Landrover Discovery Suspension probs!

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blackmoa, May 6, 12:49am
ive been having endless suspension problems! When i bought it i had a 3 year warranty, under the warranty they replaced the suspension air compressor, the suspension air bags, front suspension sensors & did work on the computor (faulty) they said. The issue is after each service withen a short time frame the car suspension would do the same thing ( pump right up on one side & go sown on the other & stay like that ). This time they tried to fix it they said it was the "back sensors" that need replacing, so i paid another $800 for them, two days latter my Lanrover does the same thing again, this time they say its the springs that are faulty & its stuffing up the computor! I told them i dont see why i should have to keep handing over $$$ when its the same problem that should have been fixed under the warranty (now run out) . There "Landrover expert" said its a different problem! so they have ordered more springs! i feel like im slowly but shorley getting "shafted". cheers for your thoughts!

321mat, May 6, 1:24am
Welcome to hell.

I can tell you this much, it will NOT be the springs.

It actually sounds like its a faulty solenoid.

unclejake, May 6, 3:53am
Blackmoa - you may wish to consider a second opionion and after that consider changing to coil springs

unideck, May 6, 4:02am
Corey, just done one of my vehicles here as in the swap from bags to coils. Now, if they are a genuine dealer, they will have Nanocom or Hawkeye testing gear that will show the fault. If they are charging you on a guess work deal then they are truly shafting you. Bags are a common fail on the D2, then the compressor, then the sensors in this order. If the truck has been lifted on a 2 poster ramp this can send the sensors in to fault mode or limp mode. Take it to a "PROPER" LR dealer not some have a go mickey mouse shop.

elect70, May 6, 5:23am
Same problems with the RRmost owners get sick of tearing their hair out & emptying their wallets & fitcoil springs from earlier model.

unideck, May 6, 6:00am
Yep, did mine as a lift job but hey, works for me. Be careful re, swapping springs and shocks between different models as it is not in most cases the correct thing to do. Maybe very doable but can result in catastrophe. Some guy in the UK swapped springs from a 110 to his Discovery, all fitted and seemed fine, even passed an MOT. Long story short not only was he killed but his entire family, kids too. Lost control & plummeted off the road in to a canal and all drowned.

zephyrheaven, May 6, 6:07am
dont forget your $420 LVVTA tax

unideck, May 6, 6:14am
Hey James :) how the hell are ya. On with my rear bumper design now as well as the main muffler. Ripping that off next week as I have designed a free flow for it. Will email you some pics when its done OK.

Lvv cert don't apply to the series 2 Discovery as the mounts for the springs are already on from factory so its a factory bolt on set ;)

by_hdt, May 6, 6:25am
I work for Land Rover, What model Discovery! LT or LA! (hint: the 4th and 5th character of the VIN)

blackmoa, May 6, 7:05am
cheers, i was told when i first bought the landrover that i should go to the "coil springs" & save myself a lot of problems. would have saved a lot of drama anyway.
they have already ordered the parts, but ill wait a long time before i settle any bills this time.

blackmoa, May 6, 7:12am
They do seem to be "genuine dealer/servicer" as the workshop is usualy full ofthem,
quote: ( Bags are a common fail on the D2, then the compressor, then the sensors in this order ) yip thats pretty much how i remember things getting done on mine. i just have to hope thats the end of the problems!

blackmoa, May 6, 7:12am
yip its a "LT" !

unclejake, May 6, 7:25am
I replaced leaky bags on my Range Rover with new, aftermarket bags and it improved the ride quite a bit. I guess the new 'rubber' was more supple.

In the end the whole thing was nearly $60k down the toilet as eventually I just paid my bill to the mechanics and left it there.

I think they cut it up so it took less workshop space

unideck, May 6, 9:46am
First thing they should have done is plug it in and check the sensors. Sounds like they are just a run of the mill garage from your description here and not a LR dealership, ask them for the fault codes next trip in to see them. Most after-market Land Rover spares dealers will supply a coil kit for approx $500, fitting takes one hour then clear the code on dash, job done.

by_hdt, May 6, 10:35am
Air Spring and Compressor failures are common as mud on LT's.

By the sounds of it the garage has missed a leaking air spring thats losing air overnight or replaced components without re calibrating the system. Your best option is to see an authorised Land Rover Centre and not a specialist, as only they have the correct T4 diagnostic equipment, get the codes read in the SLABS system and have the heights re-calibrated. Also have the pipes checked for leaks. It is also possible on Td5 Diesel models for oil to get into the engine wiring loom and eventually make its way to the fuse box and cause all sorts of strange problems.

unideck, May 6, 12:39pm
Gota love them TD5's haha, especially the loom from the head to the ecu, must admit though its only highly contaminated oil as in high carbon content that causes issues. New seal and keep cleaning the connection until its clear again :) done a few here.

OP, does the vehicle move up and down at all, can you hear the pump at all or is it silent. If it was/is the bags its generally cheaper to do the coil swap, keep us posted what the "specialist" says, like by_hdt says you should have taken it to a LR authorized dealer not a have a go shop. Not often I will recommend this but as you are finding out unless the garage has the code reading facility they really aren't worth the time and effort when it comes to technical problems.

blackmoa, May 6, 10:05pm
thanks for the advise given above! i feel a bit wiser for posting in "motoring", should have done it earlier!
will be asking today what kind of diagnostic computor they have & will keep you updated if i have any more dram's, so hopefully i wont be crying on this board any more.
cheers

johnf_456, May 6, 10:53pm
Gosh what a mess, I prefer the keep it simple stupid aproach. Saves a lot lol.

elect70, May 7, 1:31am
According to myw shopmanual they either hadsprings or bags as option , bags main idea was for self leveling which you will lose with the coils but at least wont have to keep fixing them . I made sure my disco had coils when i bought it , as those airbags were a well known fail . Get some from wreckeddiscofew aound.

unideck, May 7, 3:08am
Yep sure a nightmare after a few years, they were designed really for towing in that the rear can be lifter when load is on plus most if not all the 7 seater's had them due to extra potential weight in the rear. From memory the bags had a factory life span of 5 years too, Dunlop developed a stronger bag and so far far outlasting the factory ones. At least as a factory option you can replace with coils as all the threaded holes are underside of the bag units (silently waiting for the swap job haha) but sadly not much fun when dealing with the guessing she'llllll be right mechanic type. Shame your in Dunedin, would have checked it for you free of charge :)

blackmoa, May 7, 4:38am
just got a phone call from the workshop telling me there was another problem!
when they lifted the LR on the hoist, two air bags exploded!
He then said it was because i drove it in there on a lean & damaged/stretched them!
I said F%#K! "hang on" you guys sent me home in the LR from the workshop like that earlier in the week & told me to bring back once the new parts have turned up!
Why they let me drive it home & back to the workshop if there was risk of doing more damage!

by_hdt, May 7, 6:03am
Bullshit, They have lifted it on a 2 post hoist, which is a BIG no-no unless you know what you are doing. We have had plenty come in on a lean and never once have they blown a bag. The workshop let the axle hang and its wrecked them.

unideck, May 7, 6:22am
This is unreal, by_hdt is bang on, absolute bull dust mate. I mentioned at post 4 about lifting on 2 poster ramp, if they had the first clue about any Land Rover be it a RR or Disco they would know this practice is to be avoided at all cost.

Take it to Land Rover, let them do a full diagnostic check and send this mickey mouse outfit a bill for that including any works required. If your in the AA get them to recover the truck and drop it off for ya, un frigging real.

blackmoa, May 7, 6:50am
Cheers!
I think im at the stage im damed if i do & damed if i dont, at least ive had my suspicions proved correct by you guys above that the "LR expert" at the workshop is "taken the piss" or on the piss!
ill be going in on monday armed with my new LR knowledge & ask for my LR service history to get printed out & then sit down & have a chat with somebody from Management.Hopefully i can "calmly" put my thoughts accross without lossing it! we will see, pretty fired up at the moment, so wouldnt be a bad thing for me having to wait untill monday.
cheers.

zephyrheaven, Jan 22, 3:01pm
blown airbags lol, this is happening more & more down here - thank the lords above that I already knew about it before starting to do lots of LR WOF's & repairs ha ha, it almost bankrupt one poor bloke here