| Author |
Message |
    
CarlT
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 02:28 am: | 
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So the time has finally come to lift my DSII 2". OME springs in the front and SLS in the rear. I was at my friendly dealer today, and was shocked when they suggested that they could help me reprogram the SLS to give me an extra 2 in the rear. Cool, they are finally loosening up. The Tech I spoke to said it will not affect my warranty and will not affect my ride quality.
The way I see it I have 3 choices;
- Play with the sensor myself, parts $15,-
- Reprogram the SLS, Labour cost $60,-
- Buy SLS spacers, $140,- + plus the work of installing them.
So my questions to those who have changed their SLS settings are;
- Does the ride quality suffer from over inflating the bags?
- Should I go for the spacers? My dealer didn't like the thought of that...
- Did you/should I change the rear shocks as well to accommodate the extra ride height?
Any suggestions are appreciated.
Carl |
Brock
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 07:54 am: |
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Carl
I had my SLS reset. It does make it a little stiffer ride. Also I have not upgraded my rear shocks...which I need to do. But the SLS reset height is very easy.
Whe I off road I do not raise the SLS until I need the extra body height. I grounded out on a tree trunk. I raise my SLS, then I hopped over it.
All the Best
Brock, Toronto, Canada
00 Disco II |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 12:36 pm: |
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WOW!!! That's a good dealer. They aren't in the Metro DC area are they?
Here's what I have done and what I have learned from my SLS lift that started in 2000. First thing I did was spend about $2 in parts to do the sensor modification. What I found was that the ride was stiff but I could deal.
Later when OME came out with the rear shocks I tried to putting them on but I found that fully extended there was too much pressure on the air bags and while they didn't seem like they would rip it looked like a cause for premature wear on the lower back of the air bag.
Then when RoverTym came out with the spacers last fall I pick one of the first sets up and installed it. The airbag didn't fit but with a quick modification it was a snap to install. The spacers are angled in such a way that there is no longer a stress point on the airbags when extended. And the OME's fit just fine now. The ride is also MUCH better with the OME shocks and the SLS spacers.
So my 2 cents is to do what you need to to modify the sensor or get them to program it. It makes no difference really. Then don't get the OME shocks unless you also get the spacers. And I would get the spacers either right away or down the road. They're easy enough to install yourself and will reduce the wear on your air bags. I'm also keeping my old coil springs from the front and getting the extra pieces to do the conversion to rear coils. Since the extra pieces don't cost much I figure it's a good spare to carry should a air bag ever fail on a trail. |
Rick Lindgren
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 01:04 pm: |
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Al, what is involved in installing the spacers? Do you have to "bleed" the pressure from the air bags? If so, how?
Rick |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 01:38 pm: |
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The easiest way (and it's not as bad as it sounds) is this...
Turn the car off and chock the front wheels. Lock the CDL if you have it installed and parking brake... etc...
raise the rear of the vehicle onto jack stands. And remove the rear wheels. Then lift one side of the rear axle to remove *some* air then let that side drop and raise the other. This will help reduce the pressure in the air bags a little. Then locate the air compressor box under the driver seat on the outboard side of the frame. It's between the frame and the drivers door sill. The box is the size of a battery and has two silver "screws". Remove these two screws to take off the black hood covering the compressor.
There are 3 small air lines on the forward side of that box on the corner closest to you. (Trace the lines along the frame rail from the SLS bags to be sure you have the right lines.) Then start with one of the three lines closest to you (should be the driver side SLS line) and loosen the nut holding the line in place. It's a 10mm nut if I remember correctly. Loosen it enough to let the air out. I didn't take it out all the way to keep dirt from getting inside the hole but just enough to let the air out. Keep the nut loose and move to the driver side air bag and remove the two clips at the top of the SLS bag. Then the bag should be empty enough that all you need to do is pull the top down so the pins that had the clips holding it in place will free the bag enough for you to turn the entire air bag with your hands 90 degrees and it will pop off. Remember that you still have the air line into the bag and don't pull on it too much. Then move it aside and drop on the SLS spacer and fasten it with the two bolts provided. Use LocTite here. And then reassemble the air bag on top of the spacer.
Back at the air compressor tighten the nut (not too much) for the air bag you just worked on and loosen the nut on the other end. Of the three air lines with nuts you should leave the middle one alone. (again trace the line if you're not sure) and do the same to the passenger side SLS air bag and that's it. Then with everything back including the cover on the air box just turn on the vehicle (with all the doors closed) and it will inflate to "normal pressure".
It took me about 2 hours to install the SLS spacers and new shocks including the mods I had to make to get the (early production) spacers installed. |
CarlT
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 02:55 pm: |
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Hi AL
Thanks for the advise and great rightup on the SLS spacers. Do these spacers fit on the top or bottom of the bag, are they "very" visable?
Carl |
Rick Lindgren
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 03:34 pm: |
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Thanks, Al. Nice write-up. Simple and easy to visualize. I'll take a closer look this weekend.
Rick |
Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco)
| | Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2002 - 04:20 pm: |
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Carl, they fit on the bottom of the bag. You can't see them unless you pull off the wheel then there is a nice 1-2" silver puck sitting on the bottom of the air bag.
One other thing to keep in mind that I forgot to mention. Make sure the spacer is installed in the correct direction. They are angled a little to compensate for the change in angle of the axle. If you look at it before putting in the spacer it will be easy to tell what direction to put them in at. |
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