Hello all,

I just picked up a 2008 LR3 from our local Carmax auction which I knew had a suspension issue. I didn’t get a chance to inspect it first, but knew it was down to the bump stops so I had it hauled to the house. After pulling and clearing codes, the compressor started and struggled about 10 secs then shutoff. It had a Arnott AMK so I replaced it. After starting the car it finally started raising but took so long it shutoff due to overheat. I pulled the relay and let it sit overnight.

Started it up this morning let the compressor run for 2 mins set the height to normal and all 4 corners quickly raised. Left side holds steady, right front seems ok, but right rear quickly drops from 19” down to 16” once you turn the car off. Obviously I’m thinking bad leak right rear. This evening I hooked up my Autel to monitor the values. Height sensor voltage looks good. In the short period of about 50 seconds it would raise lower raise lower. I wanted to ask before assuming it is a leaking strut could there be an issue with the height sensor? The other thing is in this 2-3 minute I had it running it threw a C1A36 - intermittent exhaust valve. Could this just be from the strut height problem. Hoping I don’t have an issue with the new compressor and I’ve made sure not to let it overheat again.

I’ve had my 07 LR3 for about a year and thankfully no issues with the EAS so this is my first time working on it. Yes I know I need to buy the Gap tool!

Thanks,

Rob

 

It sounds like a leak somewhere that likely burned out the original compressor. I would start by spraying the air bags and connections with soapy water to see if there are any obvious external leaks. I have heard of air tanks rusting on the top side and leaking, you might need to drop the tank to see this. I'm not sure where the air struts typically fail but someone more experienced might chime in on that.

It might also be worth servicing the rear solenoid valve block. If one of the valves is clogged up with old dessicant and doesn't seat fully a strut might be loosing it's charge back into the galley.

Edit: I didn't realize this was an old post with new spam. Hopefully OP got his suspension sorted out...

 

Sounds to me like a leak at the strut or a leak at the rear suspension control valve that feeds that corner. Both have brass voss fittings that you should spray first with soapy water. There are no electrics in your strut, just the control valve and that generally isn't the problem.

These air struts fail at the voss fittings, which connect at the top. Just follow the air supply line. The voss fittings are brass and have o-rings on the inside diameter that fail. These fittings can be re-used if you can get the compression ring off without bending it too much, then replace the o-ring and add some vaseline so it's easy to tighten.

The control valve is mounted to the top of the frame rail behind the left rear wheel. It can leak at the voss fitting or internally. Ebay has rebuild kits for cheap and it's easy to rebuild. There is nothing in there to break except for more o-rings. Aftermarket replacements generally don't last and they are made of weaker plastic with threads that easily strip when reconnecting the brass voss fittings. I'd recommend rebuilding.

If someone put the Arnott compressor in there they probably used a shop that took good care of it. That's a pricey compressor, sounds like a good find!