Suspension Airbag Replacement

I think it's just P.O.'d over those really, really awful wheels and tires on a Rover.

 

I would get the part number, but before doing anything pull the wheel off and see how involved the process is.


My guess is since its a RR, you can't just replace it without also resetting the entire air system. Do a little internet search and YouTube too, I'm sure there are videos or detailed posts of how-to.

Not much experience with air, but have installed coilovers before.

 

All you can do is try. As long as you have back up transport I'd give it a shot.

The only issue I ran into on the A3 was having to remove the wipers to remove the cowl to get to the top suspension bolts. So theoretically it should be an easy swap. I was into the sport truck scene for a while and so I'm familiar with air ride. I would suggest one other thing before moving forward.

Fill a water bottle of soapy water up and poke a hole in the lid and douse the bag with the liquid. Hit the setting for the highest setting so it fills all the bags all the way up. If air is even going to the bag you should see where the hole is. But this just made me think that possibly it's not a hole at all, but just a punctured airline?

 

It's a pretty easy process and if you're mechanically inclined and have the tools, you can do it yourself. I've done one spring on an L322 Rover, and unlike its predecessor, you don't have to reprogram the ride heights or fix the alignment. It's about a 2 hour job.

It's been a while, but if I remember correctly, everything came off easily except one bolt that needed an impact wrench or breaker bar. Everything else (3 bolts) connects at the top of the strut tower under the hood. Just make sure if the air strut drops out after being unbolted, it doesn't rip out the air lines. You need to lower it down slowly to get access to the air line.

Once you swap it out, the system levels itself.

One more thing, those "rubber band" tires are murder on air springs and suspension bushings. They'll cut your spring life in half. Also, I'd consider doing both front air struts. Once one goes, the other is close behind.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9jF8HDzgfQ[/ame]

 

Don't hate it but you can only 4-wheel to the local mall with those...

 

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How did it go? What type of replacement bag did you get?

 

The blinking red light means you are at the suspension bump stops. The pump in the trunk is running constantly trying to inflate the bag. If you keep running it, it's going to burn out the pump. The "suspension malfunction" warning is telling you that the pump is running but the car is not raising (because of the leak.)

I wouldn't try to run the car until you replace the air spring, or you might have to replace a burned out air compressor pump as well.

 

Nice!

 

Congrats. Like I said, if you have a basic wrenching-ability, it's a pretty straightforward job.