P38 Coil Spring Retro Fit.

Hi all, well after the EAS going wrong for about the 10th time now I am seriously considering going for the option of doing away with the air suspension all together and fitting the coil spring suspension!

What really gets me is,how can a vehicle that cost a small fortune when brand new have such a dodgy suspension system! If a vehicle function is fitted then it SHOULD work, all the time, eveytime!!

Had a new ECU fitted last year, new air compressor a couple of years ago, had the whole air system drained and blown through a couple of weeks ago, the air bags seem fine SO WTF IS IT!!

My local 4x4 specialists are very fair, every time it collapses they plug the notebook / laptop in, re-set the system and never charge me...the notebook never shows any faults!! I have taken it there when the suspension is locked in the fully up position and also have driven it there on the bump stops and it still never shows a fault!!

If I had any hair left I would pull it out!! So, has anyone done away with the EAS and fitted the coils springs? If so, how is the vehicle afterwards, hows the ride and handling? At least I would have peace of mind, cos , right now I dare not go to far from home in case it goes wrong again!!

Any advice would be very very much appreciated.

I suggest you look here to start with...

RangeRovers.net :: View topic - EAS Troubleshooting Tips

'Resetting the system' once its on the bump stops and having no faults shown doesnt sound right at all. For the system to drop to the bump stops with EAS FAULT showing on the dashboard there HAS to be a fault logged in the ECU (even if it isnt the true source of the fault).

Have you tried taking it over to another LR specialist and see what they have to say.

You had a new ECU, was it the ECU under the passenger seat or was it the drive box attached to the side of the valve block??

The air suspension is a pretty simple system and once you get your head round it it isnt that complicated. I dont understand why you would have the system 'blown through'. What exactly did they do when this was done??

The compressor can be rebuilt with a new seal and the valve block can also be rebuilt with new seals.

Is there any pattern to when the fault(s) occur?? Do you just want to goto springs now or are you willing to put a bit more work in on your own to try and sort the problem.

Your specialist thats looking at it at the moment, to me, sounds like he isnt interested in trying to sort the underlying problem out, just resetting the faults every time they occur.

-Wills

Had nowt but trouble with my EAS so bit the bullet and went to coils,Its a great weight off your back knowing it aint gonna let u down,best thing I did,unless your a real anorak you wont tell the difference unless you go off road with it.

Hi Wills, yes i agree, if it drops to the bumpstops then there HAS to be a fault but i have stood next to the techs when they plugged in the laptop and it didnt show a thing!!! They were equally puzzled and went through it several times step by step explaining each time what each step or button push should show!!

The ECU was in the engine bay..is that where you mean by the one next to the Valve block!! (sorry, im not very techinically minded!!)
The idea of bleeding out then blowing through the air system was to clear it of any possible debris that may be finding its way into the air suspension system.
There seems to be no pattern, wet or dry weather, cold or warm, the only common denominator would be that it seems to happen either on or just coming off a motorway when its in the "motorway" suspension setting!

Tinytim....how easy was it to get the conversion done and how much did it cost? Have seen several kits on the internet, from the more reputable LR suppliers. Seems the one to look out for should have the EAS "pigtail" to override the vehicle ECU.
How is the handling with the springs and did you also uprate the shock absorbers at the same time?

Thanks chaps for taking time to reply...any further advice is very welcome.!

Got my kit from Paddocks nr Matlock. £325ish,comes with Bypass link,absolute piece of **** to fit if you can get the use of a 4post lift,took two of us just over two hrs to do the whole thing,didn't change shocks but am going to when I have a few quid to spare,she handles just the same,she don't go up and down thats all!

lfbullitt said:

There seems to be no pattern, wet or dry weather, cold or warm, the only common denominator would be that it seems to happen either on or just coming off a motorway when its in the "motorway" suspension setting!

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Ok, so its when its in the motorway level?? Does it happen just as its trying to lower to the motorway level or as its trying to rise to standard height??

When you get the fault what happens?? What shows on the display, do you get the EAS Fault message and thats it or do you get the message along with the SLOW: 35MPH MAX message??

Have you tried driving around with the suspension locked in a certain height for a few days?? i.e. - have it in standard ride height and then press the lock button and drive around for a few days (including motorway driving) and see what happens, see if it faults then.

Personally I think 'castrating' your Range Rover is one of the worst things you can do to it, its right up there with the big bling wheels and sport vents etc. If you do it then your Range Rover will just be like all the other standard 4x4's out there and if you ever come to sell it I know as a buyer it would put me off, the EAS system is a unique feature of the Range Rover and with a bit of work you should try and keep it.

-Wills

Mine is fauty too, but it seems to be distance related. I can be sat ticking over or in traffic as I leave work and the dash light keeps flashing. As soon as I get to the same point in the road (roughly) the light is steady and I am at the correct height. Weird.

i totally agree with wills on this and tbh i would be thinking about getting a decent independant specialist to diagnose the problem , blowing out the system the system has an air dryer / filter to do just that .
keep it on air mate as wills says its the best option x far .
rick.

I can see wills point in avoiding "castration" but how far do you go and how much do you spend? I live in a rural part of Ireland with zero RR dealers anywhere close so when it let me down (again & again!) I was fecked,for me it was the best option.

I have a Mercedes with air suspension and it was giving me problems.
A new compressor for it was almost 1k plus all the other related bits and as Merc only give a 12 month warranty I opted to go to springs when the second compressor packed in.
I have to say that it has not made the slightest difference to the car when driving and even when fully loaded it is not noticable.
When my RR EAS gives up the ghost it will be springs for me.......and piece of mind

47p2 said:

I have a Mercedes with air suspension and it was giving me problems.
A new compressor for it was almost 1k plus all the other related bits and as Merc only give a 12 month warranty I opted to go to springs when the second compressor packed in.
I have to say that it has not made the slightest difference to the car when driving and even when fully loaded it is not noticable.
When my RR EAS gives up the ghost it will be springs for me.......and piece of mind

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wow, 1k for an air compressor for a Merc?? Remind me never to complain when my EAS compressor gives up the ghost, I could buy at least 4 brand new, straight from the dealer EAS compressors for that!

Or I could refurb my existing one completely for around £90 or if I was cheap, just the seal for around £25.

As said before, if you are willing to just have a little bit of patience you can figure out almost any problem with the EAS system on your own. Not only that, with the FREE tools now easily available to reset any faults with the system using a laptop, keeping the air suspension is a bit of a no brainer.

Dont get rid of your EAS, stick with it, if you dont believe someone is helping you as best they can at a garage, go somewhere else or ask here online but dont go to srpings, you will just regret it!

I also read about people getting rid of the system because its unreliable and they live miles from anywhere and they cant have it going wrong but a properly maintained EAS system generally wont go wrong, the airbags will wear out over time but at about £65ish a corner its not that expensive to replace them every 6-7 years (many last way longer than that!). A new seal on the compressor every few years, again, not expensive. In my opinion the EAS system is just as likely to go wrong as liner problems on a petrol P38 or head problems on a diesel P38.

-Wills

Hi everyone, first of all, apologies for not replying sooner, been a bit busy.
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply.

Wills...to answer your points, It can happen anytime. It usually goes into the off road setting and has stayed that way for a few days,just showing EAS fault and equally there have been other times when it has collapsed onto the bump stops 10 minutes later then shows up the 35 MPH Max signal!!

I have tried driving it around with the suspension locked into one position, first at normal ride then at speed and locked into the motorway setting.....it failed both times!!! No problems when changing from normal ride height to motorway setting, it just seems to have a mind of its own!

And you`re right, I dont want to "castrate" my RR, I think the idea of the EAS is fantastic, but I just dont trust it work anymore! After taking some advice from here I think I will have the seal (seals??) on the compressor changed and maybe re-new the airbags but I cant help but think im wasting money, especially if I end up going for the coils spring option in the end.

As a final thought...has anyone ever had a fault clear itself?

Mine dropped to the bump stops one day, MAX SPEED 35 MPH warning was showing, all the XMAS tree lights were on, the usual scenario, so I left it a few days until I could get it booked in, went out to start it up and take it to the 4x4 place, turned the key expecting to hear the familiar BEEP BEEP,but nothing happened!! The car started, suspension lifted up straight away and of I drove for another few months until the next time!!

Told the 4x4 people about this and they couldnt work it out, they told me that if it goes into "hard fault" IE on the bump stops then the only way to sort it and clear the fault is to use the laptop!!

Anyway, thanks again for all you`re imput, the coils springs are looking more and more favourable but only cos I havent a clue what to try next!!

my eas is still playing up , the car woz sat for nearly a year on its stops before i brought it and have slowly worked through the problems ,, the symtons of my eas are no warning lights or fault code ?? on start up the rear raises straight away but the front is on its stops for about 3/4 mins before it rises slowly ,, both front and rear go down over night but the front goes down alot faster ,, i know wot every one is saying " AIR BAGS" i hear you say .. to night i sprayed the front bags (whilst inflated)with soapy water and nothing visable ,,, could it be the height sensors ????i love my eas and dont realy want to loose it ,, any input would be very helpfull

Well now its got worse!! apart from the EAS playing up and the front passenger door super locking itself and messing up the central locking...now last night the alarm set itself off, I went out and checked, all seemed ok so left the car unlocked, went out this morning to find it had locked itself up again!! Opened it up, turned the ignition on then, waited for the glow plug / injector lights to go out, turned the key and???............it wont fire up!! The starter turns over no problem, loads of juice in the battery since its only a couple of months old but not even a cough of ignition!! Its almost as if the engine managment system has shut down the ignition system!! Weird!!

So, now its time to locate a recovery vehicle (anybody know of one in the Cambridge area?) and get it recovered to the 4x4 place!

I love my RR but I can feel a divorce coming on if I get any more of these problems or they go on for much longer!!

What about keeping your air suspension and fit one of those manual inflation pipe sets from fleebay (~£70). Inflate the suspensions to the desired height and that's it. Theoretically is like having spring coils because you can't control the height anymore, but is cheaper and smoother ride.
I don't know, has anyone tried those systems?

p38diesel said:

What about keeping your air suspension and fit one of those manual inflation pipe sets from fleebay (~£70). Inflate the suspensions to the desired height and that's it. Theoretically is like having spring coils because you can't control the height anymore, but is cheaper and smoother ride.
I don't know, has anyone tried those systems?

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surely if you do that it would role all over the place because theres no valves to control the air , i have a chevy astro on fast as in it runs at 200psi has 1/2" lines has 4x viair compressors 4x 5 gal tanks and has 8x 1/2" valves one fill one dump per corner so each corner can be controled independently . the same principle as the range but with out the trouble some electrics ive toyed with the idea of going that route coz the air is soooo cool ,,,

p38diesel said:

What about keeping your air suspension and fit one of those manual inflation pipe sets from fleebay (~£70)........

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Hi P38, yes I`ve thought about that but, same as yourself, would like to hear from anyone who has actually, used / got one. Where do they plug into and wouldnt the warning lights and beep still be active?