TD5 suspension advice needed

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Grim

Grim

Well-Known Member
Posts
524
Location
Coventry, Warwickshire
Needing a bit of advice before I go and commit to buying a Td5.

I was going to go for a 300tdi, but due to being unable to find a good solid rot free one, decided to consider the TD5. A test drive certain swayed me in favour of the td5.

It was suggested by the guy selling on td5, that because I'm looking to use it for green laning and pay n play days, I should maybe consider changing the rear suspension bags for springs.

Is this good advice? What is the standard set up like for off road/green lane driving?

I'm after the opinion of people in the know and have some experience, as it would seem changing to springs may be a bit of a ball ache!!!!

Cheers.
 
Before you go down that road look hard for a 300 tdi as you may fall foul of the new mot roubles ie if it left the factory fitter it must be on the car now
 
drewster said:
Before you go down that road look hard for a 300 tdi as you may fall foul of the new mot roubles ie if it left the factory fitter it must be on the car now
Click to expand...

Interesting bit of info, many thanks. Definitely something to consider.

I do find the TD5 a lot better to drive on the road, and I like the fact the body seems less likely to rot.

Going on these new MOT regs, it might make more sense to have 300 if I wanted to go down the route of lifting and upgrading.

Are the bags on the td5 easily torn off road?
 
So many people have demonized the sls on the D2, but the fact is, its a great system !.

Many people just ditch it for coils as soon as they have a problem with it.

Its a simple set up with few components that need replacing like any other part.

In my opinion, the car drives bettery on air, tows better on air and in " off road mode " it lifts the rear an extra 50mm giving a better departure angle when on the rough stuff.
 
50 pence said:
so many people have demonized the sls on the d2, but the fact is, its a great system !.

Many people just ditch it for coils as soon as they have a problem with it.

Its a simple set up with few components that need replacing like any other part.

In my opinion, the car drives bettery on air, tows better on air and in " off road mode " it lifts the rear an extra 50mm giving a better departure angle when on the rough stuff.
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+1
 
I did notice it has the 'off road' mode. The seller was saying that they're very good off road, an claiming/seeming to know his stuff, said that the air bags are prone to tearing, hence suggesting the switch to coil springs.

If people's experience suggest the bags stand up well to off road use, then I'd probably keep the set up as it is, and just get some decent off road tyres for now.
 
no the air bags wear you have to be pretty rough to tear ripe them, just budget to replace 4/5 years and do ride height sensors as well mine is a 99 replace two bags 12month ago the ones i took of originals, ride height sensors this year originals as well. If i was you would be more worried about the rear chassis and it roting out search on her ther has been more than one with swiss cheese for a chassis
 
I've never heard of an air bags being holed whilst off roading, your more likely to damage the fuel filter and housing.

Have a sniff around the discovery2.co.uk website. There's lits of info on there about the sls system and how to keep it tip top.
 
Thanks guys, I'm certainly more confident about the air suspension now.

'Thought it was mine', the Td5 I saw today did have a rather rusty rear chassis, in fact, it was the one reason we walked away from it. I suppose, so long as the rear chassis is solid and rust free, we should be ok. My plan was to clean the underside up and wax oil everything (not including exhaust and moving parts, obviously, lol).

Just itching to a get a Landy and get muddy now. lol.
 
50 pence said:
I've never heard of an air bags being holed whilst off roading, your more likely to damage the fuel filter and housing.

Have a sniff around the discovery2.co.uk website. There's lits of info on there about the sls system and how to keep it tip top.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. One of my other concerns with the air system was the positioning of the compressor, it seems a bad position if used off road. Would it need water proofing somehow?
 
Grim said:
Thanks guys, I'm certainly more confident about the air suspension now.

'Thought it was mine', the Td5 I saw today did have a rather rusty rear chassis, in fact, it was the one reason we walked away from it. I suppose, so long as the rear chassis is solid and rust free, we should be ok. My plan was to clean the underside up and wax oil everything (not including exhaust and moving parts, obviously, lol).

Just itching to a get a Landy and get muddy now. lol.
Click to expand...

yeah really take note of the rear chassis everything else you can replace fix for a few quid but the chassis rot is the only major let down on the td5 disco and the fuel consumption. Ther great cars to drive on and off road. if your buying a late model buy the security bars for the headlight as they a prone to beeing nicked.;)
 
Grim said:
Thanks for that. One of my other concerns with the air system was the positioning of the compressor, it seems a bad position if used off road. Would it need water proofing somehow?
Click to expand...

In my opinion, ( and many others ), the SINGLE BIGGEST thing to look for on the D2 now is rear end chassis rot !.

Never mind the age or spec, if the chassis bad its all over. ( or upwards of 3k for a replacement galved one ).
 
Grim said:
Thanks for that. One of my other concerns with the air system was the positioning of the compressor, it seems a bad position if used off road. Would it need water proofing somehow?
Click to expand...

Again, if your going so hard at it that you smash your compressor, you'll probably be bending cills and punching holes in your gearbox and fuel tank.
 
grim did a day out with the boys on here me and jamesmartin in td5's he didn't do some of the stuff i did but more than capable. Don't mention oil leaks to him tho,the only prob i had was following series 71 threw the water it came in car and had some in airbox very lucky boy was i. The chassis is the first thing i would look at on a td5 especially behind air bags mine is not in good shape will need attention but looking at spending money on new chassis rather than new car as i like my baby
 
50 pence said:
Least we're singin off the same hymn sheet !!!.

The D2 gets a bad rap over many of its systems, but ultimately, its a more modern car than the previous model, and overall I think LR have made a good car.
Click to expand...

+1 for that^^^:)... and for the OP, see what the SLS will do for you (and these enhancements were conceived especially for off-road driving)

RAVE said:
Off-road mode (ORM)
ORM is used to raise the rear of the vehicle from normal ride height to the ORM ride height of 100 mm between the
tip of the bump stop and the axle.
ORM is activated by depressing the ORM switch located on the fascia for not less than 0.5 seconds. With the engine
running, all doors closed and the vehicle speed below 18 mph (30 km/h), the audible warning will sound once and the
ORM warning lamp in the instrument pack will start to flash when the switch is released. The compressor will be
started and the air control valves will be energised by the ECU to inflate the air springs and raise the rear of the vehicle.
When the full ORM height is reached, the ECU will terminate compressor operation and close the air valves. The ORM
warning lamp will stop flashing and remain continuously illuminated to inform the driver that the SLS system is in ORM.
When ORM is no longer required, depressing the ORM switch for not less than 0.5 seconds with all doors closed will
lower the SLS to normal ride height. The audible warning will sound once and the ORM warning lamp will flash as the
suspension lowers. The ECU energises the air control valves and the exhaust valve to release air pressure from the
air springs. When standard ride height is reached the ORM warning lamp will extinguish and the ECU will de-energise
the air control valves and the exhaust valve solenoids.
If the SLS is in ORM and the vehicle speed exceeds 18 mph (30 km/h), the ECU will lower the SLS to standard ride
height. The driver will be informed of this by an audible warning and the ORM warning lamp flashing as the suspension
lowers. When normal ride height is achieved, the ORM warning lamp will extinguish.
At sea level, the time to change the SLS from normal ride height to ORM or visa versa will take between 15 and 20
seconds.
If the ECU determines that conditions are not correct for SLS operation, i.e.; axle articulation or system fault, the
audible warning will sound three times to inform the driver that the ORM request has not been granted.

Extended mode
The extended mode is automatically operated by the ECU and requires no input from the driver. Extended mode
operates when the chassis is grounded causing the rear wheels to spin. This information is generated by the ABS
function of the SLABS ECU.
When the ECU senses that the chassis is grounded and the vehicle speed is less than 6 mph (10 km/h), the ECU will
operate the compressor and energise the air control valves for 25 seconds to raise the rear of the vehicle. This
operates irrespective of the mode that the SLS system is in at that time. To inform the driver, the ORM warning lamp
will flash continuously at all times that the system is in extended mode.
The driver can exit the extended mode by depressing the ORM switch for not less than 0.5 seconds or by exceeding
8 mph (13 km/h).
Click to expand...
 
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50 pence said:
Least we're singin off the same hymn sheet !!!.

The D2 gets a bad rap over many of its systems, but ultimately, its a more modern car than the previous model, and overall I think LR have made a good car.
Click to expand...

if you class certain thing as consumables like brake and tyres i.e air bags ride height sensors change oil regularly they are great cars mine has done me well over last few years. It's only my neglect that is why it's off the road at mo, plus it make me ride my bike back and for work (because i need it). Going to do sunroof's over the next month. I have put pads disc's on front a set of tyres plus another tyre after a week swimbo side wall puncture:eek: still ot rear pads i bought 3 years ago. did air bags no ride height sensors (thanks to a great fellow member) spent less on my td5 than i have ever spent on a car in the 5 years i have owned her
 
I'm really torn between Td5 and 300tdi now. I know the Disco 1's tend to have body rot, and now, the Disco 2 the rear chassis rots.

So, so long as I check the relevant areas
And they're solid I should be ok.

So, which is better off road? I really do like the idea of the td5.

Sorry about my indecision, I just want to get the right Disco and to enjoy my Landy experience.

And for the record, I'm finding all your advice and info interesting and helpful. So far, it's mostly positives for the TD5.
 
Get a TD5. The Disco 2 looks way better especially if you get a late one (or fit the newer lights to an early one) and they are a much nicer landrover to drive overall and with some tuning, are very capable engines too.

Service parts and maintence are abit more expensive alright of course compared to a Disco 1 or Defender but if you get a good one to start with and replace stuff as they need to be or before problems get worse and service it regularly, it's worth it I think.

If I wanted a 300tdi, I'd get a Defender otherwise a early ropey Discovery if I wanted something to abuse as some of them are so cheap now! Even thought about getting one during the week until I have the gearbox replaced on my 110 as a used Defender TD5 gearbox costs about the same as a rough disco 1 over here :eek:


If the air-suspension is working well and you find one with a center diff-lock, the TD5 will be better offroad (with the basics like better tyres and without spending a lot of money on mods) especially with the help of the Traction control. May not have quite as much articulation as the Disco 1/Defenders but if you need that much, you probably should be looking into building a purpose built offroader.
 
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