well. Thanks again & I'm glad I found this site!
Kind regards

Great thread my man!!!!!!!

I have suffered only today with the dreaded ride height sensor failure and goddam boom!!!!!!

It was like a gun going off!!!!

Fortunately I had been home for 5 mins, god only knows what could have happened!!!! Especially with the Kids in the car x 3!!!!

I have had it recovered to my local indy, so hopefully it should not cost a major organ to sort!! it looks to me like the bag has not ruptured, but popped of the bottom connector, so lets hope not too much damage done!?

Definitely the ride height that was cocking about at least it is a starting point for them to check!!!!

Any who we will see what tomorrow brings..........Land Rover need to change their slogan to something like..........Its great when it works!!!!!!!!!!

cheers DP

Changing an Air Bag on a Discovery 2 fitted with SLS suspension.

This is one of those jobs that honestly take longer to get your tools out of the shed than to actually do…

Tools needed:

10mm spanner
Pliers
A 20p coin
The Standard Disco Jack, on a block or house brick
A small trolley jack
A plant sprayer with soapy water
AXLE STANDS

I didn’t use axle stands, I therefore do not recommend this method, Always use them!
… so don’t follow these instructions, you may get crushed by your own car and blame me, this is for information only!


The new air bag:

The Turret for the retaining clip:



First Chock the car, loosen the wheel nut, and remove the cover from the compressor (under the passenger seat) with a penny.




Next, support the chassis rail with a jack,


Then jack the axle, just enough to get the wheel off.


To expose the airbag (chassis needs waxoil!)


Open the boot, this de-activates the SLS computer from trying to counteract what you are about to do…


Gather your tools… a 10mm open spanner and pliers!


Slacken off the union where the pipe goes into the compressor to release pressure from the airbag


Remove the two retaining clips on the top, careful not to break them, they are the same as the clips that retain the handbrake cable.



Squeeze as much air out of the bag as you can


Use your 10mm spanner to undo the union


Remove the old airbag and clean up the bottom bracket bayonet


Twist new airbag into position, reattach pipe and then clips


Tighten up the union at the compressor


Close the boot, open the drivers window, check gearbox for neutral and run engine for a couple of seconds by reaching inside the window, this will put a touch of air in the bag, you may have to fool the sensor by jacking up the axle (so the computer thinks it’s low on that side) stop the engine and check that the bag has inflated properly, squarley and is properly seated.


Once you are happy, run the engine for a minute or so to put as much pressure in the bag as possible. And Very slowly lower the jack supporting the chassis.


Spray the union with soapy water to test for a leaking pipe, do the same at the compressor end.


Fit the wheel, remove the jack and chock, job done, go do the other side
Don’t be cheap, safety first: REPLACE AIR BAGS IN PAIRS !

Quick word of advice,
Have done this job a few times now but when refitting the connectors to the valve block be very careful not to rip the receiving thread. I would advise releasing the valve block and making sure that the fitting lines up properly!!
Mine didn't and had a hell of a job getting a seal afterwards!! Now trying to get a new valve block if anyone knows where there is one available?

rgds
ed

Hi Great thread and very helpful, thank you. Could someone point me in the direction of a supplier of the airbags? They will need to offer mail order because I live on the Isle of Many local indy specialist has quoted me £250 per side with the bags at about £200each. Seems kind of steep.

Thanks

Ian

Island 4x4 do a deal on two, these are the dunlop ones in the picture above..

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 2 TD5 REAR AIR SPRING *DUNLOP* x2 on eBay (end time 19-Jul-09 12:07:25 BST)

Hi Battenburg,

thanks a million. New bags ordered and eagerly awaited. Have to admit that this is on the assumption that the bags are the problem because the soapy water failed to reveal anything. Compressor definately works. Deflation on right hand side mainly, assumption because that side gets lower first, but sometimes takes a few days and sometimes overnight. Still after five years and 88k miles I guess bags are due to be replaced anyway.

Thanks again for the great thread. Now I need to sort out the failed passenger side window winding mechanism, much harder to see what's going on. Time to use the search funtion.

Cheers again.

Ian

HairBear said:

Now I need to sort out the failed passenger side window winding mechanism,

Click to expand...

put a post in the 'Discovery' section...

did you order new clips? if not be very carful not to break them otherwise you'll be kicking yourself..!

battenberg said:

put a post in the 'Discovery' section...

did you order new clips? if not be very carful not to break them otherwise you'll be kicking yourself..!

Click to expand...

I hadn't, ordered clips that is, but I have now. Won't attempt the repair until they arrive. Broken too many things and not had spares handy in the past - looks like I'm finally learning.

Ian

Job done - piece of cake thanks to Battenberg's fantastically clear instructions and photo's. Thanks a million - well literally £300 which is what your advice saved me.

Ian

good stuff..!

hi guys very very useful info. i have just bought a 99 td5 ii that has had the air suspension changed to springs but i have a hight fault light on the dash & a warning busser goes off constantly if i dont let the engine warm up. Does this have anything to do with the hight sensors? not sur eif they are still fitted.

LEEPY said:

what a lovely well constructed thread, many thanx for it,
however, its still a bit technical for me,
my td5 was leaning slightly to the passenger side but now its collapsed and wont respond atall:wtf: , the drivers side is at normallish hight but the passenger side is dead.
i cant find a garage that does air suspension does anyone know any in ayrshire, i can still drive it but as its so bouncy i need somewhere local.

Click to expand...

mine done same arm snaped moved arm by hand to lift sup super glued to get home

I am currently in the process of going back to air suspension from coils for insurance and towing reasons and because I carry a lot of heavy diving kit in the boot and heaving self-levelling suspension is something that will be handy for me.

However: I haven't got access to nanocom (or anything else yet), so need a bit of advice.

I have a new compressor, new air 'looms', a pair of ride height sensors (both were broken >:-( ) and a pair of new air springs.

The car is currently set to coil, so when I chuck this lot on, it won't try to inflate the bags. Can I drive it to the local indy like this, with flat springs, or is it completely undriveable in this state?

Cheers,

David

i wouldnt recommend driving it to get them inflated, could be pretty dangerous!

Could you not get the slabs ecu turned back on before you change over so its ready for them? Youll get a load of warning lights & chimes, but if you do it just before you do them it wont matter that much

Or buy a Nano...

Hi, thanks for the suggestion!

To be fair I am thinking about getting the nano, as I have a few other jobs I need to get done that it would be handy for, like keyfob calibration etc.

How easy is it to calibrate the ride height with nanocom? I know it *can* adjust heights, but without the LR blocks, is there a way to do it approximately right, as I have no idea what the correct ride height should be! If I was only replacing one sensor I would just have to balance the two sides!

David