Disco 2 Discovery 2 Air Bags

cmbe1 said:

first thing: unplug the ride height sensors and plug them back in again

that would have saved me £400 a couple of months ago! it was just a dodgy connection

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If you do that without disconnecting the battery first the calibration will be lost and recalibration is needed

What do you do about the little computer that controls the compressor? I'll just un plug the compressor so it can't come on and try to pump up the non existent bags lol.

RustySkull said:

What do you do about the little computer that controls the compressor? I'll just un plug the compressor so it can't come on and try to pump up the non existent bags lol.

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You should use a code reader such as Nanocom, Hawkeye, Lynx or Testbook to set the SLABS ECU to coils instead of air suspension. That way, the compressor should be disabled and the dashboard alarm indicators will show correctly. Self levelling suspension and anti-lock braking system use the same ECU and an ABS fault indication can cause an MoT fail. So just pulling the wrong fuse could create more problems.

My lights didn't come on when I swapped to coils but I used my Lynx to change the setting to coils. Makes me wonder if the compressor hadn't failed but it was some SLABS ECU problem. But the compressor didn't come on when using the lynx to try and manually raise the suspension.

brianconwy said:

My lights didn't come on when I swapped to coils but I used my Lynx to change the setting to coils. Makes me wonder if the compressor hadn't failed but it was some SLABS ECU problem. But the compressor didn't come on when using the lynx to try and manually raise the suspension.

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maybe it was just bad relay or loosen plug or something though as long as your option was to put coils instead of troubleshoot further it's useless to analise this more

I had previously changed airbags and sensors and compressor piston ring and dessicant, and then it ran alright for about five months. I am really happy with coils as I don't go offroad and will rarely need to tow anymore. There wouldn't be a problem when I do tow as Plenty of cars tow happily with coil springs.

As i said maybe it was just the relay or a bad contact so your previous investment was lost in 5 months then you invested in coils too instead of fixing it.... no offence, it's just me who i'm against downgrading well enhanced vehicles like the ES D2s were and turning them into a bigger D1s...i'll certainly sell mine to someone who want to take care of it as it is rather than bastardising it and buy a D1 when i'll not be able to maintain it properly but that's a personal oppinion

Yay........Happy happy joy joy.................

Mine has decided it wants new airbags...........................NS one has got into the habit of going down, over night. Fitted the isolation valves to verify it is a bag issue and it does not want to stay up on its own.

Oh well, off to the shops. Now to decide a el cheapo , Dunlop or Contitech??

Cheers

sierrafery said:

vehicles like the ES D2s

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Glad mine is just a GS spec then..............................so it must just be a big D1..................LOL

Cheers

Its all opinion but I have no hissing air escape now or compressor noises just a suspension that works - all the time.

neilly said:

Oh well, off to the shops. Now to decide a el cheapo , Dunlop or Contitech??

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I've replaced mines with Dunlops 6 years ago and they are still leakless... it was a set of bad Dunlops few years ago but IMO they ar off the market now though the difference between a pair of Dunlop and Conti is around 30 quid so not a big deal

brianconwy said:

....just a suspension that works - all the time.

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coils dont make a suspension to ''work" they are just there to keep the body from touching the bump stops

I've been doing some investigating and because mine only goes down on both sides equally I don't believe it to be the bags, I almost changed them for coils but now I think it's a leak somewhere else.
It hasn't gone down since I started this thread. Until this morning, when it was half way down and still is now, only half way down and stopped so surely it's not a leak? Or it would go all the way... I donno...

RustySkull said:

I've been doing some investigating and because mine only goes down on both sides equally I don't believe it to be the bags....

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if the leak occurs within 1.5 hours after the ignitionn was off the SLS is still active and even if only one bag is leaking the system tends to equalise the height and will drop air from the other too... also the intermittent behaviour is specific for bag leak as well, if the bags are old better bite the bullet and replace them both cos if it's a bag leak it will kill the compressor too in time

sierrafery said:

if the leak occurs within 1.5 hours after the ignitionn was off the SLS is still active and even if only one bag is leaking the system tends to equalise the height and will drop air from the other too... also the intermittent behaviour is specific for bag leak as well, if the bags are old better bite the bullet and replace them both cos if it's a bag leak it will kill the compressor too in time

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Very interesting, if a bag had a leak I would have thought it would leak and that that, not only leak sometimes. But I understand what you're saying.
Thank you

Yes, that's how it happens in reality, bags have the ability to seal themselves according to the vehicle's position, make yourself an emergency kit by using two schrader valves with some 4mm OD pipe(like in the picture), fit them instead of the original pipes, remove the compressor relay and inflate the bags with tyre inflator as the vehicle to be on normal level, tie the valves as to not hang there and drive it so... then when one bag will leak if that's the case only that side will drop and you'll know for sure, with this setup keep something like this http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/c...-and-breakdown/tyre-foam/?555770380&0&cc5_906 within reach and if it drops fill that bag with it... this trick got me home from 300 miles then i waited to see how much it lasts but after two weeks with the vehicle still on level i lost my patience and replaced the bags and reconnected the original pipes cos i missed the SLS activity

That's a very good idea indeed.
I'm going to have to address the issue, I hate replacing parts that aren't broken which is why I've been beating around the bush when it comes to just replacing the bags when they're only three years old and have about 2k miles on them (I don't drive it often) But I'll just have to do it lol.

Thanks for your input

RustySkull said:

they're only three years old and have about 2k miles on them

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yes, those are not old enough to be replaced just like that unless you was unlucky or it got hurt somehow ... that setup should rule things out though and you can replace only the leaking one then if that's the case

sierrafery said:

yes, those are not old enough to be replaced just like that unless you was unlucky or it got hurt somehow ... that setup should rule things out though and you can replace only the leaking one then if that's the case

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Indeed! I'll make it up later and see how it goes!

put a jack under the towbar to support the body when you remove the pipe from the bag and be carefull, if you push in the ring of the bag's connector with a flat screwdriver you can pull out the pipe then just push in the one with the valve

Great advice, thanks