Member Since: 21 Jun 2011
Location: North Worcestershire (not far from Redditch)
Posts: 385
How to 'repair' air compressor and fit new air dyer
Hi all,
I was getting a ‘normal ride height only’ message pop up regularly and everything I had seen on the forum said it was the suspension air compressor.
I found a couple of threads about replacing parts on the compressor rather than buying a new one. A new compressor is around £450 ish, with the replacement parts around £100. I decided to grow a pair and try and do the repair myself.
I found a great post from Disco_Mikey as well as StephanDv and got the bits from TLO. I also had some long distance support from Disco_Mikey who gave me a few tips (cheers Mike). I also found a LR Technical document on how to replace a couple of the ‘O’ rings from the compressor which someone had previously posted.
So what follows is really an addendum to what has been posted before, but some may find it helpful. I’m not really going to repeat what is in the other posts as they are really comprehensive, so if you do fancy having a go at repairing your compressor, read these before you do anything else:
My disclaimer - I can’t guarantee this will work for you, but it did for me… and if you do give it a go, be it on your own head. I accept no responsibility at all!!
These are the parts I ordered:
VUB504700 – Air Dryer
JPO500010 – Compressor repair kit (couple of O rings, springs etc)
RYH500170 x 3 – u spring
YWB500220 - Relay
Disconnect the battery – disconnect the negative first, then the positive!!!
In the post Mike did, he had to cut the pipes so twice a day for a week, I got some WD40 on the pipes where they went into the compressor and air dryer and the compressor bolts. I think this paid off because when I did the job, the 3 pipes came out no problem at all. The pipes are basically the same as the pushfit connectors in plumbing, so to get the pipe out, you first push the pipe and the brass collar in as far as you can, and whilst holding the collar in, pull the pipe out. Mike suggested I use a 10mm spanner to hold the collar in, which is what I did and the pipe came straight out nice and cleanly. Using the spanner was a great tip and it certainly helped…. Cheers Mike…
When you take the pipe out from the blue connector on the dryer, it does release some air. It was a bit like when you have inflated a tyre and when you take the inflator off the tyre, you get that initial rush of air. I was preparing for the worse but it was ok….
Once the pipes were free, I disconnected the electrical connectors. Came off easily for me.. just need to unclip them…
Next was removing the 3 bolts holding the compressor in place. The two lower bolts were easy enough to remove. The one at the top that’s a little hidden turned out to be ok as well. What Mike and others have said is get a socket onto it, using an extension bar of the right length, but with the car raised up and using a torch, I would see where the top bolt was and there was enough clearance to get a ratchet spanner onto the nut from underneath and slowly ratchet if off. I found that much easier to do. All of the bolts were 10mm, which I guess should be the same for everyone…
Once the last bolt was off, it all came away no problem.
Once off, I then needed to release the compressor from the bracket. There were 2 bolts that that I used a allan key on and another bolt that was a T25 (I think). There was also a wire strap wrapped around the bracket and the compressor, which I guess is there just in case all the bolts holding the compressor to the bracket manage to all fall off haha .
Once the bracket was off, I could get to the compressor properly then, so I now moved to replacing the air dryer and the 2 O rings and springs from the kit I had (JPO500010).
Where I had the biggest problem was the bolt holding the air dryer to the body of the compressor. I would say plenty of WD again to see if that helps remove it. Mine wouldn’t budge so I ended up cutting the head off the bolt, twisting the air dryer away from what was left of it. I then managed to get some grips on the remainder of the bolts and it came out easily. I then manipulated the air dyer off and removed the existing o ring (which did look a bit knackered), gave it all a good clean with a wire brush and stanley knife blade, being very careful not to let anything go into the hole. Have to say, the air dryer did put up a bit of a fight, but again with some WD40 and force, it came off in the end.
Once it was all nice and clean, I put the new O ring on and pushed the new dryer on, but remember you need to put the wire strap back on how it was before…..Another tip from Mike was to use some WD to help the dryer go on easier.
Have to say, it didn’t feel that tight when I put the new dryer on and did wobble around a bit, but once it was seated properly and I had put a nice new shiny bolt on to hold the dryer to the body of the compressor, it seemed ok.
Next was the ‘valve retaining plug’. As StephanDv said in his post, it did seem quite soft and a 17mm spanner seemed as if it was a little big, but I just took my time and it came off ok. I again cleaned around the area, then replaced the O ring, spring and little black thing (the delivery valve), put it back in and tightened it back up.
The next bit was the one I was worried about because the LR Technical Bulletin shows and say you need a special tool which of course, I did not have… but I soon discovered that I did have such a special tool, or as I call it, a clamp!!!
I made sure the compressor was steady on the bench and not going to move, then I used a clamp and clamped it to the bench and on top of the plate covering the plunger. I then undid all 4 screws and slowly released the pressure on the clamp, so the plate slowly came up. When the spring was at it maximum, I removed the clamp, took the springs out, removed the large O ring and cleaned around the area, again being careful not to let any bits drop inside. I put the new O ring in place, put the new spring back and the plastic bit that went around it (you will see what I mean when you open it up).
Next was to clamp it back up again and slowly clamp down the plate. I just took my time to make sure it was lined up correctly and once it was seated correctly and back in place, I used the 4 new bolts out of the kit and screwed it down. If you follow the technical bulletin, it tells you all this so make sure you do what it says….
And that was it…. New dryer, new O rings… job done…
I then fitted the compressor back into the bracket and bolted back to the car, reconnecting the pipes.
Last bit was to put the new relay in. The relay is in the long black box next to your battery and the underside of the cover will shows you which is the correct one to swap.
Once that was done, I connected the battery back up…. Positive first, then the negative…
… Made sure the car started ok, which it did… and no warning light! Went for a quick drive and all was ok… still no warning light…
Back home… checked all and it appeared ok with the compressor and once I was happy, I fitted the underside cover back on and that was it.
Glad to say the light is still off and it’s all working fine. I was worried about the new air dryer being lose when I replaced it, but all seems fine so I guess I didn’t need to worry.
So there ya go…. I’m very much a novice at all of this, so it just shows if you do your homework, have some basic tools and apply some common sense, it’s a relatively simple job…
Hope this helps someone a little anyway…
Chris
11th Oct 2013 10:59 pm
Matty 2332
Member Since: 02 Dec 2008
Location: West Yorkshire
Posts: 670
Brilliant write up, thanks
I am going to have a crack at mine next week
12th Oct 2013 8:28 am
Chris1969
Member Since: 21 Jun 2011
Location: North Worcestershire (not far from Redditch)
Posts: 385
No problem Matty
The other write ups were already pretty comprehensive, but I still had a few things I was not sure about. If when you do yours you think I can help, just drop me a line.
Oh and just discovered, screwfix sell the 'special tool' for £20, but I was ok using a clamp.
Good luck when you do yours mate.
12th Oct 2013 10:00 am
Martin Site Admin and Owner
Member Since: 06 Nov 2004
Location: Hook Norton
Posts: 18448
Any chance of link to Screwfix tool as you've found it?
Good write up, thanks 06 D3 SE / 15 LR D90 XS SW / 88 LR 90 Td5 / 68 BMW 2000 ti
Any issues with the site let me know!
12th Oct 2013 12:01 pm
Chris1969
Member Since: 21 Jun 2011
Location: North Worcestershire (not far from Redditch)
Posts: 385
Member Since: 07 Jul 2011
Location: Somerset
Posts: 435
Nice write up Chris, printed out ready for when I have time to do mine.
Jem
12th Oct 2013 3:02 pm
brickpaul65
Member Since: 15 Apr 2013
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 14
Have people been getting significant life out of just changing the dryer or has it been simply delaying a full compressor replacement a few months due the compressor being worn? I am debating between the dryer replacement and a new AMK compressor for my 2006 LR3.
31st Dec 2013 2:43 pm
Chris1969
Member Since: 21 Jun 2011
Location: North Worcestershire (not far from Redditch)
Posts: 385
Hi Paul,
Did mine October and it's been fine since but still a short time period so I can't comment as yet. Not much help at all really!!
Chris
31st Dec 2013 2:49 pm
brickpaul65
Member Since: 15 Apr 2013
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 14
The reply is greatly appreciated. I am just trying to decide if I should just do the whole thing. If I do the dryer and it does not create a long term fix, is the dryer useable with the new compressor? Does the AMK compressor come with a dryer?
Just wondering if it is potentially good money after bad so to speak.
31st Dec 2013 11:56 pm
D3Cas
Member Since: 22 Jul 2012
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 73
Hi all
I will be changing the air dryer next week on my 06 D3 and have been out to the old bus today and removed the cover and given it a damn good squirt of preparatory WD40 over all the mounting bolts and push fit connectors and pretty much over everything else I could find!!!
I have read all of the posts here I can find ref that troublesome top bolt but for the life of me Icannot see how you get to it!!
Do you need to remove the top section of the air compressor cover, and if you do how do you do that please?
Also I have a plastic cover strip down the sills, would it help to remove this as well?
I am sure when I have done it it will be obvious but any advice gratefully recieved from those that have already?
Cheers
SiSanity is just a form of madness favoured by the masses
3rd Jan 2014 7:58 pm
bigtam64
Member Since: 19 Nov 2009
Location: Leeds
Posts: 192
I am intending doing mine in the very near future as well so any info would be a great help
happy new year to you all
DougWeekends are to short
Egr valves removed
3rd Jan 2014 8:40 pm
Nasher
Member Since: 07 Mar 2009
Location: Clanfield, North of Pompey - UK
Posts: 2683
D3Cas wrote:
I have read all of the posts here I can find ref that troublesome top bolt but for the life of me Icannot see how you get to it!!
Unfortunately the only way to get to it is to get a socket(same size as for the lower ones) on an extension over the top of the compressor.
I don't think you can remove the top half of the casing with the compressor in place so have to 'work around it'.
There are some images around on here that give half a clue where to 'aim' for whilst you do it blind.
Can guarantee it's possible as I've done it on several occasions.
Getting it back in is great fun, but much easier if you buy new captive nuts.
Oh, and I've just had to re-microwave the silica gel in my drier after over two years. It will probably last longer with new gel.
I now have a fully rebuilt compressor in stock ready to go on when required, but am hoping not to have to use it.
Nasher.Heaven doesn't want me, and hell is afraid I'll take over.
3rd Jan 2014 9:06 pm
Baldrick
Member Since: 15 Aug 2006
Location: Dublin
Posts: 76
Re the top bolt, as it says in the original post, use a 10mm ratchet ring spanner. Changed my dryer today. All working great again.
Thanks for the guide.
2007 MY Irish spec S+ TDV6
4th Jan 2014 10:05 pm
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Posts: 17932
As already said, new captive nuts are a must!Land Rover - Turning Drivers into Mechanics Since 1948
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bolt holding the air dryer to the body of the compressor. I would say plenty of WD again to see if that helps remove it. Mine wouldn’t budge so I ended up cutting the head off the bolt, twisting the air dryer away from what was left of it. I then managed to get some grips on the remainder of the bolts and it came out easily. I then manipulated the air dyer off and removed the existing o ring (which did look a bit knackered), gave it all a good clean with a wire brush and stanley knife blade, being very careful not to let anything go into the hole. Have to say, the air dryer did put up a bit of a fight, but again with some WD40 and force, it came off in the end. 
