Replacement air springs

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Andrew Hanson

New Member
Posts
21
Location
Clayton West ~ the back of beyond, sandwiched in a
I think the rear air bags on my 2000 p38 are packing up, and I think the compressor may need changing too because of this.

I can get new ones fairly inexpensively but as I'm totally useless with anything electrical or mechanical could anyone here recommend a good, cheap garage in the Denby Dale/ Huddersfield area who could fit these and even, perhaps, give me an idea of how much I should be paying so I don't get ripped off? (I have no idea about what it should cost either) hoping someone can help.

Thanks in advance
Andy
 
DIY - save you a butt load...

Can be done yourself at about 1hr-1.5hr per bag.....so I shouldn't expect a garage to be far more than this.

Datatek has a replacement How To in the How To section at the top of the Forum!
 
Go for it.
I'm not of the Health & Safety brigade but for this job make sure that the car is very well supported. You might find yourself underneath wielding a crowbar or hammer or both if the old top caps decide not to come out easily.
 
Wow, thanks for all the info coming in here all very helpful.

But I'm starting to wonder if I've actually got this right or not.

I'll have to go into boring background and give some historical details I think and beg more advice.

Last Thursday the suspension wouldn't rise properly (the bottom light stayed on and the ride height flashed constantly) on a relatively short journey (5 mile round trip or so). Friday going to work ~ same problem, leading to a rather rough ride (anyone who lives in Kirklees or has travelled through the area will know about the state of the roads here!) Friday on the way home EAS went into hard fault (even bumpier ride).

Sat morning I got out the laptop and plugged it in and made a note of the 4 faults it threw up (but have since lost it!!) re-set the EAS and ran the engine with door open to refill the system etc. Pumped up straight away. Sunday morning ~ down on the stops again ran engine with door open then it raised up again. ran OK.

Not used monday, Tuesday down again, did usual to get it up again. Ran OK to work, OK Tuesday after work. This morning down again. Did usual with door open & raised OK. Checked it at lunchtime at work, down to stops, just tried it ~ straight up to normal height & stayed there till I got home!

That's where things stand at the moment. The reason I thought of airbag replacement was because back in December at MOT time I had a big argument with the garage (Robin Ratt & son ~ £300 to drive into the compound) about the suspension, they said it wasn't working, I said it was. Eventually they agreed with me and passed it with the proviso that the passenger-side rear airbag was perished and would need replacing & that they could get a pair for £stupid each.

Hence my assumption that this was the problem, but I had a look under the beast at lunchtime and to me, at least, the rubber looks quite decent with no visible signs of being perished. It may be, but before I go ahead and get under the beast I was wondering if there may be another cause? No point replacing the airsprings if they're not the problem.

Sorry this has been so long, hope at least someone has stayed awake through it and can offer advice before I get down and dirty on the drive . . .


Incidentally, I only have a 2tonne trolley jack, 2 x 3 tonne axle stands & the hydraulic jack that came with the car. Will the trolley jack on the chassis be OK & will the car jack be OK for the axle?

Phew! Got finger ache now . . .
 
Andrew Hanson said:
Wow, thanks for all the info coming in here all very helpful.

But I'm starting to wonder if I've actually got this right or not.

I'll have to go into boring background and give some historical details I think and beg more advice.

Last Thursday the suspension wouldn't rise properly (the bottom light stayed on and the ride height flashed constantly) on a relatively short journey (5 mile round trip or so). Friday going to work ~ same problem, leading to a rather rough ride (anyone who lives in Kirklees or has travelled through the area will know about the state of the roads here!) Friday on the way home EAS went into hard fault (even bumpier ride).

Sat morning I got out the laptop and plugged it in and made a note of the 4 faults it threw up (but have since lost it!!) re-set the EAS and ran the engine with door open to refill the system etc. Pumped up straight away. Sunday morning ~ down on the stops again ran engine with door open then it raised up again. ran OK.

Not used monday, Tuesday down again, did usual to get it up again. Ran OK to work, OK Tuesday after work. This morning down again. Did usual with door open & raised OK. Checked it at lunchtime at work, down to stops, just tried it ~ straight up to normal height & stayed there till I got home!

That's where things stand at the moment. The reason I thought of airbag replacement was because back in December at MOT time I had a big argument with the garage (Robin Ratt & son ~ £300 to drive into the compound) about the suspension, they said it wasn't working, I said it was. Eventually they agreed with me and passed it with the proviso that the passenger-side rear airbag was perished and would need replacing & that they could get a pair for £stupid each.

Hence my assumption that this was the problem, but I had a look under the beast at lunchtime and to me, at least, the rubber looks quite decent with no visible signs of being perished. It may be, but before I go ahead and get under the beast I was wondering if there may be another cause? No point replacing the airsprings if they're not the problem.

Sorry this has been so long, hope at least someone has stayed awake through it and can offer advice before I get down and dirty on the drive . . .


Incidentally, I only have a 2tonne trolley jack, 2 x 3 tonne axle stands & the hydraulic jack that came with the car. Will the trolley jack on the chassis be OK & will the car jack be OK for the axle?

Phew! Got finger ache now . . .
Click to expand...

In reverse order
Yes a 2 tonner will lift one corner of the car - as long as it will lift high enough. Always use, at least, one axle stand unless you can bench press about a ton!!
Try raising the suspension to extended height then spray soapy water all over the bag and the pipe connection on top. Any sign of bubbling and your bags fecked.
Mind you, unless you KNOW that the bags have been changed then it's worth doing anyway. They have a limited life and you don't want one failing whilst driving - definite brown trouser moment.
 
Andrew Hanson said:
I think the rear air bags on my 2000 p38 are packing up, and I think the compressor may need changing too because of this.

I can get new ones fairly inexpensively but as I'm totally useless with anything electrical or mechanical could anyone here recommend a good, cheap garage in the Denby Dale/ Huddersfield area who could fit these and even, perhaps, give me an idea of how much I should be paying so I don't get ripped off? (I have no idea about what it should cost either) hoping someone can help.

Thanks in advance
Andy
Click to expand...

My advice is either do it yourself or get a garage to fit them but supply the parts. Last year I ordered some replacement rear air springs from a well known online Landie specialist and got a local indy to fit them. They leaked (apparantly) as the back of the car was dropping overnight. So the indy fitted springs from their own stock and all good. I sent the original springs back and the company insisted they tested them and they were fine. Eventually got a refund but it took 3 months.
 
Datatek said:
You only need to jack & support one corner at a time if you follow my guide, twenty minutes or less a corner if the end caps are not stuck.
Click to expand...

Buy the fitting kit that comes with new pins for a few quid extra. If the end caps are stuck, as mine were, a hammer and chisel sorts it out and breaks the plastic end off the stuck air bag - it then drops out. I did all 4 of mine in an afternoon including chiselling out 2 of the old ones :)

Nik
 
know something? You guys are absolutely great. The info just keeps coming & coming and all of it is d*mn helpful!

But I think for the time being the airbag replacement must take a back seat because as of 5PM today I have a bigger problem with the beast! I had to get a recovery vehicle out because halfway home from work I got a dreaded beep! The engine cut out and I got a gearbox fault message (not sure which happened first to be honest) followed by Traction Failure message, alternator fault message, 35mph warning etc etc, I'm not even sure how many messages I got because I was panicking at the time!

I got the car to the kerb, took a deep breath, switched off, took another breath, and tried to start it again. it took ages to fire up but did eventually. It went for about another mile OK, then the same again. That's when I gave up & phoned for Recovery (Who were excellent, incidentally). Home now, peed off, tired and frustrated, and off to see if I can find some similar experience on the boards here & hope the outcome won't put me in debtors prison!

(I'm going to look, but any pointers towards threads related to this GREATLY appreciated :) )

Andy
 
Andrew Hanson said:
know something? You guys are absolutely great. The info just keeps coming & coming and all of it is d*mn helpful!

But I think for the time being the airbag replacement must take a back seat because as of 5PM today I have a bigger problem with the beast! I had to get a recovery vehicle out because halfway home from work I got a dreaded beep! The engine cut out and I got a gearbox fault message (not sure which happened first to be honest) followed by Traction Failure message, alternator fault message, 35mph warning etc etc, I'm not even sure how many messages I got because I was panicking at the time!

I got the car to the kerb, took a deep breath, switched off, took another breath, and tried to start it again. it took ages to fire up but did eventually. It went for about another mile OK, then the same again. That's when I gave up & phoned for Recovery (Who were excellent, incidentally). Home now, peed off, tired and frustrated, and off to see if I can find some similar experience on the boards here & hope the outcome won't put me in debtors prison!

(I'm going to look, but any pointers towards threads related to this GREATLY appreciated :) )

Andy
Click to expand...
Check Battery Voltage and Alternator Output...check the under bonnet fusebox for signs/smells of burnbing or getting overly warm...

Low Battery and Alternator out put is one thing the P38 hates, and causes alsorts of mishaps....check these first!
 
Saint.V8 said:
Check Battery Voltage and Alternator Output...check the under bonnet fusebox for signs/smells of burnbing or getting overly warm...

Low Battery and Alternator out put is one thing the P38 hates, and causes alsorts of mishaps....check these first!
Click to expand...

Had it been parked, I'd have said "dead battery" as will probably everyone else on here. Those are the symptoms. But since you were driving it, it'll take a little more digging like, as Saint says, alternator or fusebox. However, if your battery has a short or dead cell, I suppose it could still be the battery.

But if I were a betting man, I'd put a tenner on it not being anything to do with your gearbox :)

Nik
 
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