Replacement of Air Strut Assembly: 06 LR3 HSE

djatkinson said:

jwest,

Thanks for the excellent, detailed post!

I am wondering if it would be safe/effective to relieve the air from the strut at the connection at the top of the strut, rather than at the block...

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They do say if your going to mess with any of the Air system parts you must remove relay and fuses. If you undo any of the Air Struts, Any of the Valve ,The Reservoir,sensors or control unit you must first release the air stored in the system. Undoing the valve slowly at the top of the air strut is ok as long as you let the pressure out slowly. Also if you undo these valves the valve must be replaced. You can buy the air valve On EBay And Cost £14 to £18 ($18 to $24) each. Some people say you can reuse the old valves but I’ve found you most likely will get a small air leak if you reuse them.

jwest said:

More or less yes but you cannot as easily access that nut with the strut in place.

The very easiest thing is to have an IIDtool and use it's function to deflate corners.

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I bought mine from Landrover Merriam and Goodyear installed them for about $200 a side but since then (a year ago) they won't fit owner sourced parts. And if you have an indie do it remember you may have to calibrate the heights afterward or you'll get the red suspension light so as mentioned earlier you may need a IId or nanocom.

Just sell the piece of ****

I typed in “replace LR4 air strut” and watched oxmanagain and arnott YouTube videos. I slowly released air out of front valve block, removed air strut, installed spacers and replaced.

Rear, I had to slowly leak air directly from top of each air strut. Easier that way. And repeated process. Have had no issues on or off trails.

Kurt van said:

Just sell the piece of ****

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Yeah, right! I'll get right on that....

And your reason for getting on this forum is.....???

jwest said:

More or less yes but you cannot as easily access that nut with the strut in place.

The very easiest thing is to have an IIDtool and use it's function to deflate corners.

Click to expand...

Just an update on my project:

I've noticed that 'projects' posted on U-tube seem to be a lot easier than they are in reality!

A few of the 'real world' challenges that I experienced (maybe my LR3 is unique??)
--One U-tube poster suggested relieving the air from the valve block under the passenger-side wheel well cover. It was a bit more involved than 'just a few little screws'. Depending on how much room you need to access the valve block, you'll need to pop out (and get replacements for) the fasteners that are used to secure and tighten the wheel well cover. I really should consider getting the IID tool for this, and/or reasons!
--This same poster suggested removing the heat shield above the strut to get better access to the 15mm nut closest to the engine, which is very hard to access. This is a helpful hint. However, I lost my grip on the nut, and it fell somewhere into the frame, never to be found again!
--The most difficult part came when I had to re-connect the air line to the strut. The line had a bend in it, which complicated an already difficult access. I finally resolved to cut the portion that was curved, so that I wasn't simultaneously trying to straighten it and insert it. There was no direct vision, and this was done by feel only. I had to pry away the wheel well cover on this side also, to access the air line, and remove it from the clip that holds it in place, in order to give me a little more length to work with.

In summary, I can understand why people have shops do this. In my case, it just seems like there's always that unexpected thing or two that presents itself to me...

djatkinson said:

Just an update on my project:

--This same poster suggested removing the heat shield above the strut to get better access to the 15mm nut closest to the engine, which is very hard to access. This is a helpful hint. However, I lost my grip on the nut, and it fell somewhere into the frame, never to be found again!
--The most difficult part came when I had to re-connect the air line to the strut. The line had a bend in it, which complicated an already difficult access. I finally resolved to cut the portion that was curved, so that I wasn't simultaneously trying to straighten it and insert it. There was no direct vision, and this was done by feel only. I had to pry away the wheel well cover on this side also, to access the air line, and remove it from the clip that holds it in place, in order to give me a little more length to work with.

In summary, I can understand why people have shops do this. In my case, it just seems like there's always that unexpected thing or two that presents itself to me...

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Heat shield is 100% not a hindrance. You have to work slowly when it comes to nut like that one doing it by hand at the end and carefully keeping it wedged between fingers.

Cutting that line was a bad idea... to attached you just need to rotate the strut and draw enough line through. With it drawn out to the side closest to you, then it also gets into a more aligned position to thread in by hand to start, then finish with the 12mm line wrench. Then you rotate the strut or start rotating after line nut is started in about half way.

I just removed and replaced my front left last week in order to plug a leak in the strut hat with O-rings and gasket maker. Which worked. No leak now. I R/R in total about 3-4 hrs which included trip to store nearby for O-ring digging and buying the sealant then getting the things on there and strut prepped to go back in.

Fender liner stayed in but I can access the one line clip that's way down by the lower radiator guard without removing the fender liner.

djatkinson said:

I finally resolved to cut the portion that was curved, so that I wasn't simultaneously trying to straighten it and insert it.

There was no direct vision, and this was done by feel only. I had to pry away the wheel well cover on this side also, to access the air line, and remove it from the clip that holds it in place, in order to give me a little more length to work with.

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I look directly at the line and nut going in every time. Not sure what you're trying to do but if the top of the strut is roughly 4-5" below it's mounting plate, and then turned approximately 45 degrees counter clockwise looking from top, then the air inlet is roughly the closest thing to you and a little to the left.

This means that when you bring the line through its upper plate hole, and then over toward yourself, it helps to offset that molded bend. Then it lines up better for starting the brass threads by hand.

Once started enough to stay in for sure, you can rotate the strut a little back but leaving enough room to still access the nut with the annoying line wrench.

However, all of that process for me is even tighter due to the strut spacers. With stock strut tops, you can just about do all of that with the strut bolted in place but it's still iffy on the access I think. So it's still a good idea to lower the strut for air line R/R. Obviously that means the main bolt at bottom of strut cannot be in place and is installed last after the 3 strut top bolts are at least threaded on.

I wish I could show you my process.

jwest,

I wish I could have seen the process. Twisting that strut around while trying to support it right below the control arm with the jack, all the while having little air line length and no visibility, was a major PITA!!

I originally embarked upon this journey because my Rover tech said the left front
strut had a slow leak. It seemed to me that the compressor was running more than it should. I just didn't want to pay another $1000 to have a genuine $300 part replaced, as I did for the right front strut.
Now that it's installed, I'm not sure there's much change in how often the compressor is operating. Maybe time will tell? What would be considered normal for everyday street driving? Is it normal for the EAS to lose significant air overnight?

And two more questions for any and all takers:

1) Are the rear air struts as much fun as the front to replace??
2) Can the struts be rebuilt, or is it even worth doing, considering the new price of about $300??