Air suspension compressor motor innards

[hell pie]

I disassembled my old suspension compressor to see what could be remanufactured or salvaged. Here are some pictures of the motor assembly. It is difficult to see in the pictures, but the motor was totally burned out and smelled horrible.

If a suitable low cost replacement motor could be found, I think the compressor could have been brought back to life. However, I could not figure out how to remove the motor.

 

[bscmich]

Great shots, thanks for posting. I love taking stuff like this apart as well to see how it works, what I can fix, what can be salavaged, etc. I wasn't really in the market but I just bought a good used compressor off eBay for almost nothing (literally). You indicated the motor burnt out, is this what usually goes on these? I was wondering if the piston is permanently lubricated and if they sometime fail rather than the motor. At least I have a spare now if I need it.

06 SE7 4.0

 

[hell pie]

I'm not sure what the #1 cause of compressor failure is. I've read on other forums about an instance where somebody had a broken connecting rod and another person had something a screw come loose in the piston area. That being said, I don't think the piston is permanently lubricated; you can access it by removing the three screws that hold the black panel opposite of the motor. Another problem I recall reading about was desiccant leaking from the dryer.

 

[NeilP]

The valve-block had design faults that cause the motor to run too often.
Most replacements are for burnt out motors caused by this valve.
It took a couple of years ( ! ) for LR to figure this out , and now a new
block is installed when a new compressor is installed , if the tech is the wiser !
Over-heating/over-running comp is the first clue of a valve fault , and if acted
upon quickly enough , can save the compressor from burnout.

 

[bscmich]

The valve-block had design faults that cause the motor to run too often.
Most replacements are for burnt out motors caused by this valve.
It took a couple of years ( ! ) for LR to figure this out , and now a new
block is installed when a new compressor is installed , if the tech is the wiser !
Over-heating/over-running comp is the first clue of a valve fault , and if acted
upon quickly enough , can save the compressor from burnout.

I'm wondering, for those who have had the compressor replaced, if changing the valve-block was included and is that the recommended procedure?

Also, what would be your interpretation of the compressor running too often for say the typical suburban roving LR3 where the height is not adjusted very often. Ours comes on most times when we start the vehicle for 10-15 seconds and through the course of a day when we are starting and stopping the vehicle and engine.

 

[NeilP]

Here's one problem: http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/115167-d3-air-suspension-compressor-failure-2.html

You might have to reg. to read ...........

Alot of over-running of air systems is due to leaks and erroneous venting problems.


.............Ours comes on most times when we start the vehicle for 10-15 seconds and through the course of a day when we are starting and stopping the vehicle and engine............. mine's the same here . I've had no problems in 3 years and 25000miles of everyday
road use

 

[bscmich]

Interesting... Mine has been solid, 06 with 44K.

 

[JackMac]

My 2005 LR3 with 73K miles. Is on its 4th compressor.

Factory unit, 2 replacements while under warranty (one failure, one recall) then one more after the warranty expired. This has been the one weakness on the truck.

 

[NeilP]

This will be undiagnosed leakage . Four faulty pumps over the years
just doesn't happen to be electric motor burnout by its self .............
You've been real unlucky ; what a pain !