Suspension

I own a 4.6 range rover and am having trouble with the suspension.When engine turned off and car locked the suspension lowers down to minimum height but when car opened and key in ignition and you drive away you would have thought the suspension would raise to the normal ride height .This does this sometimes but today it has stayed at the lowest ride height and will not raise.Any suuggestions please.

I would suspect you have an air leak - most commonly from an air bag (spring). If it is run like this for long enough your compressor seal will fail - cheap enough to fix just search for the posts on here.

To check out the leak.
Firstly start the car up and let it run for about 1/4 hour with a door open, this lets the air tank charge up without trying to fill the bags. then get in set the ride height to standard and shut the door to let it raise then open the door again and look under the passenger seat for a relay. switch off the engine with the door open and remove the relay. shut the door and leave over night. In the morning the corner with the air leak will be lower than the rest so you know which air bag to check with soapy water for a leak.

If it is more than 7 years old/60K miles you can bet it's an airbag, don't mess changing one, change the lot to be sure. Not very expensive and a relatively easy job. I can send you a guide if you decide thats what need to be done.

Many thanks for the advise.Please can you post a link on how this is done.

westhamboy said:

Many thanks for the advise.Please can you post a link on how this is done.

Click to expand...

You can either do a search on this site for "An Idiots Guide" or PM me with an Email address and I will send you the guide with photo's

Just check the bags and found no leaks,but however the lights which light up to determine the ride level have changed.The lowest ride height is now constantly lit with the normal ride height flashing,Took it for a spin ( over 50 ) for a while and found no change,I would have thought the ride height have changed but it didnt.Also checked the compressor pump under the bonnet and you can hear that ticking away with no apparent problems.Like expalined earlier this only happens every so often then goes back to normal after a couple of minutes this time it wont go away.

If there was a suspension problem then surely I would be getting a message on the dash read out.Not getting one at present.

westhamboy said:

Just check the bags and found no leaks,but however the lights which light up to determine the ride level have changed.The lowest ride height is now constantly lit with the normal ride height flashing,Took it for a spin ( over 50 ) for a while and found no change,I would have thought the ride height have changed but it didnt.Also checked the compressor pump under the bonnet and you can hear that ticking away with no apparent problems.Like expalined earlier this only happens every so often then goes back to normal after a couple of minutes this time it wont go away.

Click to expand...

How did you check for leaks? did you do the soapy water test and look for bubbles?

If it's at the low level with the normal height flashing it is trying to lift, however most likely either a leak or a failure of the compressor seal is preventing a sufficient pressure level being reached. No fault at this stage as I don't think the ECU times the lift. Soon the compressor will overheat if it's pumping, that will give you a fault

There are other possibilities but leaking airbags, leaking pipe joints at the airbags or at the solenoid block are most likely. Could be O rings in the solenoid block, or even a melted pipe from a blown exhaust, but go for the simple first

Taken it for another run (over 50 ) after about 5 mins the suspension lifted and seems to be ok now.Although i checked the compressor and it was quite warm to touch

westhamboy said:

Taken it for another run (over 50 ) after about 5 mins the suspension lifted and seems to be ok now.Although i checked the compressor and it was quite warm to touch

Click to expand...

Taking it for a run should not make any difference but the fact that it does points to an airbag leak, these perish and the leaks come and go as the bladder folds under at the bottom.

If it will do it, raise the suspension the the max level and look at the airbags, bet you will find they are perished

If it won't raise on it's own, jack one corner at a time and look at the airbags when they are fully extended.

westhamboy said:

Just check the bags and found no leaks,but however the lights which light up to determine the ride level have changed.The lowest ride height is now constantly lit with the normal ride height flashing,Took it for a spin ( over 50 ) for a while and found no change,I would have thought the ride height have changed but it didnt.Also checked the compressor pump under the bonnet and you can hear that ticking away with no apparent problems.Like expalined earlier this only happens every so often then goes back to normal after a couple of minutes this time it wont go away.

Click to expand...

Seems you do have a leak somewhere. But the lights flashing and no lift suggests you also have a low pressure problem. Check that the compressor is actually running. Then remove the inlet filter put your finger over the inlet, there should be suction. If not, inlet valve has failed or has debris stopping it from closing. Or the exhaust valve has failed. Or piston seal has failed. Now remove exhaust filter and put your finger over outlet. There should be no air coming out. If there is the diaphragm is split. Now remove blue pipe from compressor and put your finger over that, with pump running air should push past your finger. If not the piston seal needs replacing.

Don't forget to put something (axle stand) under the car....they're heavey and will crush you !!