Being Prepared - LR4 Emergency Suspension Repair tools and materials

[Zecko]

Hi,

Aside from a electrical tool like the GAP IDTool to clear suspension faults, what other tools and materials should a LR4 owner carry to repair the suspension in an emergency?

I'm not even sure what types of failures the suspension can have...so if we could brainstorm on the possible scenarios for failures maybe we can figure out how to repair and what we need.

thank you!

 

[Mack73]

I posted this in another thread but here are the 4 reasons I have disabled the air suspension system when out on the trail (on other trucks... knock on wood)

1. If your tie rod end is bent, or for some reason the steering angle is too far out of spec (you are driving straight, but the steering wheel is 30degrees off) the steering angle sensor will throw a fault
2. Failed height sensor, throws a fault
3. Sway bar end link was broken, air compressor worked way too hard and overheated, multiple faults
4. Bent strut, caused sway bar end link to break taking out the passenger front height sensor, ripped wiring on driver's front driving on 32" tires off the road, multiple faults

At the end of the day, all vehicles had methods to clear faults. That let us pump air back into the system, then terrain response/air system was disabled by pulling 2 fuses in the engine compartment. If we didn't have fault clearing tools we would have needed to jump the compressor to get some air in the system, or use my emergency air kit to plumb in a valve for filling.

A. Get the IIDtool to clear faults
B. Get a hose repair kit if an air line is damaged. You can get this from Land Rover: STC8580
C. Learn the fuses to pull on the LR4 to disable the terrain response and the air system. It is 2 fuses on the LR3, but I'm not sure what is requred on the LR4.

The only failure I am not prepared for is the failure of an air bag. My plan is to cut away the air bag and wedge some material found out on the trail (wood/branch) between the strut and bump stop to limp off the trail.

 

[Zecko]

Thanks for the response.

When you say you are disabling the air suspension system, what does that mean exactly? That the computer is disabled and that the bladders are locked into the height set? Does the compressor come on to touch up the height or will a slow leak ultimately bring the height down while in this disabled mode?

 

[JAK]

When the appropriate fuses are pulled the compressor will not turn on.

We had an LR3 with pulled fuses in Death Valley. After sitting over night the left rear was sagging quite a bit. We put the fuse back in let it raise up and pulled them again.

 

[Mack73]

Pulling the fuses isn't so much about stopping the compressor- it stops the exhaust valves from being opened by the computers. Any air in the system is now trapped.

The computers constantly do a high level self check to look for very major issues, then a more agressive check when you hit 30mph (is the system ok to allow fast speeds?). So you might find yourself being ok at low speeds, but once you hit 30 on the way home, down you go.

Yes if you have physical leak in the system it will bleed off over time (you should probably have that fixed if that is you), but reinstalling the fuses will put the system back to how it was. Clear any faults to let the compressor pump it back up, then yank the fuses to trap the air again.

 

[Canaussie]

http://greenovalexperience.com/eas_inflation_kit.html

Could always go with one of these kits