MOT - rear suspension

[Beefbeefbeef]

MOT today - passed - but a couple of observations from the garage that the rear suspension needs replacing (allegedly circa £1100 for the parts as it's air suspension). They said "You would have noticed it wallowing in the corners". I said "It always wallows in the corners!".

Also brake disks all round (circa £400 for the parts) so I may be looking at the thick end of £2k inc labour at some point. That's before I figure in the air con problem in my last post!

I have been concerned about the suspension ever since I bought the car 4 years ago and someone said that the LC5 air suspension is expensive to sort out. I know some people replace with springs but that seems a bit of a heath robinson solution.

Any other ideas for cost effective solutions would be helpful!

cheers

 

[stiperstones]

Try milners for for your parts type it in google great prices

 

[Beefbeefbeef]

cheers.

 

[Gary Stockton]

Lol me again. Depends on what is wrong - I never had any complaints on the airbags on my LC5. If it's the levellers then Milners have them. For better prices than Mr T.

If it's the bags themselves I'll be extremely surprised - I've only ever heard of one issue and that's on an Aussie truck that was doing extreme stuff.

Could be pipework or the compressor / drier I guess??

 

[Beefbeefbeef]

Cheers Gary.

I did have a look on Milners just now but couldn't see anything that fitted the description so have emailed them. My mechanic didn't use the words airbags or levellers (I'm a novice with suspension matters admittedly) so I need to ask him again. The MOT last year said the rear suspension was "weeping" slightly - not sure what or where.

 

[Beefbeefbeef]

If they are £1100 at Toyota then they must be significant bits of kit.

 

[Gary Stockton]

Ahh maybecshocks weeping. And as they are TEMS shocks I can imagine expensive. No one else will do those.

I never used that little adjuster on the centre console so was happy to chuck those shocks out and go with after market ones. A full set of EFS shocks for e.g. for all 4 corners will be about £400 or so ....

 

[Beefbeefbeef]

Yeh, £400 is a lot better than £1100. Right enough, I never use the adjustable height and frankly I can't really see why I would need it.

Would I have to change all 4 shocks in my situation, rather than just the two at the rear?

 

[Gary Stockton]

You don't really need to change all 4 except I usually do as a set unless ones damaged.

Its not the hi-lo switch - it's the one next to it it with a pic of a shock absorber and, think, 3 settings on a dial

 

[Beefbeefbeef]

Righto, I know the one. I never use that either!

I presume the high - low function would stop working as well if I changed to conventional shocks.

Would the handling characteristics change at all?

 

[Gary Stockton]

No the hi-lo works off the air bags (air springs) and is unaffected. And handling will be a lot better!! The wallowing will go away a lot especially if you change all 4 shocks for a matched set.

 

[Beefbeefbeef]

I mean will the handling be better than it was before the problem arose and I was on standard LC5 air suspension? (It's always seemed pretty wallowy anyway which I put down to the height and weight of the vehicle).

 

[Gary Stockton]

That'll be a subjective call really. Depends on what you choose to do with the suspension setup. It show be more controlled though

 

[Beefbeefbeef]

Cheers. I think this route could be more attractive in view of the cost saving and the age of the vehicle.

 

[stiperstones]

Just a question would it affect the computers for level control does it not lower itself the faster you go. Just a thought

 

[Gary Stockton]

Nope. The levels are auto - the ride height sensors and ecu keep the back at the same height irrespective of the load. The shocks won't alter that really

 

[stiperstones]

Just thinkig about tempremental range rover i had get up in a morning it would look like the leaning tower pisa pain in the butt could not get rid of it fast enough you also had to have deep pockets maintaince wise spent more time in the garage than on the road.

 

[Sag]

Just thinkig about tempremental range rover i had get up in a morning it would look like the leaning tower pisa pain in the butt could not get rid of it fast enough you also had to have deep pockets maintaince wise spent more time in the garage than on the road.

funny enough my brother had a Range Rover and he had to have deep deep pockets for 3 years always going wrong,he's got a Porsche Cayenne turbo now seems a lot better all round bar the fuel bill lol

 

[Beefbeefbeef]

I didn't do enough research into the differences between LC3, LC4 and LC5 when I bought my 120. I just saw that it was the LC5 and thought "great, top of the range", not realising it has an Achilles heel in the air suspension - just like the Range Rover's notorious air suspension. I have had 4 relatively trouble free years of motoring however so I need to be philosophical about this latest issue!

 

[Beefbeefbeef]

Hi Gary

I'm just pricing this kit up now. On Milners the front and rear shocks are £48 each so £192 for the 4. Are EFS the mutt's nuts?