Bought my DHSE

enery8 said:

Sitting low again this morning. Elevated very quickly when started, no audible warning no warning lights (just normal indicators) I reckon I must have a leak however. Going to see Dean68uk at the weekend and he is going to put his eas cable on the car and test it. We will also try my Hawkeye so I will report back on that. I think the leak will likely be in the NSR airbag as it seems that is the only one that has not been replaced. I am only going to replace both rear airbags as the fronts were renewed early in 2010.

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Always best to do all 4 or in pairs as one tired airbag and one new one on the same axle might produce some strange handling

enery8 said:

Sitting low again this morning. Elevated very quickly when started, no audible warning no warning lights (just normal indicators) I reckon I must have a leak however. Going to see Dean68uk at the weekend and he is going to put his eas cable on the car and test it. We will also try my Hawkeye so I will report back on that. I think the leak will likely be in the NSR airbag as it seems that is the only one that has not been replaced. I am only going to replace both rear airbags as the fronts were renewed early in 2010.

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EAS software will not find leaks. All it will say is vehicle has moved. Which means it has dropped from it last commanded height on one of it's wake ups, as shown by sensor readings.

Thanks for the comments datatek and wammers and acc for the welcome. I thought I had bought my dream car now I am not so sure. I don't have any choice but to front up and get it sorted so first job is to get the two rear airbags done and get the gearbox tf changed. There are also some niggle jobs to do but I think I will stick with it and sort it out over a period of time because I still love the car.
Bill

my mecanic told me i should lower my car to access level at night so it doesnt wake up and waste the battery,i havent done that but has or does anyone else do it

RR P38 said:

my mecanic told me i should lower my car to access level at night so it doesnt wake up and waste the battery,i havent done that but has or does anyone else do it

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Being a short arse i used to lower to access everytime i got out never had any problems

mssus always lowers ours at every exit and no problems till t pump got weak, she didnt notice ,cept this car has an eas fault again whats that or why has it lowered to t bottom and wont rise, i put in a new seal only and as data says just like willy , ujp in t morn ha ha

Ordered new rear airbags and will be fitted this week. Noticed the o/s seems to drop lower than the n/s and o/s/r seems to drop lowest. Measured heights and the o/s/r is 1 inch lower than the rest. Is it reasonable to assume that is where the leak is/may be?

Put it in Wade height, open tailgate to freeze EAS and spray air bags, pipes and joints with soapy water........bubbles = leaks!

enery8 said:

Thanks for the comments datatek and wammers and acc for the welcome. I thought I had bought my dream car now I am not so sure. I don't have any choice but to front up and get it sorted so first job is to get the two rear airbags done and get the gearbox tf changed. There are also some niggle jobs to do but I think I will stick with it and sort it out over a period of time because I still love the car.
Bill

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Still will be your dream car, it's a 12 year old car so won't be 100% perfect and there are always a few jobs that will need doing. I always find in first few weeks of ownership of a new car that I try and get everything right and spend far too much money that probably didn't need spending all in one go.
Take your time and fix the urgent things first (if any) and then spend some time getting to know the car and tackle things one at a time.

You are right there Dr W. Just ordered new rear airbags because the receipts that came with the car state one new rear airbag fitted in 2008 and the other not been done, checking for leaks - they all look new! So I have spent money I didn't need to already Did not find any leaks however but likely have to investigate further. Booked in for service on Thursday so maybe find something then. Anyone tell me if the rear airbags come in left and right (n/s & o/s) as the inlet for the n/s is a long way under the car compared to the o/s.

No, can buy singles or a pair, both the same.

Ridesafe said:

No, can buy singles or a pair, both the same.

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thanks Ridesafe.

I reckon it's good to change the bags if they are old and perished looking even if no leaks as prevents leak occurring when you're not ready.
I guess bags are probably good for 8-10 years so I reckon if you've already bought the rear pair replace both or replace one and sell the other.
It's pretty easy to change but rears are a bit fiddly as quite a narrow gap to work in. You need some long bent rods, there's a thread on here with a guy who goes through the process step by step and I think he used welding rods, well worth reading as much as possible about it before hand and take care removing air lines.

Dr W said:

I reckon it's good to change the bags if they are old and perished looking even if no leaks as prevents leak occurring when you're not ready.
I guess bags are probably good for 8-10 years so I reckon if you've already bought the rear pair replace both or replace one and sell the other.
It's pretty easy to change but rears are a bit fiddly as quite a narrow gap to work in. You need some long bent rods, there's a thread on here with a guy who goes through the process step by step and I think he used welding rods, well worth reading as much as possible about it before hand and take care removing air lines.

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An idiots (that's me) guide to EAS airbag replacement.

Thanks Dr W, Keith already sent me the info on changing them and I think I will likely go ahead and change both as planned, put the others on ebay if they are as good as they look. The car seemed to run very well Friday/Saturday on the 150 mile round trip to Devizes (country roads) except could do with a bit more torque on the hills. Looks like I will have to shell out and get it remapped or buy a box especially when I tow our 22 foot caravan.

Yeah my DHSE doesn't like hills, less so if hovering around 50 as has just changed into top I find it better to slow down to say 45 mph and then boot it or alternatively use the 'sport' button which just holds car in a lower gear for a greater rev range so you get better acceleration for overtaking on hills but remember to switch off as it guzzles fuel.

Dr W said:

Yeah my DHSE doesn't like hills, less so if hovering around 50 as has just changed into top I find it better to slow down to say 45 mph and then boot it or alternatively use the 'sport' button which just holds car in a lower gear for a greater rev range so you get better acceleration for overtaking on hills but remember to switch off as it guzzles fuel.

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Just use the gear lever and pull it back into third, you will then get the benefit of torque convertor lock up.

Daft as it sounds I've never considered dropping it down into 3rd using gear shifter.
I apologise for my ignorance but what (in a sentence) is torque converter lock up?

Dr W said:

Daft as it sounds I've never considered dropping it down into 3rd using gear shifter.
I apologise for my ignorance but what (in a sentence) is torque converter lock up?

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The Torque Converter links the engine to the gearbox, bit like a slipping clutch, at a round 50mph in 4th gear on a light throttle it is locked by a electro/hydraulically operated clutch eliminating slip and improving fuel economy. You could liken it's effect to a 5th gear, watch the revs drop back as lock up occurs. It will unlock even at speed on kickdown or high load or when the road speed drops. Lock up will also occur in third gear so it is more economical to use 3rd with lock up than 4th with the torque convertor unlocked. I also use the gear lever sometimes down to second or first when descending hills with the caravan in tow as this will give you engine braking

Thanks for that, learnt something today.