Discovery 2 - air suspension drops

Hi all, I am new to forum.
Asking for help straight away I am afraid!
I have a 52 plate discovery 2 with rear air suspension. over the past few weeks the suspension has been occasionally dropping when left.
Now it is happening pretty much every time its left for a period (overnight or in work) it is dropping on both sides, right down to the bump stops.
It does raise up again after about 5 mins of idleing.
I would guess if it dropped on 1 side I was looking at the suspension unit but both?
Am I correct in saying the compressor has had it? Are they repairable?

Also on a seperate issue RH side/tail lights keep blowing fuses, I know I need to check connectors and plugs etc but does anyone have an idea where I should start. It has a towing socket which is regularly used.

Thanks everyone!

You need to change the rear air springs.

I think Paddock's are doing them for about £80ish each.

I had the same problem on mine, changed both and everythings fine now.

Can't help with the electrics though.

Mark

being new to the forum you'll find loads and loads of info on Air Suspension - use the search!

hi had the same problem changed all sort of things in the end converted to coil springs and its great.
can pick a kit up for about 135.00

Hi,
Without wishing to state the obvious, if it drops that quickly, then there is a leak, before you rush out and by new air units, check (or get someone to help) all the pipework connections from the compressor (which is located mid-way along the chassis) all the way back to the air 'springs' even the casing of the springs themselves as they can become porous with age.

Run the car for a few mins until the system is at normal height, then press the 'height raise button' allow it to reach full 'high' height, then, arm yourself with no less than some soapy water (diluted wash up liquid is fine) and a small paint brush, and apply to every connection you can find, there may just be a simple leak !!!

The reason I suggest this, is it would be a coincidence for both units to fail at precisly the same time, and you said the vehicle drops evenly on both sides !!

Converting to traditional springs is fine, but you will loose the self levelling capability . . . and if you carry heavy loads or tow anything like a horse box or caravan you will have a sagging rear and headlights that you can use for aircraft spotting !!!!

disco_steve said:

Hi,
Without wishing to state the obvious, if it drops that quickly, then there is a leak, before you rush out and by new air units, check (or get someone to help) all the pipework connections from the compressor (which is located mid-way along the chassis) all the way back to the air 'springs' even the casing of the springs themselves as they can become porous with age.

Run the car for a few mins until the system is at normal height, then press the 'height raise button' allow it to reach full 'high' height, then, arm yourself with no less than some soapy water (diluted wash up liquid is fine) and a small paint brush, and apply to every connection you can find, there may just be a simple leak !!!

The reason I suggest this, is it would be a coincidence for both units to fail at precisly the same time, and you said the vehicle drops evenly on both sides !!

Converting to traditional springs is fine, but you will loose the self levelling capability . . . and if you carry heavy loads or tow anything like a horse box or caravan you will have a sagging rear and headlights that you can use for aircraft spotting !!!!

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do the same on the valve block, found in the black box on the chassis under the passenger seat..

converting to springs introduces insurance issues and you may have to remove the two boot seats

Hiya Mate Got The Same Problem With My2001 Td5 If You Go To The Rear And Spray A Soapy Solution All Around Where The Air Suspension Bags And Connecting Pipes Are Leave It A Min Or Two And Have A Check. Wherever The Leak Is You'll See A Mass Of Bubbles Growing. I Can Also Hear A Hissing Sound Coming From Mine When It's Leaking ' Have A Look On Ebay You Can Get New Suspension Bags For £80ish Plus P+p.

Hi, I've got a '99 TD5 and over this past year i've changed both air springs (11 months apart) and finaly this week, the compressor; after having the suspension fail to 'raise' with the internal switch. The airsprings were holding the pressure until I decided to investigate further to cure a slight imbalance right to left.

I disconected the feed from the compressor to the centre feed on the valve block(compressor located on underside of front passenger seat) and attached my garage compressor to attempt to see if I could pump the system - I had the engine running and the rear height raise switch selected (all doors closed) but could not get any joy. I decided to remove the comp with the intention to repair.

Splitting the comp to its compnent bits is pretty straight forward. Once removed from its mounting I simply applied a bit of wd40 to the 2 elongated securing screws on the comp motor. A gentle tap with a hammer on the end of the screw and they unscrewed pretty easily. You can now slide of the armature cover and see what state the commutator brushes and springs are in. In my instance, one of the brush springs (flat spring not coil) had rusted away due to moisture ingression - hence no motor to drive the comp - I manufactured another spring out of a bit of piano wire and after a little gentle rework put all back together. I tried to see if I was getting any power to the comp by reconnecting but no joy. I then ran out of time/light/patience and so ordered a new comp on the interweb (£220 - sore!!!). Got local specialist to fit and clear codes - bob's yer uncle. Still have original which I intend to refurb and put on e-bay!

In summary, if both your bags are down at the same time you have a leak elsewhere. I suspect, that failing the soapy water leak check, the comp motor brush springs from my experience will be rusted. Replacing the comp is straight forward and a repair may also be possible with a bit of patience. Sorry its not a straight forward answer but like they say - its good to talk.........................

spectrum 418 said:

You need to change the rear air springs.

I think Paddock's are doing them for about £80ish each.

I had the same problem on mine, changed both and everythings fine now.

Can't help with the electrics though.

Mark

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£63+vat from www.paddocksspares.com

Hi all I had the same problem with my 51 reg
I have been lifting it with the switch for about 2 weeks now when I am parking it up for a while
at the weekend I tried parking it overnight without lifting it on the switch and guess what
yipeeeeeeeee it stayed up all night so it looks like something has been jamed but what ever it was it isn't now
(I hope this is worth a try for some people)

I have a td5 ,year 2000 with the suspension going down occasionally,it is getting more frequent.Sometimes it won't come back up at all.Does anyone have any advice. could it be the air springs or the compressor.I was thinking about converting to coil springs but someone said it may affect the insurance and you may have to remove the boot seats. Does anyone have any views on this
Jed

For anyone who has suspension that goes down overnight, but pumps up again when the engine is running BEWARE;

The compressor was never designed to do this and you will be over-working it to the extent that it will fail.

Most sagging problems are down to leaking airbags. These are relatively cheap to buy and quick and easy to replace. Do both bags at the same time.

LR now recommend replacing every 5yrs.

Re the question of changing over to coils, this doesn't seem a runner to me although I can understand the temptation.

No more self levelling suspension, no more adjusting for offroad, no more silky smooth ride.

Rear coils are not homologated for the 7 seater version, so you would need to tell your ins comp or risk a non-payment at clain scenario - not worth it in my book.

I reckon the air suspension is great, but like anything it needs looking after. For example, how many owners know there is an airfilter to protect the compressor, located in the rear nearside pillar. This needs checking/replacing periodically?

Replace you airbags every 5 yrs to AVOID trouble, not just rectify it?

The rear ride height sensors look at bit vulnerable to me so I'm going to create some kind of a shield to protect them from road crâp (and ice ), but I really want to keep sls, if I possibly can.

Thanks for your reply,the problem is it doesn't necessarily go down overnight .Sometimes it stays up for quite a few days so would this happen if it was a leaking air bag?

jedhopper said:

Thanks for your reply,the problem is it doesn't necessarily go down overnight .Sometimes it stays up for quite a few days so would this happen if it was a leaking air bag?

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Erratic airbag behaviour is a classic symptom of bad bags.

What happens is that they roll over as they rise and fall and this is where the rubber perishes. Consequently sometimes you are lucky and they sell-seal for a few days, then drop down

If you don't get this fixed, you are likely to wear out your compressor as it is working much harder that designed to do and will break down - new one is about £300 !!!!!

have you checked the compressor breather behind the near side rear light cluster?
the pipework can chafe

had mine changed to springs by local garage,then 1 week later got hydrolic leak from antiroll bar,they said they will drain resevoir to rollbars as with springs it dosn"t need them.is this true?

zippy64 said:

had mine changed to springs by local garage,then 1 week later got hydrolic leak from antiroll bar,they said they will drain resevoir to rollbars as with springs it dosn"t need them.is this true?

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It's important to have a clear understanding of what ACE and how it works, before answering that question.

Irrrespective of what type of suspension system you have, you need anti-roll bars. They can be mechanical or hydraulic. The ACE ones are hydraulic and work really well giving extremely stable cornering.

If you disable the ACE system you will need to replace the current anti-roll cars with mechanical one - at what cost I don't know.

zippy64 said:

had mine changed to springs by local garage,then 1 week later got hydrolic leak from antiroll bar,they said they will drain resevoir to rollbars as with springs it dosn"t need them.is this true?

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you need roll bars whatever-ACE vehicles have hydraulic roll bars-non ACE solid ones similar to disco 1.
If you have ACE & drain the system ?? They are talking bollox. Drain ACE = ****ed car that will fall over at the first roundabout. You will run the pump dry, the solenoid block dry & knacker all the seals-IT WILL COST YOU LOADS & I DO MEAN LOADS TO REPAIR. Solenoid block on its own is over £400.

You can remove the ACE system for solid roll bars at a cost.

Take it to someone who knows what they are doin cos those boys certainly dont

Wouldn't have thought so as just draining the fluid means the ACE pump (which will still be in there) will run dry and seize, causing much grief.

There are ways to remove the ACE completely (and apparently, with springs its less of a problem) but simply pretending it isnt there while not removing it is bad.

I have discos with both, springs and air suspension and the air suspension wins by a mile. The ride is so much better and with the ACE the cornering is certainly a lot better. I have yet to put our very large caravan on the back of the air suspension TD5 but I am confident of a great result. If possible, stick with the original design, it's the one that was tested and intended.