LR4 Shock Longevity

[jwest]

That's interesting. I can't say if they changed their methods, or bent the truth, or somewhere in between. I called because I had seen some resellers claiming they used Bilstein and others making no mention of it, so I didn't know if that was optional or bs or what. They told me the bag was Continental and the other components were sourced from Bilstein - marketing speak being what it is, for all I know they rebuild stock units by replacing one seal, and order that seal from Bilstein. Or maybe it really is a whole new one. There was no marking in/on the body to speak of aside from Arnott's own part number sticker. The airbag was clearly marked with Continental every few inches.

As far as performance it's hard to say - they rode way better than factory, but that was possibly worn-out factory. At the very least a leaky air spring, not sure what condition the shock was in. Roughly 70k miles at the time.

Who knows what is reliable or not. I have the full front strut directly from Bilstein and one grew a crack in the rubber top cap near where the damper rod comes through. The crack is roughly 1/8" away from the damper rod gasket rings. Annoying as hell. Have temporarily fixed it with O-rings and permatex gasket maker goo. No slow leak for 10 days now over 200 miles.

 

[Bogwhoppit]

All very interesting. I'm on 105K miles with the originals, and everything seems to be running ok. Now, with my GAP tool I have given the suspension about 50mm of extra lift for my bigger tires (265/65/18), and I'm wondering whether that helps with bag wear due to less creasing. My LR4 spends a lot of time off road in the pine barrens, and that sand abrades everything. By comparison my old 05 Pathfinder, living the same life, my front struts died at about 84K and my rears, not long after at 92K.

 

[jwest]

All very interesting. I'm on 105K miles with the originals, and everything seems to be running ok. Now, with my GAP tool I have given the suspension about 50mm of extra lift for my bigger tires (265/65/18), and I'm wondering whether that helps with bag wear due to less creasing. My LR4 spends a lot of time off road in the pine barrens, and that sand abrades everything. By comparison my old 05 Pathfinder, living the same life, my front struts died at about 84K and my rears, not long after at 92K.

31.5" 265/65-18 does not need you to do that. There is zero purpose for you to run around at +2 all the time. Having the gap tool ,just use it for more off road when on a trail.

No chance being lifted all the time somehow helps the struts. Quite the opposite, they are going to be best at their engineered length. You're also making the air compressor come on more often.

 

[Bogwhoppit]

31.5" 265/65-18 does not need you to do that. There is zero purpose for you to run around at +2 all the time. Having the gap tool ,just use it for more off road when on a trail.

No chance being lifted all the time somehow helps the struts. Quite the opposite, they are going to be best at their engineered length. You're also making the air compressor come on more often.

Yeah it is probably a bit overkill. Although I do like the higher look. Maybe I'll drop it down a little.

 

[jwest]

Yeah it is probably a bit overkill. Although I do like the higher look. Maybe I'll drop it down a little.

Don't misunderstand me, I LOVE the taller 'look' as well as the sight line from driver seat. I have experimented with many heights, speeds, loads, and the lower you can roll the better with factory 'normal' being the best.

 

[Businessmindltd]

I realize these things have conventional stuns with air springs to finish everything, rather than a customary loop spring. Regularly, the air springs start spilling and afterward you more often than not supplant the whole assembly(shock + spring). I know Arnott is viable(and better) elective OEM substitution. I was additionally figuring the stun can destroy first, without the spring.

 

[SimonHartropp]

Others may provide better answers, but anecdotally, I can tell you I don't recall hearing about those needing to be replaced and we now have several 100K+ mile LR4's in the forum, so they seem pretty durable.

 

[SimonHartropp]

The yellow warning lights came on for my LR3 suspensions at about 175,000km. It cost a few thousand C$ to replace the complete set, BUT my drives of several thousand km in this northern American winter have been trouble-free, worry-free - and the yellow lights no longer shine. All the full suspension and traction features are once again up and working. For me it was worth spending the money, taking my dealer maintenance crew's recommendation rather than second-guessing. The JLR Laval crew are really keen to keep my LR3 in good running order.

 

[Bogwhoppit]

Don't misunderstand me, I LOVE the taller 'look' as well as the sight line from driver seat. I have experimented with many heights, speeds, loads, and the lower you can roll the better with factory 'normal' being the best.

Well I did take your advice, and had a play around with on and off road heights, and found the perfect height for me rolling around the Pine Barrens, +30mm, so slightly over 1" This is not crazy high in off-road mode either, but then again I rarely use terrain response. I've found simply turning off traction control, and using the trans. in manual mode (2nd gear perfect for sand) is fine. Haven't gotten been stuck yet.

 

[CarBazaarFL]

Arnott has their factory in our county and a good friend of mine works there. I've use them for all things air suspension since before I can remember. I do know at one time they used Bilstein shocks for several products but Bilstein pulled the plug on that partnership (maybe 5 years ago) and now they use several shock providers including Monroe, Eibach and Focus.

I was selling a L322 (supercharged 2011) that needed a front air strut fixed and as I recall they more options than I needed ; - ) You could get a new replacement air spring (which is what I did) and rebuild your own, remanufactured OE strut (unknown miles and damage), one of their own designed struts (no core charge and new damper with zero miles) or just rip out the whole air suspension and put in coil springs (for that "ford like" ride). I went with the air spring option because it was the least expensive option (under $300ish). Saw the vehicle not long ago and the guy was really happy with it.