Frequently asked questions – Land Rover

South Africa

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Q	Why not take the air suspension out of my 4.6 HSE and revert to standard coil springs?
	The prime reason for doing this is the high cost of maintaining the Land Rover system. We offer a large number of options to reduce this cost. A leaking air spring left unattended often causes the OEM compressor to run continuously when it is designed to run no longer than 40 minutes, causing compressor failure (we offer ViAir compressors capable of running 24/7). Leaks are sometimes caused by the valve block, a replacement block is very expensive but we can supply the parts to rebuild the valve block (O-ring kit) We supply front and rear Arnott air springs for the HSE at around a half of the price a Landrover South Africa. These Arnott products have a lifetime warranty (i.e. they are expected to last as long as the vehicle.), so after replacing each corner cost effectively as it fails, 4 Arnott air springs are installed and no further air springs need ever be bought. To aid in trouble-shooting the air suspension system, we offer recovery kits which assist in isolating the main problem area and can be kept in the vehicle in the event that recovery is necessary. We can supply air spring pressure control systems that require no electronics.
Q	What is a recovery kit?
	An Air suspension recovery kit is often necessary in a Land Rover as the Manufacturers often use the air suspension to disable the vehicle as a result of a fault that has nothing to do with the suspension. The problem is that dumping the vehicle down to the bump stops means that a flatbed is required to move the vehicle to a repairer (Cost > R 1200 for a short trip) Our recovery kit is a tyre valve connecting directly to each airspring pipe, so that each airspring can be manually inflated. This allows driving or at least towing to the desired place. We offer 2 types, the cheaper install-on-demand (good for troubleshooting) and always-installed (easier if the wife is the main driver)
Q	How difficult is it to rebuild the valve block?
	Essentially this just means replacing the seals in the block to stop leaks. Our Range Rover O ring kit has been used to rebuild the valve block by a number of non-technical people. We provide a free copy of Denis Altman’s step by step instructions (327kb) for doing the job, download this to see if you could manage it.
Q	Why replace my HSE compressor with a ViAir model?
	The original compressor supplied by Land Rover is made by Wabco and is fine for the normal job of inflating the Airsprings. When a significant leak occurs in the system, (air spring or valve block) the compressor pumps quietly in the background attempting to fill the system. The Wabco compressor is rated 33% duty which means continuous pumping for 40 minutes should be followed by 20 minutes cooling. The compressor is damaged when the leak causes pumping to continue into the 20 minute cool off period without the owner even knowing the compressor is still pumping. We offer model 350 ViAir 100% duty compressor to replace a damaged HSE compressor. This compressor is 100% duty and is rated to pump at pressures of up to 7 bar for 24/7 (24 hours per day, 7 days per week) without damage. The compressor is normally mounted outside the compressor box, on the passenger side chassis under the alternator. It is a little noisier than the Wabco compressor but at least the driver knows the compressor is on.
Q	What is the difference between Arnott Gen 1, 2 and 3 airsprings for the HSE?
	- Generation 1 was a clone of the Original Air Springs produced by Dunlop. The rubber portion was removable from the base (piston) and top sections and the rubber bellow could be replaced seperately. One of the problems was that the rubber bellow sometimes jumped free of the piston and had to be reseated and inflated. Generation 2 has now entirely replaced Generation 1, except that the old rubber bellows are still available for the Range Rover classic. - Generation 2 now forms the mainstream of replacements (around half the price of Land Rover) and have a have a rubber bellow that is permanently swagged to the piston and top plate. Solves problems in the original air spring designs. This eliminates the pull off problem and makes the air spring more dependable. - Generation 3 is a product aimed at Land Rover enthusiasts and is more expensive. The rubber is between 50mm longer front) and 90mm longer (rear) than OEM bellows. Piston is solid 6061-T6 aluminum, shaped opposite to the LR design giving highway mode harder and raised mode softer.
Q	What are the alternatives for Airspring control in the HSE
	The Factory system consists of the ECAS (Air Suspension Electronic control), Valve Block, Compressor, Air Springs and Height sensor units. ECAS failure is rare but very expensive. - The cheapest alternative is installation of a recovery kit. Airsprings are manually inflated, everything else is bypassed. - The next most cost effective is to add a filler guage to each corner (basically the same solution as above, but with a gauge to see the pressure) - Then 2 Cab5’s can be installed, they each control a pair of airsprings on an axle. The Cab5 requires an air source. The air source can be a compressor, a tank or both. The OEM land rover parts can be used
Q	I want to repair my Disco 2 air suspension system, can you help?
	You can download a document here, (157kb) compiled by Battenberg of www.landyzone.co.uk which gives some usefull info on components, location, operation and troubleshooting of the Disco 2 system.
Q	I want to replace the compressor in my Disco 2 air suspension system, what can you offer?
	You can download a document here, (445kb) which describes how to install the system.
Q	What types of air suspension system do you sell for Land Rovers?
	There a four main types: - Airlift Products, where we sell mostly red polyeurethane inserts for rear coil springs. - Air Active kits, where OEM coil suspension is replaced by air suspension or air helper suspension is added for leaf springs. - Arnott products, where the vehicle is built with Air Suspension and an alternative improved replacement part is offered.
Q	What models of Land Rovers are catered for?
	With off the shelf kits and parts, we do the Defender (90, 110, 130), Disco (1 , 2), Range Rover ( Classic, Vogue, 4.6 HSE, L322) With special applications: Series 1 and 2, Forward Control Available soon: Discovery 3, RangeRover MKIII Sport. No Kits: Freelander
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