Low Rider disco11

[binch]

When I went out to the garage this morning at 7am I thought I noticed the disco 11's rear end was just a little bit lower then what I'm used to.   But I got in and drove it to the shop.   When I came out about noon I noticed the disco's but was playing low rider and sitting on the bumps stops.   Now, I'm no stranger to replacing airbags on the rear suspension of the disco as I've replaced six or seven of them over the past 14 years.  But after the buying my first (and last pair) of airbag springs from Land Rover I learned they only came with a warranty of one year, and a cheaky grin from the parts guy.   Since then I've been getting them supplied by Arnott industries in Cape Canaveral.   I bought the first set with their life time warranty and promptly went through at least four more.    Well something finally took and we got at least 6 or 7 years out of the last set, with no issues.  Until today.....

When I started the disco up at the shop the suspension didn't raise up at all.....so it was down to three options (not including the fuse) and that was: 
1.  Hole in the airbag or airline.   
2.  Air pump was gone.
3.  Valve frozen open.

So I jumped in the low rider and pulled my baseball hat down over my ears, leaned the seat way back and turned up the stero....and drove home slowly!
When I got home I noticed I had heard the pump..so it was working....but the back end wasn't raising up.   So close the big door, open the door from the shop to allow the heat into the garage, and then put a small ceramic heater under the box that houses the air pump and the valves assemblies for the air bags.    Set the heat on warm and left it for an hour.   When I came back I fired up the engine and right away the pump started.   And there it was...the disco's arse was raising up again!   Great.....seems like the valves were frozen.    But let's just make sure....    Shut the engine off, once the back end was up to full height, and leave it for a couple of hours.   When I came back.....everything seemed okay again.   So far so good!   Not we'll leave it over night and see what it says in the morning.   But I'm going to be optimistic and hope for the best ;-)

Having a heated garage is great for the most part....hahhahahahhahah

cheers, Bill ;D

[Red90]

Not really sure how air suspension is meant to work in the winter reliably without a regenerative dryer in the system.

[binch]

No kidding....I can't tell you if there is a dryer in the system in mine....but I doubt it.    From what I've been hearing they've had a much more success with the air springs on the newer LR3/4, RR and RRS.   

[pechanec]

Coil springs. Work. All. The. Time.

Sent from my XP7700 using Tapatalk

[binch]

LOL   don't think it hasn't crossed my mind a two or three times aahahhhhahha ::)

[Red90]

As far as I know the disco 2 does not have one. If it does you may need to cook the desiccant. Or you could add one. https://www.arnottindustries.com/arnott-air-dryer-with-pressure-transducer

[Red90]

Sounds like there is a non-regenerating desiccant dryer built into the compressor. http://4x4airseals.com/product/air-suspension-compressor-air-dryer-filtration-repair-kit-4

The desiccant will be saturated and needs to be dried. You can replace it or bake it to dry it out.

[Red90]

[Red90]

Apparently the same basic idea is used for all the other air suspension Land Rovers.  Something to be aware of.  The desiccant should be removed and dried out or replaced every now and then.  The manual says it is a silicate style desiccant, so drying in an oven at 275 F for a few hours is suitable.

[rant]
It is nice of Land Rover to install something with a guaranteed limited lifetime and not provide any service information in their workshop manuals or parts to keep it serviced.  ::)
[/rant]

Would have been simple enough to make a self regenerating system, but what do I know.

[binch]

Now there is a good bit of information....Thanks John!!!! ;)

[pechanec]

Re: red 90 rant.
Remember, dealers don't make money selling you a vehicle, they make money SERVICING your vehicle ( preferably over and over) so manufacturers like to throw in little gold pots like " non- user serviceable" parts just to guarantee you'll need service work ( like the non- replaceable fuel filter in a D2 for instance.....) I know I've spent many hours thinking of creative ways to maim automotive engineers for this very reason

[Red90]

Trust me that it is not the engineers that make those decisions.

[pechanec]

We'll agree to disagree on that one?  Having watched various other engineers make infuriatingly useless designs, I assume the automotive variety are not immune

Sent from my XP7700 using Tapatalk

[binch]

Well one thing I can say.....My low rider doesn't like really cold weather and I think John, you've solved my problem.    I've taken a set of drying beads out of the last unit and they were quite dirty too.   So I've cleaned them up, baked them in the oven for a could couple hours and going to trying to replace the set in the current unit.    In the meantime I've ordered a service kit from webco for new dessicant, filters and a pump servicing kit.  But I won't see those kits for a week or so...In the meantime I'm going to change the drying stuff out and see if it help in the mean time.

Thanks again John ;)

[Matt H]

I think this is the way most, if not all, automotive air suspension systems are built. Not until you get into heavy trucks with air brakes have I seen a serviceable air dryer and these days even they are becoming "serviceable" as a unit. Such is the economy's of manufacture.