P38 Coil Springs to Air

I bought my P38 after it had been converted to coil springs and I am considering reconverting it to air springs. I am a little out in the wilds in terms of parts and expert assistance and this is our only form of transportation so I am worried that if I embark on this project I might get left stranded with an unuseable vehicle if something goes wrong

I don't know who converted it in the first place so I can't check on the exact procedure to reverse, e.g. EAS Manual message on the message centre, so I would be grateful for a few tips from those in the know.

Things to note:
When I turn on the ignition the message centre beeps and shows "EAS Manual"
All components (apart from the air springs themselves) appear to be in place and in fact the compressor and valve block look newish.

So if anyone can help me with:
1. What if any components can be checked in situ before I start taking things to bits, e.g. compressor, and how would I do it?
2. Will any jumpers to eliminate EAS Fault messages on the ECU connections be obvious and easy to remove?
3. Is there anything I can do in terms of preparation work like removing and cleaning/freeing up height sensors or do I just do it and then troubleshoot any faults afterwards?
4. If I get the air springs in (and fit an emergency manual inflation valve set) and the EAS doesn't work, would I be able to get a decent ride height by inflating them with the emergency set up so I can use the vehicle whilst I troubleshoot the problems?

Also is there anything else I should consider that I haven't mentioned here?

Thanks

The first thing to get would be the EAS software and the appropriate lead so that you can look into the system and then cure any problems that you might encounter.

I haven't done the conversion but a couple of others on here have, and fairly recently. There will be a a few posts not far back or one of the guys who have done it might be along.

However I can help with;
1 - You could short out the compressor relay and the compressor should run. Then remove the pipe underneath it and check, with your finger over it, that you've got decent pressure.
3 - remove one end of each height sensor and put a meter across it's wiring and check that you get a good smooth change in resistance as you move the sensor arm.
4 - before you fit the bags check, as carefully as you can, that the plastic pipework all looks good and won't leak when you connect up. Then, if need be you can inflate the system from an external air supply.

dogsbody said:

....However I can help with;
1 - You could short out the compressor relay and the compressor should run. Then remove the pipe underneath it and check, with your finger over it, that you've got decent pressure.
3 - remove one end of each height sensor and put a meter across it's wiring and check that you get a good smooth change in resistance as you move the sensor arm.
4 - before you fit the bags check, as carefully as you can, that the plastic pipework all looks good and won't leak when you connect up. Then, if need be you can inflate the system from an external air supply.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that; I just checked the compressor, it seems ok. I'll have a look at the height sensors next. I did a search on here but couldn't find anything; I'll go back and look harder!

It would be a good idea to replace the height sensors, they are often the main cause of problems apart from leaks.

I just repaired the eas system on my classic , if you look at each section of the system , i.e bags , pipes, (not bagpipes ) solenoids ,pump and drier , it all seems simpler . to start with it drove me nut's but follow it slowly and logicaly , dont make any uneducated guesses :doh:,all will be fine .
good luck ,theres always someone on the forum to help .
:nospamhere: