EAS Compressor Dunlop OEM reliability question.

Last November I replaced my EAS compressor with a new Dunlop OEM part. Two weeks later it failed and was replaced under warranty. At the same time I also replaced all the airbags with a set of Arrnots. This Sunday the car refused to lift and I checked the compressor which was running, but with no pressure to fill the tank.
I have no idea if the original compressor was the one that came with the car when new or not, but I suspect it might have been. In my view 10 years use and 70,000 miles from it was pretty good going.

I put the first failure after 2 weeks use down to bad luck. Now the second one has failed after 10 months and I think that is pretty poor going in my book. I’m trying to find out if it’s still in warranty or not. As far as I can tell the EAS has worked fine in the last 10 months since fitting all new bags and a compressor. I’ll admit that I tend to drop the car to access level when parking unless only stopping for a short while. Makes my wife and daughter happy so they can get in and out better.

My question to you guys then is what experience do you have with the reliability of these Dunlop OEM compressors?

I’m convinced all my airbags are good and leak free, but could I have a valve block leak that is not producing any symptoms that is causing the compressor to run too much?

I’m thinking these Dunlop compressors are not up to much from my experiences so far and I’d like a better piece of kit to replace it with. A bit of time looking on the web and I have found references to other makes of compressor that can be made to fit the P38, for example the Thomas Pumps 315 model shown here Range Rover Air Compressor Replacement or the Blowjax compressor on the same page. The information here is a few years old I think and obviously US in origin so these parts may not be easy to source in the UK.
Have any of you successfully integrated a better compressor into the P38 EAS?

I’m sure there will be at least one recommendation to go to coils, but to me that’s like curing an ingrown toenail by amputating your leg.

Regards,

LW….

Man, you should do something about that toenail!

Most users find that the original Dunlop is very reliable mechanically but like every moving piece of equipment, parts do wear out. In the case of the compressor it's the piston seal, which is to be expected and should be inspected whenever the suspension takes longer to raise. It's an easy job to replace.
Using the Access mode frequently does increase compressor seal wear and can also cause overheating as the unit has to work overtime replenishing the lost air pressure. It's a nice feature but over usage has it's consequences.
Like many parts on the P38 the compressor, dryer, pollen filters, air springs tend to be forgotten or overlooked because they are out of sight.
You inspect your tyres and engine fluids etc. on a regular basis I trust ????

Indeed I do check all those items you mention. Are you saying then that less than a year with the kind of use I mention and about 8,000 miles a year is not unreasonable for a compressor seal to last?
If that's the case I need to keep a spare compressor on hand.

I do most service and repair work myself and as it is I change the oil and filter every six months as well as keeping up with the recommended service items found in RAVE.

An annual comressor rebuild is just another overhead I have to think about doing. My preference would be to find a more resiliant pump.

LW....

Lone_Wolf said:

Indeed I do check all those items you mention. Are you saying then that less than a year with the kind of use I mention and about 8,000 miles a year is not unreasonable for a compressor seal to last?
If that's the case I need to keep a spare compressor on hand.

I do most service and repair work myself and as it is I change the oil and filter every six months as well as keeping up with the recommended service items found in RAVE.

An annual comressor rebuild is just another overhead I have to think about doing. My preference would be to find a more resiliant pump.

LW....

Click to expand...

Unless there is a leak, the compressor should last at least 5 years 50K miles IMO. My guess is that the compressor is working overtime, stick an LED indicator across the motor so you can see how often it is running.

What I am saying is excessive use of the access facility greatly increases the amount of wear on the compressor and it's components mainly the piston seal.
Even with a larger compressor the seal is still going to wear, maybe not as much.
The other thing to think about is the extra amount of flexing of the air spring folds. If there is a mobility reason for using the access mode continuously then that's a different story.
Under normal circumstances, hardly using the access mode, I would expect around a 2 year (30000mile) seal life. Replacement seals are around £13 quid or less.

LW, have you drained your air tank, yet?

I was surprised when I done mine after covering 30,000+ mls, but to be fair it was the first time I'd drained the tank since owning the vehicle, so don't know when or if its ever been done before.

My family has an assortment of replaced and rebuilt hips and knees and an 87 year old mother who's 5'2" so the car is dropped almost every time it stops. After an unfortunate episode with a Dutch rebuild kit I fitted a brand new Dunlop pump but whilst I was doing it I drained the tank and fitted a new drier. So far no problems.

If it's still less than twelve months from your original purchase then you will still be under warranty from even the meanest company, unless they can prove that you have a fault on your car. Even if over twelve months then I'd be using phrases like "fit for purpose" and "European legislation".

Use a tee and a gauge on line 6 to check leaks on the valve block.

That fitting (#6) is prone to leak before the others since it handles 140 psi when the others are 20 psi to 80 psi only.

A leak on that fitting can make a compressor dead in 1 month.

Many of my customers replaced their Dunlop OEM compressor after 250.000km (150.000 miles) and 10 years.

So 996turbo, you have a leak , good place.

Well, I also found the same problem like you, 2 or 3 week and they are dead.

So perhaps it´s better to buy the seal and change ourselves....

Thanks for the comments. I have had a reply from the shop I bought the compressor from and they said:

Warranty is for 12 months, is the compressor working but not pumping out pressure?

If so and you suspect it is faulty we will need,

The return of the pump to us with your chassis number and written description of the fault, we will then send the pump to Dunlop for testing.

Click to expand...

So no quick fix, but that's what I expected. So I'll see if they will replace it for me.

I have found a few links worth sharing as I've been digging around on the web this morning.
1. Range Rover - LandyWiki
2. PaulP38A.com Some good info here with lots of how to's and pictures. Includes fitting an aftermarket compressor to the EAS.
3. Rover Renovations After Market compressor used in the above link by PaulP38A.

LW....

Bigger is better for sure!

i have used a couple of different supplyers for comps and yes the dunlop ones seem to last the shortest time even had a new unit with a failed thermal cutout took a month to prove it had failed before fitting it!
i use a over haul kit now from p38a spares and replace the seals as long as the thermal cutout has not failed then use dealer exchange units