My 5.0 SC has the adaptive damping system - and when I came out of the house this morning, a hole in one of the front airbags

Quick question - if I buy new airbags, can I swap those onto the struts, or do I have to buy the whole strut? Price difference appears to be approx £150 for the bag or £500 for the strut (each!).

Thanks. 5.0 S/C Autobiography
Defender 3.9i Auto, Aston Martin DB9, Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo Plus and seven, no eight, bikes!

Previously:

4.4 AJ V8 Vogue, RRC, 4.6 VSE P38, Disco V8, SIII V8 - there's a theme here! Plus multiple others, some of which were also V8s!

Yes, just new air-springs can be fitted - been there, done that.

Only fit genuine air-springs on the rear as Bilstein aren't long enough for the later, longer shocks and will burst when fully-extended if the rear-end is bounced while in off-road height.

Great, thanks Graeme. It's "just" a front one which has gone - I used the car yesterday, came out of the house this morning and it was kneeling to greet me Pumped up quickly but I turned it off again and checked and could hear the hiss from the OSF bag. I'll get a pair ordered up. 5.0 S/C Autobiography
Defender 3.9i Auto, Aston Martin DB9, Fiat Coupe 20V Turbo Plus and seven, no eight, bikes!

Previously:

4.4 AJ V8 Vogue, RRC, 4.6 VSE P38, Disco V8, SIII V8 - there's a theme here! Plus multiple others, some of which were also V8s!

Mine gets gritty mud between the air-spring and the shock which when dry is very abrasive, eventually wearing many holes in the rubber. I regularly raise the suspenison to maximum height to hose out the dirt, trying to prolonge the life of the air-springs. The same occurs at the rear so they get hosed-out too.

GraemeS wrote:

Yes, just new air-springs can be fitted - been there, done that.

Only fit genuine air-springs on the rear as Bilstein aren't long enough for the later, longer shocks and will burst when fully-extended if the rear-end is bounced while in off-road height.

The CVD extended length is longer than earlier shocks although MY07-09 TDV8 non-CVD also extended further.

Any idea where I can look in depth into this, I had bilstein's fitted Wednesday on a 2012 S/C. 2012 Supercharged L322

Bilstein rear CVDs are the correct length. I have them on mine and can confirm that when used with Bilstein air-springs the air-springs will split but genuine LR don't and I'm not the only person who has had this issue. Surprisingly Bilstein think that their air-springs made for earlier models are long enough but they aren't when used at off-road height and the suspension becomes fully-extended, where they split right down the sides. The LR air-spring part number for use with the longer shocks is different to the earlier air-springs.

Now I shall have to inspect my 2012 S/C rear air springs are genuine or other... 2012 Supercharged L322

Hi there

Jumping on the bandwagon of this thread: my LH air spring is leaking (hissing when in extended position). Shall I replace both, or just the leaky one?

The ones from Aerosus are much cheaper (but not as cheap as the Chinese ones). Are they any good , os sall I stick to the OEM brands?

Another question: How long will shocks last? I might then as well change the whole strut. But as said above, struts with Active Damping are horrebly expansive, let alone 2 of them.

Any advise would be welcome!

Rob 2012 RR Vogue 4.4 TDV8 Sumatra Black
2004 Defender 110 Td5 Epsom Green, 'Alive' Chip tuned and a Warn 8274 Winch
1978 Citroen Mehari Orange Kirghise
2001 Defender 90 Td5 Softop (gone)
1992 RR Classic 300TDi 'Soft dash' Green (gone)
1989 RR Classic V8 Caspian Blue (gone)

Front or rear

I had my rear shocks ( as my bags were fine ) done an month ago. Went through LRParts got the Bilstein's delivered for under 1k from UK to Canada in 4 business days. They are active damping. Cost to install was $200'ish by my mechanic. Go that route. Don't skimp. 2012 Supercharged L322

Just changed all 4 struts but left the rear bags in place as looked in good condition. After 170k miles the struts were IMO still functional and the ride quality on the new ones ( bilstien rear and Aerosus front) is only marginally improved. It’s easier to swop the whole strut but swooping just the bag is not much more difficult having dismantled them afterwards. Defo change both bags at the front as the rubber was age perished so the other will be near done. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Sorry guys, the left hand front suspension air spring, I have to replace. 2012 RR Vogue 4.4 TDV8 Sumatra Black
2004 Defender 110 Td5 Epsom Green, 'Alive' Chip tuned and a Warn 8274 Winch
1978 Citroen Mehari Orange Kirghise
2001 Defender 90 Td5 Softop (gone)
1992 RR Classic 300TDi 'Soft dash' Green (gone)
1989 RR Classic V8 Caspian Blue (gone)

Just swop both front bags esp if cost is an issue and if you have a clean work area to do the bag swop on the struts. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

i used aerosus all round without any issues.

Did bags and struts as my rears we're pojoing like crazy. Its actually a sport

Not anymore, 4.4 TDV8 now