D3 Discovery 3 - Suspension Problem & Hawkeye Total

Haha - Don't Coil it unless you want to spoil it - I read that somewhere in my research or something like that. I've no doubt once its up and running I'll grow to love it. Thanks for all the input, if someone had chirped up its the best thing they ever did then hey ho, but the tumbleweeds are arollin' so I'll park that one up.

In the meantime - Happy New Year all

freelance said:

Try and find one on coils, and drive it before being too rash just because the numbers add up ! IMO

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+1 - And, OP, also ask your insurers about any effect on premium before you even contemplate coils. I'd imagine the resale value of the vehicle would be affected significantly too

Disco1BFG said:

+1 - And, OP, also ask your insurers about any effect on premium before you even contemplate coils. I'd imagine the resale value of the vehicle would be affected significantly too

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Mmm - considered an upgrade feature on D2's - Might be worth more??. On that note of values and less is more - I had a D2 without sunroofs for instance - everyone was looking for it as they were/are a nightmare for problems.

lhandrover said:

I suppose its what comes of reading too much on forums - Most probably don't have a problem but looking at the prevalence of failures on here I can see it writing off cars in the not too distant future - fixing something for several hundred pounds on a regular basis is not a lot on a 50k car. but when its worth what D3's are now it must become less viable. Fitting coil spring suspension would be the end of those woes, make it more reliable and only cost about £350 when all said and done. Its a consideration I suppose..
I've only driven this on normal height and it felt a bit floaty, but for off road capability, height raising etc I imagine its a great boon

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My wife drives an Audi and she reckons the D3 is like a shopping trolley!

lynall said:

My wife drives an Audi and she reckons the D3 is like a shopping trolley!

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How can you trust what she says, she is an Audi driver.........................Job done....

Cheers

Disco1BFG said:

+1 - And, OP, also ask your insurers about any effect on premium before you even contemplate coils. I'd imagine the resale value of the vehicle would be affected significantly too

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Wont effect resale value as you say troublesome air suspension removed to save you the hassle and someone will fall for it!

neilly said:

How can you trust what she says, she is an Audi driver.........................Job done....

Cheers

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So so true and this is her third one, was Mercs before that and BMWs before that!

Like this one ?

One day I will post the in car dash cam footage where she pulled out in front of the poor sod in the Mondeo!
Mondeo wrote of 04 plate not sure on value?
Audi written off 12.6k pay out.
Put my D3 inc up 80 quid and the series/90 up 100 quid so took her name off of them.

Kit arrived today, fitting tomorrow - Fingers crossed this sorts it..

Didn't go well - I've got it off, changed all the guts, bench tested it on old battery - runs and offers pressure but no means of knowing how much - blocking outlet did make motor change tone and slow a bit but battery is quite flat really, put it back on less top bolt for now and bottom clamshell, swapped over the 2 relays beside each other, started up and compressor runs with no lights on dash. 10 secs later compressor stops and yellow light and normal height sign. Re-inspected pipes and look in place ok.

So, back to square one.

Follows are a few tips/niggles I picked up along the way that may be of use.

Removing top bolt on compressor mounting was the problem all have mentioned and I messed around with several combinations of extension length and Universal joints. Here in the end is the combination that worked for me

Also, when removing the cylinder head from the compressor the instructions I read said to remove the 4 bolts and then swivel the head with air dryer attached upwards - it was to swivel on the rear screw of the dryer. However, I found that the lead for the temp sensor was too short to do this and so instead removed the screw on the rear of the air dryer mount and lifted the whole assembly with cylinder head clear.

Plus, when removing the metal ring off the piston that holds the seal in place, instructions said to use varying thicknesses of screwdriver to wedge it off. I have a pretty good selection but did not end up with a thick enough one to complete the process so I used 2 thinner ones in the end, as shown. Stuff you experienced guys no doubt do but it might save a little head scratching, or piston damage, for less able like like me haha.

Little more info - When I refitted it I swapped the relays around. When I tried it, the compressor ran for approx 18 seconds before turning off, dash yellow etc. This happened a couple of times, I hadn't asked system to change heights. I swapped the relays back again and comp ran for about 46 seconds then yellow light etc. I then tried a 3rd relay of same part number but this time asked it to raise height to extended straight away. It did this much quicker than before I had worked on the compressor, got to extended height and I turned it off before it stopped itself (probably). It did say Raising Slowly whilst it did this mind. It had raised it approx 2 inches in between 20 and 30 secs I'd say. Compressor does sound strong before it turns off and doesnt feel warm in the slightest. Are there pressure sensors that can be adjusted to get the system to accept less pressure? I've heard of some some software change that lowers system expectations from 240 to 210 or similar...

lhandrover said:

Little more info - When I refitted it I swapped the relays around. When I tried it, the compressor ran for approx 18 seconds before turning off, dash yellow etc. This happened a couple of times, I hadn't asked system to change heights. I swapped the relays back again and comp ran for about 46 seconds then yellow light etc. I then tried a 3rd relay of same part number but this time asked it to raise height to extended straight away. It did this much quicker than before I had worked on the compressor, got to extended height and I turned it off before it stopped itself (probably). It did say Raising Slowly whilst it did this mind. It had raised it approx 2 inches in between 20 and 30 secs I'd say. Compressor does sound strong before it turns off and doesnt feel warm in the slightest. Are there pressure sensors that can be adjusted to get the system to accept less pressure? I've heard of some some software change that lowers system expectations from 240 to 210 or similar...

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hi

u can’t adjust any pressures on the compressor , this is pre determined by the reservoir valve that has the pressure sensor attached , with a diagnostic reader u can get the live data readings

the message slowly rising means either the silica is blocked or the compressor is knackered, or even a leak but i believe urs doesn’t drop after testing it overnight with the fuse pulled

unfortunately i tried to repair my compressor and was a waste of time

if u have the compressor out u could attach a pressure gauge to it to see what the output is, assume u also replaced the silica at the same time, if the silica is very dusty that dust will go round the entire system and can cause the 3 x valve blocks to not work as they should, messing up the cross articulationof ur suspension

if u have a look at the charts in the threads i think u req around 1700kpa

u really need to establish what the pressure output is or get a diagnostic reader so u can see what fault codes are there

to me it sounds like the compressor is knackered. u really need to prove what is exactly going on with the system, otherwise i’m afraid u will be going round and round and the system will start to throw all sorts of errors up

gstuart said:

hi

u can’t adjust any pressures on the compressor , this is pre determined by the reservoir valve that has the pressure sensor attached , with a diagnostic reader u can get the live data readings

the message slowly rising means either the silica is blocked or the compressor is knackered, or even a leak but i believe urs doesn’t drop after testing it overnight with the fuse pulled

unfortunately i tried to repair my compressor and was a waste of time

if u have the compressor out u could attach a pressure gauge to it to see what the output is, assume u also replaced the silica at the same time, if the silica is very dusty that dust will go round the entire system and can cause the 3 x valve blocks to not work as they should, messing up the cross articulationof ur suspension

if u have a look at the charts in the threads i think u req around 1700kpa

u really need to establish what the pressure output is or get a diagnostic reader so u can see what fault codes are there

to me it sounds like the compressor is knackered. u really need to prove what is exactly going on with the system, otherwise i’m afraid u will be going round and round and the system will start to throw all sorts of errors up

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I did change the Silica& filters too - such a shame as the compressor pumps to extended, lowers to normal and below - and back up again and retains its height when turned off. It strikes me its like turning the engine off cos you've used half a tank of fuel.

Unfortunately the car is SORN so next move is a compressor - At least I didnt bother with the top bolt yet haha

lhandrover said:

I did change the Silica& filters too - such a shame as the compressor pumps to extended, lowers to normal and below - and back up again and retains its height when turned off. It strikes me its like turning the engine off cos you've used half a tank of fuel.

Unfortunately the car is SORN so next move is a compressor - At least I didnt bother with the top bolt yet haha

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may i ask have u dropped the reservoir tank off yet , reason i ask is u could cut a pushfit tee in and pressure gauge , start the compressor and see what pressure you’ve got

but a lot of messing around

know there are cheaper code readers out there, don’t know if the fox well code reader gives live data , but always better to get the iid as it’s so comprehensive

is it sorn because if the compressor

one of the troubles without knowing exactly what is going on is the unknown , not being able to prove facts , ie what pressure u have , are there any faults , is there any underlying problem within the system etc

u say the different heights, it doesn’t go into extended on its own does it , you’ve got access normal and off road

if it thinks it’s grounded it will go into extended and then super extended again , reason i ask if it comes up extended on the display it means the calibration is out

is fidly with the compressor , plse let us know how u get on, u may have other faults , but at least with a new compressor it will be done and dusted

is there anything else u have to do

im still messing around with my front struts, lol

gstuart said:

may i ask have u dropped the reservoir tank off yet , reason i ask is u could cut a pushfit tee in and pressure gauge , start the compressor and see what pressure you’ve got

but a lot of messing around

know there are cheaper code readers out there, don’t know if the fox well code reader gives live data , but always better to get the iid as it’s so comprehensive

is it sorn because if the compressor

one of the troubles without knowing exactly what is going on is the unknown , not being able to prove facts , ie what pressure u have , are there any faults , is there any underlying problem within the system etc

u say the different heights, it doesn’t go into extended on its own does it , you’ve got access normal and off road

if it thinks it’s grounded it will go into extended and then super extended again , reason i ask if it comes up extended on the display it means the calibration is out

is fidly with the compressor , plse let us know how u get on, u may have other faults , but at least with a new compressor it will be done and dusted

is there anything else u have to do

im still messing around with my front struts, lol

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Thanks gstuart,

Getting where I have with it is pushing my capabilities and equipment frankly - I'd like to get a iid reader but its pretty expensive and I understand linked to this car once I use it, especially as it now at least seems to be coming to a "logical" conclusion. Everything else is fine, but its not my main car and I intended leaving it to use when all sorted out (I want to get timing belt kit done but thats a garage job in my case, I'd blow it up). I'd never have got anywhere with this without this forum particularly, but TBK no thanks - too dangerous. Its got 130k miles on and no proof of it being done so I'm taking no chances. I'll keep my eyes open for a iid though, maybe for codes only.

As for extended, I dont think I used the correct term - I briefly pushed the little lever forwards and it raised upwards about 2" (chassis height) and it used a phrase I don't recall but something like raised height or similar. I returned it to normal height after that.

Anyway, gstuart, thanks for sticking with it and the advice - much appreciated

lhandrover said:

Thanks gstuart,

Getting where I have with it is pushing my capabilities and equipment frankly - I'd like to get a iid reader but its pretty expensive and I understand linked to this car once I use it, especially as it now at least seems to be coming to a "logical" conclusion. Everything else is fine, but its not my main car and I intended leaving it to use when all sorted out (I want to get timing belt kit done but thats a garage job in my case, I'd blow it up). I'd never have got anywhere with this without this forum particularly, but TBK no thanks - too dangerous. Its got 130k miles on and no proof of it being done so I'm taking no chances. I'll keep my eyes open for a iid though, maybe for codes only.

As for extended, I dont think I used the correct term - I briefly pushed the little lever forwards and it raised upwards about 2" (chassis height) and it used a phrase I don't recall but something like raised height or similar. I returned it to normal height after that.

Anyway, gstuart, thanks for sticking with it and the advice - much appreciated

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shame u couldn’t get round to me, mine will be off the road for a few weeks whilst messing around with struts and intercooler hoses as i could have plugged my iid in for u

but it does sound like u need a compressor as a min

ur more than welcome and many of us here are happy to help

the iid do sell on the D3 forum but have to keep an eye constantly on there as they get sold very quickly , new they are currently £410 inc vat

when u buy one u will think how u survived without one

no worries ref the extended , was just worried of a height sensor out of wack

ref the belts , if u don’t mind me saying , at the same time of the other belts being done , ensure the oil pump cover is replaced and the rear belt replaced ,

plse let us know how u get on and plenty of us to help

Very kind offer thanks. Likewise if you need a pair of hands with your struts drop me a line..

lhandrover said:

Very kind offer thanks. Likewise if you need a pair of hands with your struts drop me a line..

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ur very welcome and likewise , many thks

just waiting for some extra long spanner’s to see if that will work , always the way it’s just that one nut then the strut should drop out , thinking using 2 x jacks will be good, one to lower the strut the other to hold the wishbone

Ok got an iid hooked up to the car and here are the suspension codes

Suspension

• C1A27-14 (28) Compressor circuit - General electrical failure - circuit short to ground or open
  ( at 216800 km )
• C1131-92 (68) Air supply - Component failure - performance or incorrect operation
  ( at 216830 km )
• C1A20-64 (6C) Pressure increases too slow when filling reservoir - Algorithm based failure - signal plausibility failure
  ( at 216800 km )

Throughout the compressor ran fine - eventually after several minutes dashboard screen said something along the lines of it would continue when it cooled down. Compressor "sounds" good and strong. Would anyone know where the system picks up the pressure from to decide pressure is inadequate - at the pump or at the reservoir, or somewhere else. If reservoir leaks to the point pressure is not raising sufficient to satisfy the yellow dash light, would I not hear it escaping?