Discovery 2 owners. Air suspension

[blackolive (Ste)]

At some point in the Disco’s life, the air suspension has been converted to springs, presumably as it was cheaper than fixing the air suspension. Has anyone on here had experience of one on air, Im wondering if there are any advantages to converting back ?

 

[Wildefalcon]

No experience, Burt I'm told it makes the insurance easier, no modifications to report. And it's better for towing, I think.

 

[Rannsachair]

I had one, was handy being able to lower the suspension to hitch up a tow bar.

 

[gaz1]

the biggest pain in the rear going air suspension

simple yet expensive

get a leak out and about and its a bone shaker whilst the air system tries to lift it and burns out

 

[defender dan]

My disco 2 is on standard air suspension. They are great on air as you said for towing & being able to lift the rear if going down bumpy tracks or green laning. Most problems occur when owners don`t replace them every 5 years as they are meant to.

 

[zzr1200]

I have a disco2 on air, yes they can leak air, but once sorted its a joy to drive and couple trailers.

Ive just replaced my airbags, the back end would sit down over night and take a while to pump up, but new airbags took me a couple of hours to fit at a cost of about £120.00 incl delivery for a set of Dunlop OEM fitments.
Now the suspension stays up without any problems.

There are aftermarket super duper airbags but they dont do any more than standard, apart from maybe give a higher ride height if you upgrade the the other parts and reset the suspension height.

Personally a standard vehicle with standard of the shelf parts is my requirement.

Check out "Island 4x4", "DLS Land Rover" and "Paddock Land Rover Spares"

Personally I prefer "Island 4x4" they appear to have a larger range of parts its easier to navigate their web site, plus their communications and postal service are brillant.
You have options on parts quality from Britpart to expensive bling named manufacturers.

I'll stick with air suspension on my disco because once you understand it, it's cheap to maintain and a nice ride.

My old P38 was on air another comfortable motor, I've been in P38's, Disco 2 on springs that were all horrible rides and towed awfully, to the point of it being dangerous imo.

 

[Bullet2012]

Both my old D2 had air on the rear, both towed extensively. Never had any real issues with the system, well no more than I read about people with normal cars changing broken springs .
what sort of cost is involved with returning the vehicle to air ?

 

[blackolive (Ste)]

Food for thought. Everything is still there. Im whipping the compressor box off while I paint the chassis so Ill see if it and the valve blocks need a refurb before I do anything else

 

[Kayos]

Kept mine on air and it was great.

Off road button and a nice ride, wouldn't have dreamed of a spring conversion

 

[winchman]

The last owner of my P38 is a very good engineer, he tried to take the springs off and put back to air but gave up in the end, some times is easy and fault free but every now and again you meet people who have nothing but trouble with it.
Personally mine is staying on springs

 

[indy4x]

My D2 was on air, no way would I have put normal springs on it.

I did burst one, car was 11yrs old, still on its original bags and had done 120k, my fault, I put 1t of lead acid batteries in the back, air suspension pumped up to normal ride height and 1 of the bags let go but it was well past its sell by date

Pair of new air bags, dead easy to change and 4 years, 60,000 miles later absolutely no issues

Also ACE, yes pipes do rust and new metal pipes are a PITA to fit but again, I kept mine, no way was it getting converted to traditional anti roll bars, replaced all the metal pipes with hydraulic hoses instead

ACE allowed it to have decent articulation when needed and on tarmac roads you could really throw it into corners and roundabouts and it would just stay level

 

[fizzy]

I have had both.
A few points people overlook.
When offroading airbags give a terrible ride when pumped up hard for extra ground clearance. Coils are much more comfortable then.
Airbags can also give a wallowy ride on a motorway. The D3 used to make me feel sea sick. The D4 was much better.
My D2 had airbags at the rear - never had trouble with it. Was brilliant for onroad towing but as I said very hard offroad.

 

[Domdom]

I've had Disco 2, 3 and 4, P38, L322 and L405 all on Air. By far the best set up for these vehicles. And they really aren't hard to fix, except you have to consider the demographic you will encounter in some Land Rover circles (hammers rather than brains) which is why so many (not all) get converted to coils. It befuddles me why someone would spend a couple of days and serious cash converting to coils when a couple of hours and less cash would fix the air ride. unless they have a specific use case like farming, forestry etc when in truth a Defender is probably more appropriate.

I picked up a super cheap P38 a few years back which had been put on coils. Picked up the needed parts and converted it back in a weekend. Most of it was still on the car and looked like it had been converted because of a corroded ECU connector. That was the only thing I could find wrong with it. Quite literally I spent 15 minutes with a brass brush and some contact cleaner and it all worked. No hammer involved

There are only a few things to consider.
1, the ECU, which is really old tech and not hard to fix or replace.
2. Valve block. Again it's simple and repair kits are available.
3. Compressor / receiver. If it's not providing air either rebuild or replace. Can be replaced with aftermarket (better) ones. If the receiver is rusted to hell it wants replacing. Same principle as a workshop compressor really, only 12 volt.
4. Height sensors. Again a simple multi meter will tell you if these are working. (Diagnostic tool is even better)
5. Pipework and airbags, make sure they aren't leaking. Leaks will make the compressor work overtime and ultimately die.

The last point is where many ignore the signs and pay the price. If the car sinks overnight then air is escaping. It needs fixing, not ignoring. Ignoring it will kill the compressor.

I would never own one of these on coils, especially after the P38 which was like a donkey cart when it was on springs, it ruins a fundamental part of the design. Ride quality, handling and self-levelling are all good things to have in vehicles with such a huge load carrying and towing capability. In your position I would definitely refit air ride.

One really nice thing on the P38 was the feature where it would lower itself on the motorway. Made it very smooth. LR didn't seem to carry this on, certainly to later L322's although I have a feeling some of the early ones might have had it, pre the 2005 facelift.

Right, I'm off to refit a coal fire in my living room. This new fangled central heating is far too technical for me.

 

[willie.macleod]

No experience, Burt I'm told it makes the insurance easier, no modifications to report. And it's better for towing, I think.

Disco 2 and 3 were both available with coils from the factory so insurance should be fine either way.

 

[tom2207]

leave it on springs ,,, if it hasnt got arb fitted get them jammed on , makes a big difference.

 

[Wildefalcon]

Disco 2 and 3 were both available with coils from the factory so insurance should be fine either way.

Yes, no. The insurance weasels will know the spec of the vehicle if there a crash. If it's been modified and not declared then you are at risk. The good ones run the VIN through the computer and will be aware of the different specifications. Declare all modifications.

 

[awemawson]

I've had two pump failures on mine over the years and the pumps are expensive. Both I think caused by water ingress. I honestly can't remember if last time it failed we put it springs or replaced the bags, I'll have to put my head under and check.

 

[Bobupndown]

Had a D2 for 11 years. Changed air bags every 4 years as a service item. No issues.

 

[tom2207]

Had a D2 for 11 years. Changed air bags every 4 years as a service item. No issues.

Its the ACE pipes that creep up on you and they really are expensive ,

 

[Bobupndown]

Mine had air but no ACE, late spec 2004 Landmark, and all the better for it.