Air Suspension Field Repair with Wood Blocks


Introduction
I encountered a most novel method of field repair for air suspensions recently when Chris Crompton of Abu Dhabi wrote in with the idea of adding wood blocks to the axles under the bump stops (in the approximate position used by the calibration blocks when you get your EAS calibrated at the dealer). This page details Chris's ingenious solution to getting back home over miles of dunes requiring high clearance.

Airbag Damage in the Desert
Chris reports "Well it finally happened – went on a three day expedition last weekend, and on day one I blew an airbag !!! We were about 20km into the desert when I hit a bump, went a little bit airborne, only about 12 inches, but when I landed on the LH front corner there was a sonic boom as air at 150 psi exploded into the sand !!! This made life interesting as the front corner is down to the bumpstop, the EAS is trying frantically to level the car with air shooting out all over.

Insertion of Wood Blocks
"So we managed to fabricate an interesting field repair consisting of a lump of wood and lots of duct tape – see picture above right. The wood was taped onto the axle and the jack lowered so that the bumpstop rested on the wood.  The airline was disconnected from the top of the damaged airbag and sealed.  I then replaced the EAS timer and let the car pump up the other three corners to full height, then before it realized that there was a problem with the new wooden suspension, I unplugged the EAS timer.

"I ran like this for 2 days in the desert over some very challenging terrain and the Rangie went like a dream.  I struggled a bit in some places as the wooden suspension didn’t provide a lot of axle articulation, but I still made it through the sand where others stuck. Every now and then I had to stop, turn off the engine, plug the EAS timer back in and pump up the other three corners, the pull out the timer before it noticed that something was wrong, but as field repairs go, this worked very very well.

A Coil Conversion as a Permanent Solution
"We made it home ok, but I made a difficult decision and have had the EAS replaced with coils!!! I did not want to have to do this, but with the sort of treatment my Rangie gets in some pretty harsh conditions, I cannot afford to have this system breaking again, both financially and from a safety perspective. I’ve swapped to a full Old Man Emu setup, picked the car up yesterday and am getting used to the ride now and will be trying it out in the sand this weekend.  The clearance is pretty good at the back, and I opted for tough springs to keep it high even when loaded with kit.  The front is a little low, I might have to pack it out a bit to give me another inch or so. So, apologies to the EAS fans, but I have had to make the change.  This was not something I wanted to do, but feel it is the most sensible long term option for both my pocket and my desert survival."