2012 LR4 Reluctant to lower from off-road suspension mode

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Longtrail

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Hi Folks,

I just rebuilt the front suspension valve block (new o-rings) and now the LR4 seems to stay up over night (good news), the problem I have existed before doing this work and appears to be in the rear. Here's a summary of the issue.

1) I select off-road as the suspension mode and the vehicle raises (all good)

2) I then select normal mode, getting this on the dash

1669666646672.png


3) The vehicle starts to lower (front) but then I get this:

1669666685086.png


4) The front goes back up and I then get this:

1669666726614.png


I'm sitting in my garage while doing this, it's almost as if the rear suspension doesn't want to go down but there's nothing physically in the way (I never left the vehicle). It will eventually go down with some playing around... The problem appears to be repeatable.

I don't have any modifications to the vehicle in terms of lift kits etc.

Does anyone have any thoughts (no IID Tool yet)?

Thanks.
 

ryanjl

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I think I remember reading about the suspension sometimes getting out of whack after suspension work and needing to be reset.

If you had an iiD tool, I'd recommend putting the suspension into service mode and just draining all the air out, then putting it back into regular mode and letting it air itself back up.

Since you don't have an iiD tool, you can maybe disconnect some air lines in the rear to drain the rear part of the suspension. The rear valve block is a pain to get to though--not nearly as easy as the front. I got to mine both through the driver's side rear wheel well and by dropping my spare and going at it from under the rear of my vehicle.

Maybe wait and see if someone else has an ideas or has been there before.
 

CRYA

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I had this issue on my L322. In that instance it was a common issue and had to do with the air compressor "silencer" cone thingy getting clogged over time and needing to be cleaned, bored out, or just removed entirely. I removed mine. But that is likely not applicable here, is it?, because on the 322 the compressor was in the cabin under the rear deck with the spare. Or do we have some kind of similar device back in the driver's side cubby?
 

djkaosone

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Try recalibrating your suspension. If you have extension rods on your height sensors, swap them back to oem, and recalibrate your suspension with the Gap IID Tool.
 

Longtrail

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I think I remember reading about the suspension sometimes getting out of whack after suspension work and needing to be reset.

If you had an iiD tool, I'd recommend putting the suspension into service mode and just draining all the air out, then putting it back into regular mode and letting it air itself back up.

Since you don't have an iiD tool, you can maybe disconnect some air lines in the rear to drain the rear part of the suspension. The rear valve block is a pain to get to though--not nearly as easy as the front. I got to mine both through the driver's side rear wheel well and by dropping my spare and going at it from under the rear of my vehicle.

Maybe wait and see if someone else has an ideas or has been there before.
Thank you - I did see the valve block when replacing the ABS sensor! It's getting colder here in MI so doing a service of this valve may take me a while but based on my experience of the front valve block it may be a good thing to do anyway! More thoughts to follow when I respond to the other messages! I do wish I had the IID tool but I need more brownie points with the boss so it's not an option at the moment!
 

Longtrail

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I had this issue on my L322. In that instance it was a common issue and had to do with the air compressor "silencer" cone thingy getting clogged over time and needing to be cleaned, bored out, or just removed entirely. I removed mine. But that is likely not applicable here, is it?, because on the 322 the compressor was in the cabin under the rear deck with the spare. Or do we have some kind of similar device back in the driver's side cubby?
Thank you, you got my brain thinking... You're right that it needs to vent pressure, it has to vent to somewhere that is lower pressure but I have no idea where this might be or how the system works? Perhaps it's venting but not fast enough? When the vehicle drops to access mode I do hear it letting off "steam" :). More investigation/thinking needed but I think you're on to something even if it's servicing the valves because perhaps they're a little sticky or something?
 

Longtrail

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Try recalibrating your suspension. If you have extension rods on your height sensors, swap them back to oem, and recalibrate your suspension with the Gap IID Tool.
How do I recalibrate without the IID tool and is there a cheaper alternative that can be used for calibration? As mentioned, there are no modifications to the suspension. Thanks.
 

ryanjl

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If you are DIYing projects on your Land Rover, the iiD tool is a must. Expensive, yes. But it will potentially save you so much time and money down the road that it more than pays for itself.

Atlantic British has their own tool, but the price isn't that much less than the iiD tool.

Lucky8 just had the iiD tool on a black friday sale. They may still. If not, call them and see if they will still sell it to you for that.
 

Longtrail

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If you are DIYing projects on your Land Rover, the iiD tool is a must. Expensive, yes. But it will potentially save you so much time and money down the road that it more than pays for itself.

Atlantic British has their own tool, but the price isn't that much less than the iiD tool.

Lucky8 just had the iiD tool on a black friday sale. They may still. If not, call them and see if they will still sell it to you for that.

Do you happen to know the price they were selling it for? It's currently $528 on there website! Thanks.
 

djkaosone

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Do you happen to know the price they were selling it for? It's currently $528 on there website! Thanks.
You seriously missed out on the Black Friday sales on Lucky8, it was $448.

The cheaper alternative is Autel AP200, it's another alternative that does a few things like suspension calibration, register new key, and some other minor things besides the basic code reading/clearing, live values, etc that's vin locked. It doesn't compare to the Gap IID Tool, nor does it have the user support like Gap/Community.
 

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