LR3 air suspension to coil suspension conversion

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wbstevens1

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LR3 air suspension to coil suspension conversion- UPDATED

After spending countless hours and money on my LR3's air suspension, I've decided to throw in the towel and just order the coil conversion kit from Atlantic British. I'd like to hear first hand from anyone who has done the swap. I'd like to find out if the ride height and ride quality are affected. Atlantic British's website says the programmer included allows functionality of terrain response, but the red suspension fault icon stays lit in the dash. The problem with my LR3 seems to lie within a bad wire somewhere. I've replaced battery and brake switch as well. if anyone could give me any useful info I would appreciate it.

1/24/12 update- I changed the brake switch again and now I'm having different symptoms. The car no longer drops in front and raises in rear. Now I randomly get the "suspension fault- normal height only" message. It seems to be maintaining pressure in the front. The compressor sounds like it is running a lot more than it used to. I really wonder if it would be worth it to replace all four of the ride height sensors and the compressor, or just go ahead with the coil conversion. I really need to have this problem taken care of in the next two to three weeks before I take a trip to the mountains. I'd hate to have suspension problems with a 1000 ft drop off on either side of the road. Any help or ideas would be appreciated. Please don't reply just to say I should "have the problem professionally diagnosed". I've had the car checked out by land rover and they wanted to "try a few things" to see if they could fix it. That would be fine if I was under warranty, but I am not and I don't have the time or money to just let them go through the system replacing parts for no reason.
 
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ncburch22

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I have not had a test drive with the conversion personally, but I know of a RRS that had it done for the same reason you're wanting to convert. I wouldn't think it would be a bad idea. I would personally have it done to my LR3 as well if I had the money and will. I'm just about sick of the CEL coming on monthly. I'm trading it in soon. Good luck though!
 

Houm_WA

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I personally would not make this conversion. The cons out-weigh the pros....unless you're never going to wheel the LR3, then the cross-linking and tuning doesn't matter as much.
 

ncburch22

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I can agree to the off roading aspect of, Houm_WA. The airbag concept would be much greater off road, but if you stick to mall crawling, the springs wouldn't be a bad deal. The red suspension fault light would somewhat annoy me though.
 

wbstevens1

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Guys, how is my rover supposed to cross link when it can't even maintain normal ride height? After 10 minutes or so of running the front end drops all pressure and the rear goes to extended mode height. I would have to completely rewire all things associated with the air suspension. I've tried everything short of that already. I don't plan on rock crawling or mudding. As long as it will still handle icy weather and the occasional wet grass or dirt road, I'm fine.
 

Houm_WA

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I can understand that. I suppose if I were in your situation the kit would be a good way to go. My statement was general. Sorry to hear about all your troubles....I guess you're not under warranty, huh?
 

wbstevens1

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No, warranty ran out last year... If I buy the kit I can sell the air suspension parts to recoup some of the cost of the kit, and maybe have a little left over.
 

socalrovershop

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in a legal point of view wich i have delt with this before at the dealership and actually spoken with the engineer . your vehicle was sold and crash tested with airspings not coils and by altering to coils kinda throws out the legal/safety part out the window if you ever get in an accident. have your vehicle taken to good known shop who is capable of working on your lr3 just by replacing a battery isnt going to do anything. red icon is a hard fault in the system. most of the time if its dropping in the front and raising in the rear it will probably be height sensor related. dont give up so easy
 

wbstevens1

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in a legal point of view wich i have delt with this before at the dealership and actually spoken with the engineer . your vehicle was sold and crash tested with airspings not coils and by altering to coils kinda throws out the legal/safety part out the window if you ever get in an accident. have your vehicle taken to good known shop who is capable of working on your lr3 just by replacing a battery isnt going to do anything. red icon is a hard fault in the system. most of the time if its dropping in the front and raising in the rear it will probably be height sensor related. dont give up so easy

give up ease? I took the car to the dealership and they "diagnosed" the problem as being the compressor, which I had replaced already before taking it to the dealer. Then they said battery was bad, so i replaced it with the interstate replacement. Then I suggested it may be the brake switch, which they said they had never heard that would cause random faults and problems. Changed it and the problem persists. brake light bulbs are correct. The air bags are holding pressure fine. The dealer said the height sensors were ok. It is supposedly a bad wire somewhere. They wanted to kee the vehicle and "figure it out". I'm out of warranty and I don't want to pay the dealership another thousand dollars in shop time to "figure it out".
 

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