H

Harry Holt

New Member
I have a Disco TD5 1999 model. If it is parked on a hill with the rear down or extra weight is put in the back (either in the boot or by standing on the tail gate) the rear of the car drops completely on it's suspension. When you start the car it rises up back to normal height and is ok when driving. My local landrover dealer has already run a leak test on the air bags (soapy water) and says there are no leaks. They also ran the diagnostic but did not pick up any codes relevant to the air suspension. I managed to note the error codes as 13.4 and 16.7 but they assure me that these are not related to the air suspension. Any one had the same or similar problems and found the cause?
 
Do the leak test again with weight in the car - get someone to bounce the suspension while you watch for bubbles,it probably is porus springs - its just not always easy to make it show.
 
yup your right there 8 in a V, you can test them one minute there fine then the next they leak lol, the leak is probs under the fold of the bag at the bottom, try testing it in normal mode and off road mode
 
Please excuse the ignorance but I am a complete novice when it comes to cars! Which springs are you referring to? and is the fact that they have become porus a possible cause of the problem?:confused:
 
Harry Holt said:
Please excuse the ignorance but I am a complete novice when it comes to cars! Which springs are you referring to? and is the fact that they have become porus a possible cause of the problem?:confused:
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The springs are the rubber air bags (fitted instead of coil springs) on the rear axle, put the car in off road mode so the back goes right up, then spray the air springs with WD40 and watch for bubbles.

When you put it in off road mode, make sure all the doors are closed and the engine is running otherwise the vehicle wont rise.

If they're porous, the back will drop overnight or in a few hours depending on how bad they leak
 
Ah - so for springs read air bags! I don't think the problem is leaking air bags/springs as the suspension does not drop over time. The only time that the suspension drops is when over loaded/stand on the tail gate or parked on a down hill slope. Of course I could be wrong, not being even a remote expert!

Why does it only drop when the engine is off and the car is forced into a certain position?
 
i've never seen one drop at certain positions so thats a new one on me, although it could be coincidence.

it'll drop when the engine is off because if there is a leak, the compressor wont run to pump it back up, if it did, you'd have a flat battery all the time, so the compressor only works when the engine is running and all the doors are closed.

the only other thing i can think of as to why its dropping is maybe a height sensor problem but normally if that was the case then it wouldn't go back up when you drive it, do you get any lights come on on the dash?

If not then i'm convinced its a leak somewhere
 
I understand that when the engine is off then the compressor will not run to pump it back up but surely if it is a leak then it would drop when it is parked on the drive. It has just been left for 5 days and the suspension did not drop until I drove it then parked on a down hill slope. I had wondered whether it was a height sensor problem but it definitely goes back up to normal height when driving. I have not noticed any lights on the dash but will double check with the manual to make sure I have not missed anything.

This has certainly got us puzzled!
 
hi

i posted awhile back with a similar problem (only drivers side was dropping on my td5)

i couldnt find a leak at the time and it only went down after putting heavy loads in (and was hit and miss weither it would go back up with the load in)
without any load it would go up and stay up all the time.

i did another leak test other day and found the bag was leaking from the bottom.
replaced the bag and everythings fine now :)
 
Harry Holt said:
I understand that when the engine is off then the compressor will not run to pump it back up but surely if it is a leak then it would drop when it is parked on the drive. It has just been left for 5 days and the suspension did not drop until I drove it then parked on a down hill slope. I had wondered whether it was a height sensor problem but it definitely goes back up to normal height when driving. I have not noticed any lights on the dash but will double check with the manual to make sure I have not missed anything.

This has certainly got us puzzled!
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I'm sorry i cant help any further, i have never heard of this happening before, very strange, if anything springs to mind (no pun intended!) i'll post it on your thread, i'm baffled :confused:
 
I promise you it is an air spring leaking - like I said they are not always easy to diagnose.I had a car in like this that would only go down once every few days,found out in the end that the customers drive was quite uneven.It was all down to exactly how the rear axle was positioned in relation to the body.New spring and off it went - never seen it again.
 
eightinavee said:
I promise you it is an air spring leaking - like I said they are not always easy to diagnose.I had a car in like this that would only go down once every few days,found out in the end that the customers drive was quite uneven.It was all down to exactly how the rear axle was positioned in relation to the body.New spring and off it went - never seen it again.
Click to expand...

thats all i think it can be, thats why i said take it into off road mode to check it so its fully extended, nothing else really goes wrong with these, had pipes chaffing and the odd compressor pack up but as a rule they're the best eas system lr have ever used with regards to reliability
 
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