Help with urgent question regarding air suspension

Hello all happy Easter!I own a disco td5. I have noticed something after driving five hours up to see my family for easter and am looking to know if it is safe to drive the five hours back?

Details:

Discovery td5 2003, silver7 seater.
Rear wheels sitting lower than the front. Have done some googling and found this forum and an article within about air suspension. It is both rear wheels that are lower so I suspect it a faulty valve block or fail led compressor. It is only the rear wheels that have dipped.unsure as to when this happened the landy is my daily driver.

Any thoughts on if this is safe to make the motorway journey back to Dorset before fixing? Would be great if it is as my mechanic is down there and I would have to miss a few days of work staying here waiting for it to be looked at.
Thanks for reading!



Ed

May only be the air springs. Mine dropped to its bump stops when left for a week.
Only changed the air springs, pretty easy job, I used Contitech bags, been fine ever since.
The height sensors can go as well, if your changing the springs I would change them as well.
IMO if the car rides at the correct height when driving then it should be ok to drive home.
Mark

markomate2 said:

May only be the air springs. Mine dropped to its bump stops when left for a week.
Only changed the air springs, pretty easy job, I used Contitech bags, been fine ever since.
The height sensors can go as well, if your changing the springs I would change them as well.
IMO if the car rides at the correct height when driving then it should be ok to drive home.
Mark

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Thanks for replying mate. When driving it stays low at the back. Not so low that the wheels are touching the rim but lower than the front. It drives OK but in your opinion would I do further damage taking it on the motorway home without fixing?

does the compressor run when the car is started to try and inflate the bags

johnlad said:

does the compressor run when the car is started to try and inflate the bags

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When I put the key in the ignition and turn once there is a fairly long noise coming from the rear that sounds like a pump trying hard to do something for about 10 seconds.

thats probably the fuel pump inside the rear wheel arch you can hear,
the air compressor is located on the chassis rail below front passanger door

Edward Green said:

It drives OK but in your opinion would I do further damage taking it on the motorway home without fixing?

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Ill have to leave that one to you. Your in the best position to decide if its safe.
Discos not fitted with self leveling (air springs) will ride lower at the back when loaded and are fine to drive.
What you dont want is for the suspension to drop to the bump stops that would make it un-drivable!
Mark

it is still drivable on the bump stops but slowly

markomate2 said:

Ill have to leave that one to you. Your in the best position to decide if its safe.
Discos not fitted with self leveling (air springs) will ride lower at the back when loaded and are fine to drive.
What you dont want is for the suspension to drop to the bump stops that would make it un-drivable!
Mark

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Thanks Mark, thoughts are much appreciated.

The noises that the Disco makes when you switch on are the fuel pump coming from the back end and the SLS compressor which comes from the unit on the outside of the vehicle under the passenger's seat.
To check that the compressor is working, open the driver's window and close the door. Turn the ignition on and you should then see and hear the suspension working. If not check the fuse first before panicking.

brian47 said:

The noises that the Disco makes when you switch on are the fuel pump coming from the back end and the SLS compressor which comes from the unit on the outside of the vehicle under the passenger's seat.
To check that the compressor is working, open the driver's window and close the door. Turn the ignition on and you should then see and hear the suspension working. If not check the fuse first before panicking.

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Thanks. No movement or noise when I check to for the suspension so will go check the fuses...

Edward Green said:

Thanks. No movement or noise when I check to for the suspension so will go check the fuses...

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The reason I said all that about the open window stuff is that the suspension will only work if all the doors are closed. By doing the check through the window you can then observe what goes on.
Good luck, as has been said, it's a fairly easy job to change the bags if you need to.

I would check doors also - remeber on the disco 3 being worried - then realised a passenger door wasnt shut properly. If you are not laden up in the rear it should be fine. I would do a few little test drives - maybe try hard acceleration (do you hear a scraping) so some weaving (is it as easy to control) and a brake test. Maybe have someone outside listening and looking.

If YOU feel it is safe, drive home at say 60. Should be ok, but as mentioned its your call on safety Good luck

Where abouts are you there might be someone local who can plug it in or take a look

Have you tried lifting it with the button on the dash? That will raise it a couple of inches. It won't stay there once on the move but it will tell you the compressor is working.

If the bags are gone I would expect it to be on its bump stops, and unusual for both to go together.

Brian S said:

If the bags are gone I would expect it to be on its bump stops, and unusual for both to go together.

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That's what I thought but when one of mine went both sides went down, something to do with the self-levelling.

When my drivers side went only the drivers side sagged.