Air Suspension will not stay level across the rear axle
Hi ho,
Another Sunday, more issues
So i was looking at the car on the drive and thought the NSR looked a little low, on inspection I noticed what looks like a white substance on the bottom of the strut that looked new.
I did replace the disc and pads last week, but don't recall it then, nor do I recall the suspension looking low. The car was jacked from the suspension joint in offroad mode & supported on an axle stand from the chassis rail
I have had a quick look for fault codes an the only reoccurring ones are U0132 & U0159. No other faults or errors and the suspension raises and lowers as expected.
The compressor doesn't seem the run for extended periods of time, just a minute or so from a overnight start or frequent raising & lowering etc
Below is a picture of the white stuff. Which may or may not be related to the issue
Click image to enlarge
I've measured from the bottom of the arch to the centre cap on each rear wheel and get 455mm on the RL & 465mm on the RR so I do seem to have a 10mm list to the port!
Any ideas on what &where to start looking?
MY16 D4 Landmark SDV6 (The Ice Maiden)
Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
MY08 D3 HSE Stornoway (Miss Moneypit) The money tree withered......
Last edited by Skagg on 29th Oct 2017 11:41 am. Edited 3 times in total
21st May 2017 2:46 pm
Barn1e D3 Decade
Member Since: 28 Aug 2006
Location: Mid-sussex
Posts: 2021
I am not sure that 10 mm is that relevant. When I reset my heights I found measurements are not that accurate once off level surface.2005, TDV6 S, Auto, 190k miles, owned from new, V8 Brake Upgrade, Nancom Evo, RLD protector, BAS EGR blanking & Remap, separate ATF cooler, changing all the fluids ahead of time.
So, having slept on it & looked again today. both front & rear on the left appear to list. I've taken it to various levelish locations in different ride settings & it still looked like it's leaning to the left.
I don't recall this before changing the pads & discs. I did note when taking the car off the jacks at some point it did think it was in extended mode. But now other than listing, everything appears normal.
Could I have mucked up a setting through the jacking process & it needs resetting?
Given the lack of fault codes or other symptoms to help diagnose a problem my first thoughts were to change all four height sensors & find someone local to South Devon with a IID tool or such like & re calibrate it.
What's the consensous from the knowledgable folk here?
Click image to enlarge
MY16 D4 Landmark SDV6 (The Ice Maiden)
Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
MY08 D3 HSE Stornoway (Miss Moneypit) The money tree withered......
22nd May 2017 7:22 pm
Barn1e D3 Decade
Member Since: 28 Aug 2006
Location: Mid-sussex
Posts: 2021
Yep, it definitely appears to lean to the near side. Have you checked for any visible damage to the plastic height sensors on that side? As you say, you could do with fault codes being checked.2005, TDV6 S, Auto, 190k miles, owned from new, V8 Brake Upgrade, Nancom Evo, RLD protector, BAS EGR blanking & Remap, separate ATF cooler, changing all the fluids ahead of time.
Other than the white stuff on the strut the are no visible signs of damage or failure to the height senior or strut.
Other than the two fault codes i've already posted there is nothing else to report.MY16 D4 Landmark SDV6 (The Ice Maiden)
Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
MY08 D3 HSE Stornoway (Miss Moneypit) The money tree withered......
23rd May 2017 5:26 pm
Globetrotter448
Member Since: 21 Mar 2017
Location: Londonderry NSW
Posts: 1771
Is it possible that when you had the body jacked up on stands that the strut extended and now needs a few bumpy roads to get it back into its original position
I'm thinking similar lines although the reverse. I'm thinking as it was jacked on the suspension joint it comprrssedthe suspension to a level greater than it normally sees in everyday use.
Tome might resolve the problem
We will see!MY16 D4 Landmark SDV6 (The Ice Maiden)
Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
MY08 D3 HSE Stornoway (Miss Moneypit) The money tree withered......
So, for good measure I replaced all the height sensors & took it to the local indy to have the suspension re calibrated. On the ramp both before & after the calibration it look level visually. I think it's better since the re calibration but still doesn't seem right to me.
It's not throwing any errors either in car or on the IID Tool that I now own.
Here is a screen grab of the car sat on my drive today. I'm still finding my way around the IID Tool so it doesn't mean a huge amount to me at the moment, although i'm presuming the negative reading on the nearside mean it's lower than the offside, either because that's the offset that has been dialled in or its compensating for the uneven ground on the drive. So I've turned the car around & taken another grab.
What are the thoughts from the learned people here? Does the difference nearside to offset look excessive? Should I consider calibrating myself to try & compensate for the difference given the vehicle isn't throwing any obvious errors?
I did note that if i deflate the system down to the stops it still looks wonky (it's mainly the nearside rear) Air pressure in the tyres is equal both sides. Could it be a mechanical failure in the suspension that's causing the wonkiness? There aren't any knocks, bangs or clunks from the suspension.
Any help to try & solve this mystery would be most welcome as I don't want to have to take it the the dealer & have them start randomly replacing things until they find a fix.
Cheers
NickMY16 D4 Landmark SDV6 (The Ice Maiden)
Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
MY08 D3 HSE Stornoway (Miss Moneypit) The money tree withered......
So today I've been attempting to level the D3 again but without much joy. Here is what I've been doing.
On a level hard standing I've used the IID guided calibration tool to measure & set all four corners. In standard suspension mode, I set the rear to 495mm & the front to 466mm. Measured from the arch to the wheel centre.
All looks good when I store the settings to the car. It's only until I reactivate the EAS by selecting Off road mode & then setting it back to standard that the problem re occurs. When the vehicle returns to standard mode the nearside front & rear are around 10mm lower than when I set it which then causes the vehicle to list slightly to the left.
I've gone through the process a number of times now all with the same result.
Other than an occasional U0132 - Lost Communication with Ride Level Control Module error it's not throwing any other hints of what could be wrong. I can't link the fault code to any specific condition, it appears randomly.
Any thoughts or experience you might be able to share?
Cheers Guys
Skagg MY16 D4 Landmark SDV6 (The Ice Maiden)
Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
MY08 D3 HSE Stornoway (Miss Moneypit) The money tree withered......
5th Aug 2017 4:17 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13576
hi Skagg
don't know if this makes any difference
when i set my heights i done , centre of wheel to arch , used some masking tape
front 466mm
rear 485mm
if ur back height setting is 495 mm could it be that what's throwing it out
Yeah, that sounds like the instructions for the IID tool. Stick it in off road, drop to normal then move forward 5 mtrs & back again.
I replaced all the height sensors after it first showed signs of not being right to eliminate them.
I must admit i didn't remove F26 when i changed the discs & pads. I did follow Bodsy's brake bible which i must say is excellent! I have done a hard reset since the problem to try & reset any issue the jacking may have caused.
I'll try leaving it overnight tomorrow with the fuse removed to see what happens, though i don't expect much as it sits on the drive all week doing nothing as it's only used weekends & the suspension doesn't change so i don't think it's leaking.
Brand new GG AT's all round with equal pressures across the axles so it's not that.
Keep the ideas coming
The thing is starting to get me a bit miffed to say the least
CheersMY16 D4 Landmark SDV6 (The Ice Maiden)
Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
MY08 D3 HSE Stornoway (Miss Moneypit) The money tree withered......
5th Aug 2017 9:46 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13576
hi , i bet it's driving u insane
will try with the ideas
wonder, if supposedly the bushes were worn on the bottom of the strut
thinking that as the air strut raises to its level, it fixed top and bottom, plate at the top so surely cant move, but at the bottom with the single bush could it push down and cause the landy to lean
maybe i'm going off in the totally wrong direction
wonder if putting it on different heights then pulling the fuse will make any difference , i.e. to test fir any leaks over night , normal and off road
can the height adjusters be altered to take up the height difference , or are they fixed
if jacked up by the lower wishbones could that have caused them to move , bend them, or worn bushes, ???
just trying to think of different scenarios
was the suspension and height perfect before u done the discs
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