Hi all,
As per other thread, I've been testing the air springs on the Rangie today, by leaving it parked with/without the tailgate open (to inhibit self-levelling) and measuring the height from the ground to the wheel arches. I estimate my accuracy of measuring to be about +/- 1mm or so.
Test 1: Wading height (highest manual setting), self levelling inhibited All maintained height to within +/- 2mm over 1 hour 45 minutes
Test 2: Wading height, self levelling automatic (without resetting) All maintained height over 1 hour 30 minutes to within +/- 1mm
Test 3: Normal ride height, self levelling automatic All maintained height over 1 hour 30 minutes to within +/- 1mm except left rear which dropped from 815mm to 811mm
So, with the possible exception of the left rear spring, my springs appear to be leak-free at this ride height over periods of a couple of hours. I'll check the height difference overnight when I can leave it on a flat surface overnight.
I have found in the past that it settles on to the bump stops over about 4 days. Is this normal? At this point it took a long time to get to normal ride height (probably about 5 mins), presumably because the reservoir itself was empty.
The reason I did all this was because (as mentioned before) I seem to be losing air in normal use, because the compressor seems to run quite a bit. Even when parked at the petrol station it recharges the reservoir for several minutes after a couple of minutes standing.
So, it looks like I'm either losing air from somewhere other than the springs, or I'm losing air from the springs but only noticeably when the vehicle is moving. No obvious air bubbles from the valve block inputs when I spray them with soapy water. What should I check next?
Could I be losing air from the valve block itself - ie, when the block is active because the springs are moving up and down, air is escaping from part of the block? How about the reservoir, or the link from the reservoir to the block? Any common problems with this area I should check?
Also, does anybody know the threshold the auto-levelling operates on? ie, how much difference before it levels?
Thanks, David.