LR3 Air to Coil conversion.....one year later.

[spikemd]

I have done some trails with a factory coil sprung LR3. It has traction control but not the terrain response that the EAS trucks have. They also look a bit different as his truck has body colored bumpers which isn't seen on other LR3 until 2009. One issue he was tackling was that the factory springs compressed too much when loaded for the trail. He upgraded the springs but I am not sure which brand.

Overall, EAS is great up to 100k miles but if you have a dedicated trail rig, it is a liability. Too many components can go wrong. In Death Valley last year we had about 5 LR3 and one section of bumpy road caused a fault in each one. The computer reset after you turned the vehicle off and Thankfully we had no mechanical issues. I loved EAS in my P38 but when a brand new air spring ruptured on my buddy's rig and he drove 600 miles home on bumpstops, we ditched EAS for coils. No more worries.

The white LR3 in the middle is the coiler.

 

[brickpaul65]

Spike,

Can you explain the fault? I may be panicking unduly since I had my first suspension fault while on a trail about a month ago. A restart fixed it. I recieved a suspension raising slowly message right after it. I have not had any issues since but I am just driving to and from work. Thanks.

 

[JAK]

Spike,

Can you explain the fault? I may be panicking unduly since I had my first suspension fault while on a trail about a month ago. A restart fixed it. I recieved a suspension raising slowly message right after it. I have not had any issues since but I am just driving to and from work. Thanks.

Suspension raising slowly can be an indication that your compressor is on the way out or it can mean that it is simply overheating. If you change ride height frequently you can drain the reservoir quickly causing the compressor to work extra hard and thus overheating. After 100,000 miles my compressor gave out but not before the raising slowly message appeared a couple dozen times.

As for the faults in Death Valley, I too get faults on the washboard roads, Saline Valley, Titus and so on. I probably drive too fast but these are long trails. As the suspension deals with the surface there is a lot of change in height sensor values. When I read the faults, nearly all are associated with data issues over the CAN Bus. I am not saying that these types of faults are what Spike has seen, but most LR3s I have travelled with will throw faults on a trail at some point. If it can be reset by restarting, it is usually a communication problem in the system.

 

[JAK]

I have done some trails with a factory coil sprung LR3. It has traction control but not the terrain response that the EAS trucks have. They also look a bit different as his truck has body colored bumpers which isn't seen on other LR3 until 2009. One issue he was tackling was that the factory springs compressed too much when loaded for the trail. He upgraded the springs but I am not sure which brand.

Overall, EAS is great up to 100k miles but if you have a dedicated trail rig, it is a liability. Too many components can go wrong. In Death Valley last year we had about 5 LR3 and one section of bumpy road caused a fault in each one. The computer reset after you turned the vehicle off and Thankfully we had no mechanical issues. I loved EAS in my P38 but when a brand new air spring ruptured on my buddy's rig and he drove 600 miles home on bumpstops, we ditched EAS for coils. No more worries.

The white LR3 in the middle is the coiler.

Nearly all of the vehicles in this picture break Scott Brady's 7th commandment of modifying an overland vehicle!

 

[brickpaul65]

How long should the compressor run after raising from normal to offroad height on flat ground? It seems to be taking longer now (I have added rods though and never really paid attention - the tactical rover skids also make it easier to hear and may be responsible for increasing my fears).

 

[spikemd]

Nearly all of the vehicles in this picture break Scott Brady's 7th commandment of modifying an overland vehicle!

Haha! Yes, we all know where Scott stands in regards to roofracks but sometimes you need the extra storage. I would like to have an onboard water system tucked between the frame rails and extra long range fuel tank but until then, those are going on top. One of the CTs is Shayne Young who is travelling around the world. His 110 of course was loaded with everything as he ad his wife are living out of it.

In regards to the faults, I don't remember the specifics but most likely data issues that were cleared upon restarting the vehicle. It was a fast section with sections of small rocks which probably overloaded the sensors.

 

[spikemd]

RoverRandom, what are the part numbers for the OME springs?

Kevin, the guy with the factory coiler bought from Nathan Woods pictured above was sourcing springs from Australia because noone in the states had a kit last year. It definitley sat too low with the factory springs especially loaded for the trail.

If I got an LR3, I would convert to coils but your lift is limited by control arms and axles. Sorry, IFS guys...

 

[JAK]

How long should the compressor run after raising from normal to offroad height on flat ground? It seems to be taking longer now (I have added rods though and never really paid attention - the tactical rover skids also make it easier to hear and may be responsible for increasing my fears).

I think the empty to full time takes about 60-90 seconds. It should not take much run time at all to go from normal to off road.

 

[roverandom]

Towards the end of my EAS days I would get loads of communications errors. It started out when going on rough ground and ended up being a full time issue. Most could be traced to the height sensors. Although my LR3 likes to constantly whine about everything.
Once these vehicles have some years and serious miles on them it does seem like one problem after another with the EAS.

I will need to look at the paperwork to see if I can find a part # for the springs. I think DAP also sell the OME springs and lift spacers too.

 

[Red90]

Does AB sell the magic box separately? This would allow other options such as buying a different brand of struts (for coils) or changing the air springs to a manual control. Manual control would probably be my choice. You can still adjust height as desired but lose all of the finicky computer control. As I understand it, the height sensors can still work. Both Firestone and Airlift make nice dual pressure gauge/manual controllers that look nice.

 

[roverandom]

Not sure if the magic orange box is available seperately or not? It wasn't when I ordered. The height sensors are still monitored by the EAS computer with the coil retrofit. That's why when I moved from the standard height springs to the lift springs it threw an error code at me.
The problem, as I understand it, is in order for the TR to function it needs to talk with the EAS. The magic orange box disables the compressor etc during the initial configuration process but it must allow the EAS module to remain active and connected via the CAN bus. Then, if you wire the magic orange box in series as I did, it intercepts the error codes and lets the TR think all is well with the EAS. But with my lift springs the LR3 saw a discrepancy that obviously pointed to the fact the magic orange box was designed solely for use with standard height springs. I got around that problem by affixing the height sensors in the 'normal' position, but I no longer required them with the coils. If retaining some form of aftermarket air bags then perhaps this wouldn't be a problem?

I agree, having individual control over the LR3's integrated systems would allow a much greater degree of customization whether you use coils or EAS. Perhaps one day a software boffin will figure that out?

I would also love to be able to customize and even adjust-on-the-fly the TR settings myself. Then I could really dial the truck into the current terrain conditions. I have found that while in general the TR system is very good, it can interfere at times.

 

[Red90]

I'm suggesting leaving the stock airbags and compressor and setting it up to run the compressor with your own switch and manual inflate/deflate the airbags. Airlift does a nice gauge with two needles and valve to inflate and deflate two systems. That is all you need.

 

[DVD]

...Once these vehicles have some years and serious miles on them it does seem like one problem after another with the EAS.

I feel bad for tone of some of the EAS-advocate replies in this thread, but as a 2005 LR3 owner with 115k mi, I hope this is a broad brush statement.

I'm glad to hear that the coil conversion is a good alternative, and I think I would have done the same given your circumstances, but I think there are many of us driving our EAS equipped vehicles with high mileage and without serious problems.

I bought mine at 95k mi and the previous owner recently replaced one front airbag.
At 110k mi. I started having problems with the left front airbag (problem corner diagnosed with IID tool) and with some research determined the cause was either a faulty sensor or wiring. I ordered both so I'd have spares, and it turned out to be the wiring that had a nicked cable. Spent under $150 and had good working spare sensor and wiring kit (after I spliced the nicked one and kept it as a spare). All fixed and suspension fine.
Oh and I bought the $35 or so compressor rebuild kit and did that as preventative maintenance (looking forward to the day when I get the AMK, but I'd rather spend $35 today and keep Hitachi save $800 for another few years).
Knock on wood!

 

[no-pistons]

I seriously considered the coil conversion when one of the front struts started leaking at about 58K miles. After using the LR3 off road a few times, I kind of wish I did the coil conversion.

I don't know, the LR3 air suspension feels weird to me. It's fairly rough over large bumps (even speed bumps), and seems to blow through its travel fairly quickly. I think my stock D1 feels smoother off road.

Truck is great in every other way, but riding on air is very new to me and I'm not sure I like it just yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[roverandom]

When I first had my 3 I really liked the EAS as well and I hear lots of reports from owners that have retained the system and have not encountered major problems. Sadly, this was not my own experience.

My 3 also was rough riding, especially when in the lifted settings. Some of that you could contribute to worn struts but also part of the blame go's to the airbags attaining lift by raising the air pressure in the airspring bladder.