Since the Linley has been restored I’ve had her parked in the garage under wraps.
What I do, when I don’t drive it on the occasional non wet weekends, is put a jack stand under each corner, disconnect the earth/ground off the battery and leave her be.
Usually she will sit down on the stands after 6 or 7 days. The height of the stands are about 1” lower than the normal driving height when I put them in place. When I’m ready to take her out I start it up, close the doors and select normal ride height, wait for her to rise and off I go.
My question would be, is this a “good practice” method of storing her on jack stands? I’m trying to avoid the bags deflating and inflating as much as possible and I also understand that the EAS can wake and sleep if it’s not disconnected from power source.
Stay healthy....
Mine sat for 2 years on its bump stops and rose immediately once started!
Guess it depends on the state of your EAS system..
As for the bags they move around to some great degree when driving so i don't think having them deflate/inflate will damage them..
Normal recommendation is to put the stands under the axles to take the weight off the tyres and prevent them developing flat spots but if you are only leaving it for a week or so, it probably doesn't matter.
My tires only went flat on the bottom
Fnarr!!
Ha!
I left the laptop with the EAS TS Manual at work, so I do not have the exact value of "accepted drop", but 1" in 6-7 days I think is a sign of a system that has seen better days. Remember this is with battery off, this mean pneumatic loss either from the air springs or valve block. Since it stands on the stands (no pun intended!) there is no way to know how level it stays (in the sense one or more corners are failing). One of my mate's beauty with a full renewed system stays without drop for more than 10 days ....
Ideally, you should leave it at high/off road height, this way the springs are fully inflated and extended. They already spend all their time in normal use at normal height, which contributes to create a uniform area of wear....
Leaving it on high and on stands is a good idea to diminish the crushing effect of the falling weight deflating the springs, even if the compressor will need to work to recover the pressure. How fast does it go up after startup?
Always good to test the system's endurance with electrics on and off, to differentiate from a problem with sensors, ECU or pressure switch, or with the pneumatic part (springs, connectors, lines, valves).
I am sure this is a topic beated to death, these are the only couple things I try to remember religiously ....
Mine has been sat for 4 weeks in Wade mode and hasn't dropped an inch.
Which is nice!
Could always put a yellow relay in place of the tall eas relay. System won't wake up with that in. Won't connect to diagnostics though.
For the EAS: I would just depressurise with nanocom and leave it on the bump stops. Disconnect the battery (from an unlocked state). If you're keen put axles stands under the axles.
I'd disagree and leave on high. Stops the airsprings from being folded and doesn't crush the bumpstops. I always leave the Ascot on high and it hasn't dropped in a month.
Sorry for the delay, I've found the reference ... EAS System Information Document (1998)*, page 18: "The vehicle should not drop more than 15mm (.6 in.) per day due to leakage."
That is a generous amount ... they were expecting a mess, probably :-)
- need to check if it is in the "pub's library" :-)
Fair comment Richard. I guess the trade off is high and inflated vs folded and uninflated, and with no pressure in the air lines. So maybe axle stands under the chassis to high ride height -1 inch, and then exhaust the EAS is a better compromise? Or fit High calibration blocks and send to Access height
Thing is, it's only being left for a week so it shouldn't really be necessary to do anything other than park it.
I can't see that depressurising the EAS system to store it is a good idea. I don't think anyone depressurises tires for storage.
But Harv, a tyre is a completely different animal (even if deflating them, once they're on stands takes less than a few minutes)... More comparable is my shop work compressor (also contains a pressure chamber, o rings, connectors, air lines etc), where the manufacturers recommend not to leave the system pressurised.
No biggie, clearly EAS is designed for it, and I wouldn't bother with it myself. I'm thinking more long term. I cant see any downside in doing it though, assuming damp air has not been introduced as part of the depressurisation.
The other thing I was wondering about though is whether there is any surface treatment recommended for the air springs eg wax or silicone spray to slow the wear/ ageing process. I've never fitted new air springs, but curious to know if the fitting guides come with any guidance like that
Thanks for the reply Rob. I'm not sure if I understand the reason for deflating a compressor, but they must have a reason. I've replaced all of my air springs twice, and 2 of them 3 times. There was no such recommendation. It would be nice if there was a coating you could apply to extend their life. They do seem to last 15+ years, so we probably can't expect much better than that.
I'd leave the EAS Pressurised - at least any leaks would involve dried air leaving the system rather than damp air potentially coming in. I'd have thought the de-pressurising options are for maintenance where you don't want 150psi in the face. But, I'm no engineer so I could be talking utter carp :)
Looks like the logic of depressurising a workshop compressor is to reduce the amount of condensate produced on standing (and then to allow for said condensate to be drained from the plug). I guess the P38 EAS is better in that it will has some in-line dryer capacity. I've just made a mental note to go and drain both my shop compressor and the EAS
It would be nice if there was a coating you could apply to extend their life.
I am only aware of a single recommendation from a mate with good experience ... remove the springs, clean them up with warm soapy water to keep them supple and remove all grit which in turn wears them out earlier than expected.
I've fitted all new ones an year ago, but I will try his recommendation this summer, if i ever get the lady moving again ...
Time and effort versus benefit - If I owned a P38 and didn't use it for 6 months there's no way I'd remove the air springs to extend their life, nor would I take them off to wash them anytime. Jet wash them maybe lol.
I agree LOL
Jet wash them off occasionally.