Disco II Air suspension – the definitive guide

ant_harvey said:

Just read 7 pages of threads - all very interesting. I'm having issues with my 99 TD5 Disco 2 and was wonderining if anyone has solved it..
Air suspension drops overnight & rises fine next day.
It doesnt always drop and doesnt aty all during shorter periods (8 hrs while at work = fine)
It never drops if I park up in raised body mode.
If any help can be given - thanks

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Hi, The above is my problem also but the time it takes to drop is shortening - my only question before fitting new bags is why dont the "porus" bags leak in raised mode then?????

Cheers
Martin

Ok I have an answer from an experienced friend, When on standard height the bags are rolled over the cylinder and cracking causing leaks but when extended bags are straight and cracks sealed!

Ill change bags and update forum if the case.

Thanks for the definitive guide however I have noticed soemthing which might help a few disco 2's out there

I noticed my disco 2 was occaisionally losing height on N/S rear, and after a hard day rumbling about a local hill and a few "oops almost stuck in deep mud moments" Later Sunday night the disco was quite litteraly down on her knees well rear left anyway.

I popped up to my workshop with the soapy suds expecting the worst, and was very pleasantly surprised that in fact the problem was simply where the sensor bar attaches to the Bar the rubber bush could no longer rotate freely, so when the ride height changed the actuator arm could get stuck and cause the suspension to lower !
simple fix with 13mm and 10mm Spanner loosen wiggle and retighten but not too tight !!

and wehey fixed and cost about 15 minutes

just a quick silly question ...if you remove the axle sensors and fix them in one place and cap the air pipes does the compresor run and stop at a certain presh then stop at that presh when ever the car is run? .cheers in advance .... my idea is to convert to coils due to weak bags .....but use the compresor to fill a small tank and use it for small things like tyre presh while off roading or a air gun to remove wheels and so on ....

Thanks very much to all who have contributed to this thread and others on the same topic.

Friday afternoon my Disco suspension collapsed on me, whilst towing the caravan for a weekend getaway.

Now this could have been a disaster, but thanks to Britannia rescue for recovering us promptly, my dad for picking up a pair of airsprings, and the good advice here, We were a way again in just 5 hours, and still got our weekend break.

Again many thanks to everyone.

MW

bennybenny said:

just a quick silly question ...if you remove the axle sensors and fix them in one place and cap the air pipes does the compresor run and stop at a certain presh then stop at that presh when ever the car is run? .cheers in advance .... my idea is to convert to coils due to weak bags .....but use the compresor to fill a small tank and use it for small things like tyre presh while off roading or a air gun to remove wheels and so on ....

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No, there is no pressure feedback to the pump, it depends entirely on the ride height sensors, hence you read about airbags exploding when the sensors fail.

I also doubt it's output is up to what you want. It's not a heavy duty compressor, hence you read about them burning out when the bags fail.

MW

Of course, what I should also do is contribute what I have learned through doing the job.

I have a Hawkeye diagnostic tool, and by going into the ABS menu, then circuit tests, then right down towards the end there are the RR and LR ride height options. With these you can directly drive the ride height on either side. (RR= Right Rear, and LR = Left Rear). This of course allows you to pressurise and depressurise the system.

This does away with the need to undo any of the connections at the compressor (wish I'd realised this before I did so, but never mind!)

There is a warning not to over use the inflate option, because there is nothing to stop you overinflating your new suspension bags.

I do not believe it is possible to calibrate the ride height sensors with Hawkeye, as despite looking I can see the sensor readings, but not amend them, or their resting values.

I am now sitting almost an inch off level. Might well have been before, but of course I am now very sensitive to this. Guess I need to find someone with a Nanocom?

MW

Hi all, as with others i am new to this forum too, i have had problems with my air suspension on one side but managed to locate the problem. it appears that the fuel line has rubbed away on the near side air supply hose and created a fair sized hole. when i located the fault i noticed that the fuel hose was quite hot and was concerned that it hadnt just worn a hole but maybe melted one. is it usual for the fuel pipe to be this hot and how costly and east is it to replace the hose?

Thx Battenburg. will keep this link as sure it will be useful in the future

regards
Red

you're welcome!

hello Batten berg,
i have a 2002 LR discovery 2 with SLS.
i noticed recently that once i park the vehicle the back is lowered when the vehicle is on normal ride while it doesn't lower at all when i select off road before parking.
please what could be the problem.

if there is a leak, how can i possible trace the position and what do i do to fix the problem.
please note that the back lowers evenly when it drops and rises once the engine is running.

i'll appreciate your quick response.

hello all, i have a 2002 LR discovery 2 with SLS.
i noticed recently that once i park the vehicle the back is lowered when the vehicle is on normal ride while it doesn't lower at all when i select off road before parking.
please what could be the problem.

if there is a leak, how can i possible trace the position and what do i do to fix the problem.
please note that the back lowers evenly when it drops and rises once the engine is running.

i'll appreciate your quick response.

hello all, i have a 2002 LR discovery 2 with SLS.
i noticed recently that once i park the vehicle the back is lowered when the vehicle is on normal ride while it doesn't lower at all when i select off road before parking.
please what could be the problem.

sinking on both sides and rising on once the engine is running

Hi all - excellent article. My problem's a bit different though. My local garage isolated the airbags from the ECU and pumped them up. They deflate slowly (via the valve) and I've had them reinflated twice now. I was thinking of going to springs, but my Disco is a seven seater so I'm worried about the insurance issue. Can anyone tell me if (as my garage says) reconnection of the airbags is a dealer only mod, or can it be done elsewhere (first Disco, confused driver!). Thanks in anticipation.

Great Instructions!

Our discovery sits right down on it's chassis after a few hours /days (really intermittent). We did the soapy water trick and located a small leak in one of the airbags.

We've ordered new airbags to replace them both so hopefully this will be a relatively easy job to complete....

Hi
This thread is brilliant, however, just to put a twist on it. My 1999 disco suspension on th nearside wouldnt go up or down but did have air in it. The local garage diagnosed an air leak and 500 quid. I took it back and popped it into off-road mode and it pumped up but kept pumping. I lowered it back down and replaced the load sensor. I still have the same fault, all the other components to this system have been changed over the last two years and the sensor was the last thing. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Tony

tony627 said:

Hi
This thread is brilliant, however, just to put a twist on it. My 1999 disco suspension on th nearside wouldnt go up or down but did have air in it. The local garage diagnosed an air leak and 500 quid. I took it back and popped it into off-road mode and it pumped up but kept pumping. I lowered it back down and replaced the load sensor. I still have the same fault, all the other components to this system have been changed over the last two years and the sensor was the last thing. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Regards
Tony

Click to expand...

the SLABS computer is not interpreting the correct signal from the sensor, check for dodgy sensor, wiring fault, dodgy (damp) ecu... did you calibrate the new sensor?

Hi
No I havent calibrate anything. Having read all of this thread I thought I may getaway with it...... What do you think is my next move?

PS

To get it to my local garage can I pull the fuse to prevent the compressor for continually working?

Cheers

Tony

Hi im new here,i just bought a td5 yesterday,have an issue with rear suspension.can anyone help?.when you start it it does not drop,you can drive it for many miles then one side will drop while driving,to fix it you stop switch off and restart it will come back up and will stay up from then on until you switch off and restart then it all starts again.as it stays up once you restart it makes me think theres not a leak but some other problem.im open to ideas.

I have completely replaced the air springs and sensors on both sides. A LR main dealer fitted one side and re-calibrated. They informed me that there was a corroded connection from the sensor to the loom (on the loom). I had this replaced. The suspension height is fine, but I am getting the warning light comming on and an infernal bleeping when I am driveing. I have to stop and and try several re-ignitions before it stops, and even then it intermittenly comes on. Has any one got any ideas? The dealer could find no other faults via test book. Nevertheless a second well know landy dealer who fitted the connector (via solder) found the following fault: " Exhaust Valve power Amplifier open circuit", which apparantly refers to the faulty connector to the loom which they replaced. The warning light and infernal bleeping still come on. They suggested it would be cheaper to resort to coils. Can any one help. Could it be the air intake? Would appreciate some help, since it is driving me mad and costing a fortune!!