Loz2286 Posted August 28, 2005 Share Posted August 28, 2005 Apologies if this has been covered before but I'm new here. I own a RR Vogue SE (1993) with air suspension fart bag thingies. I strongly suspect that all is not well in that department as the suspension seems soft and the pump appears to be working overtime. Idiot lights on dash flash for ages then are permanently illuminated. Any suggestions guys? So I'm possibly considering converting to coils. Has anyone done this? Paddocks do a kit for about £105. Any good? What happens to all the electronic gubbins? Can this be removed/disconnected? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 Loz, If you find the car is lower in the morning than it was the night before or you can hear it adjusting its height while it sits on your drive then likely you have one or more leaking air bags. They need to be replaced as soon as possible as they will cause the compressor to work excessively and when it burns out, it gets expensive. Replacement air spring assembies are quite dear (+/-£110 each?). You can get replacement bladders from arnott industries in the USA for about $85. So if time is not an issue, they are worth considering. One problem iwth that though is that you are likely to break the retaining clips when you remove them although they are replaceable (Don't know where to get them though). I do know that Geoff Beaumont replaced his air springs recently so can probably help with some sources and prices for above. For replacing the air springs, you don't need a kit on a classic. If your shock absorbers are in good condition, you can leave them "as is". For the spring mounts, you need the lower cups for all four corners. On normal axles, these are bolted to captive nuts on the axle but these bolts are not there on the air wagons therefore nylock nuts and M12 x 20 bolts can be used. 1. To replace the air springs, first of all disable the system using the rocker switch under the drivers seat. To be on the safe side you should also disconnect the battery. I am sure there is a also a way to depressurise all four air bags but I did not find it. Jack up the first corner and remove the wheel. I decided at this point to also remove the wee ride height sensors (little doglegged mechanism connected 'tween chassis and radius arm). Sell on EBay. Check the pressure in the bladder by pressing the rubber with your finger. Personally, I then put on a pair of goggles and cut through the air line with pliers. Once this is done and the bag is soft, remove the fiddley wee clips on the top and bottom of the module. Give it a wee knock and out it should come. At this point, fit the lower coil spring cup (but don't bolt it on because you use the same bolts for the spring retaining plates... Compress your new spring if necessary and fit into place, bolt retaiing plate through lower cup onto axle. Repeat the same operation on the other three corners, job done. To try and get a smoother ride and to compensate for the lack of turret retaining plates at the front, I fitted Disco II Spring Isolators. These are quite cheap. Once all of the springs are on, keep the rocker switch off and the electrics remain dormant. If you want to do the job right, remove the lot but it is not really necessary. My sources for bits: OME Springs - Devon 4x4 - Very helpful and a good deal, highly recommended. Lower Cups, Retaining plates and Disco II Isolators - Land Rover Main Dealer. M12 Nuts & Bolts - Roger Barton, Helpful and also a pleasure to deal with. Any questions, just shout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithjh Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 Did this a few years ago straight forward easy job, if i remember the electrics were just disconnected and tie wrapped out of the way. As for paddocks kits cannot comment as mine was from another supplier. I changed mine as the air susupension pump was goosed far cheaper to go to coils than repair . regards Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariane44 Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 Hi! Replacement air spring assembies are quite dear (+/-£110 each?). You can get replacement bladders from arnott industries in the USA for about $85. I got mine from island4x4 on ebay (original Dunlop bags) for about 130GBP the set of four. Having RovacomLite to work on the EAS myself I am very happy with this system and find the repairs are much cheaper than rumors say. http://www.p38a.co.uk and http://www.rangerovers.net have much info on how to repair EAS fauts cheaply. Faults logged into the ECU can unfortunately only be resset and read with diagnotic equipment. While anyone who swapped to coils for sure will never question his choice, I drive coilers nd EAS Rangies both regularly and much prefer EAS in any situation. Proper shocks and bushes help with EAS just as much as with coils. For the electrickery: With the Classic you simply unplug the EAS ECU and that's it. Only the 38a needs some more betraying... Cheers Carsten ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 Carsten, Indeed, when all is well, the EAS is nice to have and is great for working with a trailer but... I had got to the point where I had little faith in it. I never thought I could feel car sick until I had a control problem with the EAS and had to get above 30mph to get off the stops... In just a couple of miles through the town I thought I was gonna be really ill! I also had both coils and EAS on different Range Rovers. Both had new shocks and OEM bushes and when I changed to OME coils and isolators was very pleased with the result. At that point, I was also chuffed to have the piece of mind and the end to the potential bills (valve block, compressor etc) You don't have to unplug the ECU, just leave the rocker switch on "Disable". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariane44 Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 Unplugging the ECU turns of the light in the dash. For sure you can have a Range Rover with coils tuned to a much better ride than most other vehicles. However when it comes to low profile on German Autobahns and high level off tarmac combined with one of the finest rides you can get there is no choice but air. I admit though, that you should take some time to get to know the system in order to reduce possible cost. I have a spare valve block (60GBP from ebay together with spare ECU and 4 spare height sensors), you can buy cheap valve block repair kits to seal the valves, there are compressors without Land Rover sticker that are far cheaper than genuine parts and so on. When I once had a fault the main stealer wanted to sell me a new valve block but I decited to spend the same money for a RovacomLite (which I wanted anyway). I tracked the fault to be a broken rubber link of one height sensor and repaired it with 1GBP worth of naterial from the DIY shop. As written before new bellows are waiting to be built in (though the 11-year-old originals still hold strong, but I could not resist to buy four for 130GBP) and so I feel pretty safe and happy with my EAS. Cheers Carsten ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted August 29, 2005 Share Posted August 29, 2005 Carsten, Sounds like you've got it covered then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ariane44 Posted August 31, 2005 Share Posted August 31, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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