Does this mean that the compressor cannot be stripped, repaired then refitted?
After fitting a new pair of air springs the off side still goes all the way down and the near side drops about half way aftrt a couple of hours.
Disco II Air suspension the definitive guide
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Does this mean that the compressor cannot be stripped, repaired then refitted?
After fitting a new pair of air springs the off side still goes all the way down and the near side drops about half way aftrt a couple of hours.
Air springs now changed and can't find any leaks but suspension still going down but all the way on drivers side and part way on passenger side. Before it went down the same on both sides.
When the engine is switched off I can hear a ticking sound comming from the front of the compressor box (the valves) as if there was a very small leak when fixing a bike innertube. The noise stops when the battery is disconnected.
When the engine is switched off I can hear a ticking sound comming from the front of the compressor box (the valves) as if there was a very small leak when fixing a bike innertube. The noise stops when the battery is disconnected.
I hope I have cracked it. Tonight I stripped the solonoid valves down. I had pumped the suspension up and pulled the electrical plugs. While the plugs were apart I thought I would clean the terminals with switch cleaner. Bubbles were comming from the base of the pins so decided to strip them. There was dirt in the "O"rings so again spayed switch cleaner and WD40. Just over an hour it is still up. I will be over the moon if it is still up before bed time.
cptmark
New Member
- Posts
- 3
take your unit out as per the beginning of this thread, disassemble the valve part, clean, turning the seat over if necessary, lube with rubber grease and reassemble. should anyone find their compressor not working, check the brush springs as this is a common failure and costs less than a dollar to fix. also if the soapy spray method of diagnosing a leak in the bag it does not necessarily mean the bag is ok as it can work fine until it reaches a specific pressure causing the rubber extension to find the perfect position for it to drop the air. you wont find this with soapy spray. it is better to simply jump on the interweb, find a cheap pair and fit them, very easy job that can be done in less than 1/2 an hour.
DiscoDaisy
New Member
- Posts
- 3
Hi All,
Recently switched from a Defender 110 TD5 to the Disco 2 TD5 ES. Still early days but generally very happy - yet will always remember the Defender fondly...!
Anyway - the air suspension seems fine when driving (handles well, no warning lights / sounds) and it has been steady overnight when parked (i.e. remains at driving height). My question is about what happens when I get out of the car, close doors but do not lock with the remote: the suspension lowers automatically after a while, and the left side sits lower than the right.
I'm wondering what this is all about - particularly given that if I exit the car and lock it then it will happily sit at the normal level.
Would welcome your advice please.
Thanks!
DiscoDaisy
Recently switched from a Defender 110 TD5 to the Disco 2 TD5 ES. Still early days but generally very happy - yet will always remember the Defender fondly...!
Anyway - the air suspension seems fine when driving (handles well, no warning lights / sounds) and it has been steady overnight when parked (i.e. remains at driving height). My question is about what happens when I get out of the car, close doors but do not lock with the remote: the suspension lowers automatically after a while, and the left side sits lower than the right.
I'm wondering what this is all about - particularly given that if I exit the car and lock it then it will happily sit at the normal level.
Would welcome your advice please.
Thanks!
DiscoDaisy
battenberg
Well-Known Member
- Posts
- 2,101
- Location
- Birmingham UK
What I think you are experiencing is completley normal.
To test this:
grab a pencil a notebook and a tape measure and run outside for me to do a quick two minute test.
go out to the car and measure the distance from the centre of the wheel to the bottom of the wheel arch, write it down . do the same on the other side. try to be accurate for repeatablility, the numbers dont matter, just be accurate.
Left Measurement withengine off =
Right Measurement with engine off =
now start the engine by opening the front window and leaning inside to turn the key, making sure all the doors are closed (very important step), after 30 seconds or so measure again both sides, you should see an increase of about 20mm or so.
Left measurement engine running =
Right mesurement engine running =
Lean inside the window and switch off the engine, Immediatley look at the back end arch you should see the suspension drop and hear it hiss as the air rushed out.
once stopped, measure again.
Left Measurement after engine stopped=
Right Measuement after engine stopped=
Now leave the car parked up for several hours preferably over night and without moving the car, measure again.
post your results here...
To test this:
grab a pencil a notebook and a tape measure and run outside for me to do a quick two minute test.
go out to the car and measure the distance from the centre of the wheel to the bottom of the wheel arch, write it down . do the same on the other side. try to be accurate for repeatablility, the numbers dont matter, just be accurate.
Left Measurement withengine off =
Right Measurement with engine off =
now start the engine by opening the front window and leaning inside to turn the key, making sure all the doors are closed (very important step), after 30 seconds or so measure again both sides, you should see an increase of about 20mm or so.
Left measurement engine running =
Right mesurement engine running =
Lean inside the window and switch off the engine, Immediatley look at the back end arch you should see the suspension drop and hear it hiss as the air rushed out.
once stopped, measure again.
Left Measurement after engine stopped=
Right Measuement after engine stopped=
Now leave the car parked up for several hours preferably over night and without moving the car, measure again.
post your results here...
If you remove the compressor cover you cam put yout hand on it and feel it vibrating when it is inflating the air springs.
DiscoDaisy
New Member
- Posts
- 3
@ Battenberg:
Thanks again for your really helpful note.
Have taken various measurements since yesterday evening - will continue to take more, until you advise otherwise / unnecessary!
Seems that the c. 20mm rise / fall that you expect on start / stop is not happening. Levels hold fairly constant.
Tried also raising to max and then leaving for six hours - and it held up fine, apprx 40mm higher than the normal driving level.
As I said - will take some more readings.
Any thoughts at this stage?
Thanks,
DiscoDaisy
Thanks again for your really helpful note.
Have taken various measurements since yesterday evening - will continue to take more, until you advise otherwise / unnecessary!
Seems that the c. 20mm rise / fall that you expect on start / stop is not happening. Levels hold fairly constant.
Tried also raising to max and then leaving for six hours - and it held up fine, apprx 40mm higher than the normal driving level.
As I said - will take some more readings.
Any thoughts at this stage?
Thanks,
DiscoDaisy
Elodef
New Member
- Posts
- 12
- Location
- São Paulo, Brazil
I had some problems with the air suspension on my MY2000 TD5 Discovery. Sometimes it would just drop on the left side, mostly when with some weight but also on long rides.
Looking through the posts, I have realized that there must be some holes in the bag, although it stays up for days. So lifting up the wheel with the jack, eventually the hissing noise came!!!
So, first thing: Get a new bag....ok I´m in Brazil and things are not easily posted to here. Got down to a local LR parts dealer and he didn´t have the bag any more but told me that he had sold the last one for almost Euro 800,00
Making a long story short, didn´t get the bag but wanted to get back on the road. Bought a tyre repair spray and took out the bag, pushed the air out and inflated it twice with the tyre repair. Put it back on the car and made it pump it up, could see little bubbles from the hole but it got sealed and works great!!
I would say it´s a fix and why spend so much money anyway??
I also recomend changing the bags only when they leak, why change them both when it´s just a hassle and not a real issue of breaking down somewhere in the middle of nowwhere....
Looking through the posts, I have realized that there must be some holes in the bag, although it stays up for days. So lifting up the wheel with the jack, eventually the hissing noise came!!!
So, first thing: Get a new bag....ok I´m in Brazil and things are not easily posted to here. Got down to a local LR parts dealer and he didn´t have the bag any more but told me that he had sold the last one for almost Euro 800,00
Making a long story short, didn´t get the bag but wanted to get back on the road. Bought a tyre repair spray and took out the bag, pushed the air out and inflated it twice with the tyre repair. Put it back on the car and made it pump it up, could see little bubbles from the hole but it got sealed and works great!!
I would say it´s a fix and why spend so much money anyway??
I also recomend changing the bags only when they leak, why change them both when it´s just a hassle and not a real issue of breaking down somewhere in the middle of nowwhere....
Hi all,
I've just found the passenger side suspension ride height senor broken, however my disco was converted to coils before I bought it, so not knowing to much about the ACE system i'm just wondering if the sensor has an effect on the ACE or if it is purely for the SLS, meaning I wouldn't need to replace it?
Thanks in advance!
I've just found the passenger side suspension ride height senor broken, however my disco was converted to coils before I bought it, so not knowing to much about the ACE system i'm just wondering if the sensor has an effect on the ACE or if it is purely for the SLS, meaning I wouldn't need to replace it?
Thanks in advance!
David Pye
Active Member
- Posts
- 623
- Location
- Newcastle Upon Tyne
It is purely for self-lvelling suspension. It doesn't have anything to do with the ACE system.
David
David
Hi all, this is my first time posting so sorry if I do anything wrong.
I have owned my 1999 TD5 since Oct 2007 and love it. For the first 2.5 years the air suspension behaved beautifully. Until suddenly without warning when just having driven for 100 mls on a motorway as I came down the slip road there was a loud bang and the back end dropped down to stops. She then had a new compressor, 2 new air bags and 2 ride height sensors and performed beautifully again for another 18 months when I noticed she seemed to be riding slightly lower than previously. She was checked out and found to have so much water in new compressor it had stopped working. So yet another new compressor fitted along with new pipework and assembly behind rear light in January this year. Day after I picked her up suddenly without warning when driving dropped to stops. Stopped, turned off back on she rose again and then performed beautifully again until 3 weeks ago when once suddenly without warning she dropped to stops but rose again when turned off /on. Did this 3 times so went to local Land Rover experts to have diagnostics check done. Could find nothing as memory on ECU full, so they cleared memory and said to go back if anything happened again. Nothing did for 3 weeks until as I was parking yesterday, when without warning an airbag exploded. Mother in the car she nearly had a heart attack!!! I have read the definitive guide which is brilliant however I still do not understand what is going on. I have replaced everything. What am I doing wrong. I would appreciate any help/ideas.
I have owned my 1999 TD5 since Oct 2007 and love it. For the first 2.5 years the air suspension behaved beautifully. Until suddenly without warning when just having driven for 100 mls on a motorway as I came down the slip road there was a loud bang and the back end dropped down to stops. She then had a new compressor, 2 new air bags and 2 ride height sensors and performed beautifully again for another 18 months when I noticed she seemed to be riding slightly lower than previously. She was checked out and found to have so much water in new compressor it had stopped working. So yet another new compressor fitted along with new pipework and assembly behind rear light in January this year. Day after I picked her up suddenly without warning when driving dropped to stops. Stopped, turned off back on she rose again and then performed beautifully again until 3 weeks ago when once suddenly without warning she dropped to stops but rose again when turned off /on. Did this 3 times so went to local Land Rover experts to have diagnostics check done. Could find nothing as memory on ECU full, so they cleared memory and said to go back if anything happened again. Nothing did for 3 weeks until as I was parking yesterday, when without warning an airbag exploded. Mother in the car she nearly had a heart attack!!! I have read the definitive guide which is brilliant however I still do not understand what is going on. I have replaced everything. What am I doing wrong. I would appreciate any help/ideas.
rjsdavis
Active Member
- Posts
- 135
- Location
- Herne, Kent
Initially, I don't understand why, after the initial bang and drop, you've replaced the entire system of compressor / bags and sensors? If a bag exploded, it would simply need a new bag and the for the source of the over-inflation (SLABS / sensor etc) to be tracked down and replaced.
To have the new compressor filled with water - how could this happen? By it's nature, it's an airtight system (!), therefore, it should not be possible for any water ingress whatsoever. The only reason I can think of is linked to very deep water wading (have you done this?) - ifso, if you've been wading in very deep water without a high level air breather kit, this is an unfortunate side effect - if however you've never waded in water - and let's be honest nearly all Landy owners never do, you've got to point the finger back at the mechanic that fitted this complete new system to start thinking about how they could have fitted it in such a way that allowed water ingress. If you've used all genuine replacement parts (WABCO compressor, genuine sensors, Contitech bags) and it was fitted competently - it should and could never have happened....
To diagnose most recent problems - some additional info is required. Starting with - have you been using a genuine main dealer to complete all of this work?
Has the ECU/SLABS been fully diagnosed on a TestBook computer (not a Hawkeye or any other cheaper aftermarket alternative)?
It sounds a bit like you've been dealing with a totally incompetent dealer to date - but that's a guess from reading between the lines. It also sounds like you've been fleeced for additional kit that wasn't needed to cure the original and subsequent problems.
First off, depending on where you are in the world - I'd be looking to take this into a very reputable independent Land Rover specialist - there are plenty of them about. Post roughly where you live, and we can point you in the right direction. For example, where I live in Canterbury - we have two excellent former main dealer trained mechanics that are a fraction of the price and have all of the experience that the best main dealer mechanics have - in fact, ever noticed why you don't ever meet the mechanics in a main dealer? Mainly because they're all very young, not ready for customer facing, and haven't got a fraction of the experience that the really good independents have under their belts. You always use a main dealer thinking that you're going to get the most experienced heads thinking about your car's problem - but this often couldn't be further from the truth - often a snotty YTS apprentice that's fresh off a training course - that would explain (to me) why a brand new system is full of water!! More info please....
rjsdavis
Active Member
- Posts
- 135
- Location
- Herne, Kent
E800.00 for an airbag - are you serious? Buy one on Ebay from a UK dealer (circa £120 for a genuine Contitech OEM airbag), and have them send it via a DHL/UPS type courier to you - probably no more than £30-40 for the courier postage and have it in probably 48 - 72 hours.
You don't need to replace the bags in pairs - however, what you often find, is that when one fails and the car drops down at odd angles and places an odd wear characteristic on the other bag - the other bag will fail not to later afterwards!
I tell you one thing - I wouldn't go cruising through the jungle in your Disco with your home-made air suspension repair!!
rjsdavis
Active Member
- Posts
- 135
- Location
- Herne, Kent
Sounds like one or possibly both of the sensors is buggered....
Thank you for your reply. Update. I have now been back to Land Rover experts who said cause of explosion was height sensor which they replaced along with a new bag. They said it was all sorted. On way home from garage ride height sensor light came on and it dropped again. Rang garage going back in on Monday. Did rise again when engine turned off/on and syayed up till today when did it again. As you can imagine I am not happy having just paid them £300.
I live in the Huddersfield area and would really appreciate it if you could point me in the direction of a competent expert.
I live in the Huddersfield area and would really appreciate it if you could point me in the direction of a competent expert.
rjsdavis
Active Member
- Posts
- 135
- Location
- Herne, Kent
Hi Tramroads
You defo need to take it back to the garage (if you trust them) as you've commissioned them to repair your Disco, and they've clearly failed.
By taking your money and declaring the air bag issue resolved - they've a duty of care under the Sale of Goods Act to complete the work to a reasonable standard and to have actually completed what they said they were going to complete.
You've got two routes now - under the law, you need to raise a complaint with them and give them the opportunity to actually complete the work to a reasonable and competent standard.
If they don't wish to do this - hopefully you've paid this £300 with a credit card? Ifso, get onto your card issuer and report the issuer to start a charge-back case against them.
Final route is County Court claims if they continue to either fail to complete it, and/or refuse to take it back to complete it. Obviously, this is a reasonable amount of hassle but not as much as you think as you can start it online these days. Tell the garage that hasn't fixed your car that this is what you'll have to do if they don't get your car sorted!
Sadly, I'm in Kent and couldn't be much further away from you in terms of actual experience of local mechanics to you. However, I've heard some reasonably good things about: Welcome to the Land Rover Centre Huddersfield web site - We buy and sell new and used land rover, Range Rover, and Freelander, series and Discovery models - for sale - which are in Huddersfield. (Really hope these aren't the guys that have messed you about thus far!!)
Hopefully, one or two other forum members who live nearer to you can make an alternative suggestion? You're in Land Rover country up there, so there must be loads of good guys that know what they're doing?!
Failing that, I'd consider taking it into the local main dealer to have a single hour's full diagnostic on their Testbook computer - for this, expect to receive a comprehensive report of every system on your Disco - they should be able to report to you any stored or current faults on your motor. This process actually only takes about 30 minutes, so ask them to spend the other 30 diagnosing the remaining fault with your air suspension... However, any local LR specialist that is main dealer trained, should really be able to get this sorted for you without any real hassle - the air suspension system is really very simple indeed.
PS - it's good practise to replace the height sensors in pairs when they fail. Did they do this? Did they recalibrate your system after the sensors/bag were replaced?
Finally, there isn't a "ride height sensor" light on the dash - did you mean the yellow light, which is a rear view picture of the Disco, with an arrow on either side implying side to side wobble? Or was it the green one with the side profile of the Disco with the "up" arrow at the rear?
PPS - if both sensors have been replaced and your system is dropping down - this sounds like there's an air leak from your system still. If they only replaced the one bag, it's entirely possible that the other is holed. I have just had to resolve an air suspension issue myself, where the bags seemed to fine, always rode at the right height, hitting the off-road button would raise the rear end properly - however, when the engine was off, and you got into the back of the car (the kids for example getting into the car before we did and started the engine) within about 5/6 minutes, the car would have dropped down onto it's bump stops.
The best test, is to get a squirter bottle full of soapy water, hit the off-road button to expose as much of the bag as possible, and to cover the bags in soapy water and look for bubbling anywhere. Don't expect to find a hole that you can see, but you're in effect trying to do a puncture test as you would on a bicycle inner tube on the bag whilst it's in situ... The hole on mine was entirely invisible, but was there sure enough and replacing the bag cured the problem immediately. Final thing is that you need to get this sorted as quickly as possible, as if you have an air-leak, the compressor will be working harder than it should and it will shag it out fairly quickly! The Wabco compressors weren't up to the job really as it was, so air leaks kill them really quickly. You don't want a £400 bill for a brand new air compressor on top of the issue that you already have! Whatever you do - get it sorted as quick as you can....
You defo need to take it back to the garage (if you trust them) as you've commissioned them to repair your Disco, and they've clearly failed.
By taking your money and declaring the air bag issue resolved - they've a duty of care under the Sale of Goods Act to complete the work to a reasonable standard and to have actually completed what they said they were going to complete.
You've got two routes now - under the law, you need to raise a complaint with them and give them the opportunity to actually complete the work to a reasonable and competent standard.
If they don't wish to do this - hopefully you've paid this £300 with a credit card? Ifso, get onto your card issuer and report the issuer to start a charge-back case against them.
Final route is County Court claims if they continue to either fail to complete it, and/or refuse to take it back to complete it. Obviously, this is a reasonable amount of hassle but not as much as you think as you can start it online these days. Tell the garage that hasn't fixed your car that this is what you'll have to do if they don't get your car sorted!
Sadly, I'm in Kent and couldn't be much further away from you in terms of actual experience of local mechanics to you. However, I've heard some reasonably good things about: Welcome to the Land Rover Centre Huddersfield web site - We buy and sell new and used land rover, Range Rover, and Freelander, series and Discovery models - for sale - which are in Huddersfield. (Really hope these aren't the guys that have messed you about thus far!!)
Hopefully, one or two other forum members who live nearer to you can make an alternative suggestion? You're in Land Rover country up there, so there must be loads of good guys that know what they're doing?!
Failing that, I'd consider taking it into the local main dealer to have a single hour's full diagnostic on their Testbook computer - for this, expect to receive a comprehensive report of every system on your Disco - they should be able to report to you any stored or current faults on your motor. This process actually only takes about 30 minutes, so ask them to spend the other 30 diagnosing the remaining fault with your air suspension... However, any local LR specialist that is main dealer trained, should really be able to get this sorted for you without any real hassle - the air suspension system is really very simple indeed.
PS - it's good practise to replace the height sensors in pairs when they fail. Did they do this? Did they recalibrate your system after the sensors/bag were replaced?
Finally, there isn't a "ride height sensor" light on the dash - did you mean the yellow light, which is a rear view picture of the Disco, with an arrow on either side implying side to side wobble? Or was it the green one with the side profile of the Disco with the "up" arrow at the rear?
PPS - if both sensors have been replaced and your system is dropping down - this sounds like there's an air leak from your system still. If they only replaced the one bag, it's entirely possible that the other is holed. I have just had to resolve an air suspension issue myself, where the bags seemed to fine, always rode at the right height, hitting the off-road button would raise the rear end properly - however, when the engine was off, and you got into the back of the car (the kids for example getting into the car before we did and started the engine) within about 5/6 minutes, the car would have dropped down onto it's bump stops.
The best test, is to get a squirter bottle full of soapy water, hit the off-road button to expose as much of the bag as possible, and to cover the bags in soapy water and look for bubbling anywhere. Don't expect to find a hole that you can see, but you're in effect trying to do a puncture test as you would on a bicycle inner tube on the bag whilst it's in situ... The hole on mine was entirely invisible, but was there sure enough and replacing the bag cured the problem immediately. Final thing is that you need to get this sorted as quickly as possible, as if you have an air-leak, the compressor will be working harder than it should and it will shag it out fairly quickly! The Wabco compressors weren't up to the job really as it was, so air leaks kill them really quickly. You don't want a £400 bill for a brand new air compressor on top of the issue that you already have! Whatever you do - get it sorted as quick as you can....
