EAS Compressor Field
Repair / Temporary Rebuild
Introduction
Procedure
More Permanent Repair Using Home Made Parts
Parts Source for OEM Piston Seal
More Information
Photo:
Substituting the teflon ring on the piston with a plastic section from
a film container
Introduction
Our colleague Daniele Barbagallo in
Italy experienced a failure in his Range Rover air compressor that was
no longer able to provide enough pressure. Having the need to use the
Rangie, after reading these pages, he decided to open the compressor
and to try a repair on the field. During this operation he discovered
that the Teflon ring on the piston can be temporarily substituted with
part of a cylindrical 35 mm photographic film container!! This is a
major breakthrough in Air Suspension Field Repair, and we are eternally
grateful to Daniele for sharing the details of is method below.
Procedure
Instructions are the following:
o After dismounting the compressor, remove the four screws on the cap;
remove valves group and the cylinder.
o Using a suitable screwdriver remove carefully (avoiding damage to the
aluminium ring and the piston) the small ring on the top of the piston.
o Place the ring on the bottom of the film container, with an adhesive
tape on the external surface of the ring fill the gap in order to
centre it.
o Using the ring as guide cut the central part of the bottom. The hole
must be of the same diameter (internal) of the aluminium ring.
o Cut the external part at the level of the top of the ring. The result
is an L shaped ring containing the aluminium one.
o Remove the tape.
o Insert the ring on the piston, and place the aluminium ring on the
piston, with bended pliers press down in order to align the surface of
the ring, and the piston (the plastic L shaped must not protrude this
surface!).
o After a very small lubrification of the ring with Vaseline,
reassembly the compressor and run the motor.
Important: the
plastic material of the ring is not able to survive the high
temperatures reached in the normal workng condition, so run the motor
for a maximum of 3 minutes. It can be switched on only when the head of
the compressor is cold. Normally in 3 or four of these cycles the tank
will be filled.
After reaching the right level with passengers onboard, switch off the
motor and disconnect the fuse or unplug the EAS timer relay; the
suspension remains frozen, and you can continue the trip.
More Permanent Repair from Home-Made
Parts
Daniele further reports: "By the way, on my car during the winter the
ring was worn out after 3 days of normal use, probably in the summer is
a different story. At this time, I am waiting for the repair kit from Airbag Man, but in the meantime, I have
built a Teflon ring starting from a hydraulic bush, and it is properly
working. Next time I will tell you the results."
Parts Sources for OEM Teflon Ring
As of 2006, fellow Rover owner Dennis Altman has found a source for the
genuine Teflon Rings used as the seal on the compressor piston. He now
offers it through his Rover Renovations
store as a separate part for those who wish to make this repair without
replacing the other components for a complete rebuild. The cost for the
ring alone is approximately $36. He also offers numerous other parts
for the compressor.
More
Information
Airbag Man
Air suspension parts and compressor rebuild kits (Australia)
Air Suspension Field Recovery Page
Air Suspension Information & Diagnosis
main page
Compressor Rebuild Page
(official rebuild methods)
Compressor Diagnosis &
Replacement Page
Range Rover Repair Operation Details Index
Range
Rover Parts Sources page (look under "suspension")
Rover Renovations
Inexpensive Range Rover EAS components including compressor rebuild
kits & parts (USA)
Please email me if you
have experience with getting these pumps repaired or rebuilt
so we can share your experience with others.
Last
Updated March 2005