Hi all.
I've had a good search, but can't find what I'm after...

My 2007 3.6 TDV8 L322 has a leaking front passenger side air spring - it looks like the rubber is just old and perished. I'm planning tp replace the front axle set, possibly all four. A few questions first for your collective wisdom....:

1. Quite a few posts I've read on here talk about using 'Delphi' units from Island 4x4; I've looked today, and there is no mention of Delphi, just 'OEM part' - is Delphi the OEM?

2. The ones I'm looking at are £230+VAT each for one full replacement unit. Is that a decent price?

3. Is there any sense in replacing the rears at the same time - or do they tend to last significantly longer? (To the best of my knowledge it is still on its original bags).

4. Everyone says it is an easy job to do... Is that just the fronts, or are the rears also easy to do? (I did the rears on a P38 quite a few years ago and it was pretty straightforward as I recall...).

5. Is there anything significant I need to know before cracking on with it / any suggestions!?

Many thanks in advance.
Rich

The price quoted - £276 incl VAT - is a good price. Interestingly Island 4x4 used to have them labelled as Delphi. I would be happy to use them myself. I did replace the fronts on my Td6 when I had it with the Island products for the earlier L322.

Regarding the rears, the opinion is generally that they last much longer than the fronts and I woulddn't replace them unless they were definitely defective.

Do both fronts at the same time and leave the rears is my view. John
2008 Stornoway Grey 3.6 Tdv8 Vogue
2005 TD6 Java Black Vogue - Written off!!
GAP iiD BT
2003 Discovery TD5 Auto, Nanocom Evolution - gone to a new home!
MasseyFerguson 152 - No electronics!! - Sold

On my previous L322 I did the front and left the backs and had no issues.

getting the strut bolts out can be a bitch as they tend to sieze

its a good time to do the ball joints if they are worn as you can remove the whole hub easily when the hubs off which means you can get good access to get the torx bolts out and whack the ball joints out easily.

1.) Yes, Delphi seems to be part of the BWI Group, who are the original suppliers to LR. The original ones on my car were branded BWI. The team at Island 4x4 are super helpful if you call, or email them with your VIN, and they will give you all the options applicable to your specific vehicle.

2.) Yes, I needed the sadly more expensive ones with variable damping for my 2011 5.0 S/C, but when I was comparing prices just a couple of months ago Island 4x4 were the best, and the service was brilliant as well.

3.) No, the rears are a much simpler design without the shock going through them, and seem to last much longer. I'd replace the front pair for now.

5.) I was lucky when I did mine maybe 6-7 weeks ago, and everything came apart pretty easily. You will need a good socket set though and decent sized breaker bar as a minimum, and various jacks/axle stands. I followed the advice of some YouTube videos and had a second jack ready to be able to adjust the vehicle on the opposite side whilst lifted to make disconnecting/connecting the sway bar easy. Definitely worth soaking the various bolts in penetrating fluid over several days before you tackle the job, and watching a couple of the videos (several from Arnott, and other folk) on YouTube, which explain the procedure pretty clearly.

I personally ordered new knuckle bolts/nuts from Island 4x4 whilst getting the struts, in case I had to cut them out or damaged them during the process. Mine came out easily in the end, but I was happier fitting all new parts. The new struts don't come with the little plastic clip to hold the brake sensor wire on either, and the old one will snap if/when you try to extract it from the old strut, so don't forget to order a couple of those too. Part number and pic in my thread here: https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic54196-15.html .

Superb info; thank you gents. Just the fronts it is then!

I'm going to make sure I've got the bolts as well, and the brake sensor clip before I crack on. Mine spent a chunk of its early life near the coast, so the bolts are bound to be a nightmare.

Today's job is to make enough space in the garage to do the job!

Soak the bolts from all angles with Plusgas penetrating fluid for a couple of days prior to doing the job. Mine came out really easy by doing this. BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6

Did my fronts last year with Delphi ones from 4x4 Island not too bad of a job just remember to torque the bolts up with the weight of the car on the wheels

Torque settings - does anyone know where I can find this info for the main bolts in particular?

Cheers.
Rich

They are listed in the Workshop Manual (available in the wiki here), or on at least one of the YouTube videos I watched before doing this job.

My notes say:

Turret nuts: 56Nm / 41 lb ft
Knuckle bolts: 250Nm / 184 lb ft
Sway bar/stabiliser: 100Nm / 74 lb ft

Thank you all for the input. Job completed successfully.

My only thing to add is that Island 4x4 also sell the paper gasket that goes at the top of the strut (I don't have the part number to hand at the mo...).

Mine were an absolute PITA to remove the main bolts - despite liberal and regular spaying with WD40 to try to help. I ended up resorting to an actual 5kg sledge hammer in the end... and it still wasn't easy. Getting the nuts off wasn't too bad with a breaker bar (22mm socket), but getting the bolt out was a whole other problem.

The leaky bag side was easier; with hindsight, I should've released the air pressure from the good side before trying to remove the bolts - the pressure probably didn't help my cause.

My top tips... make sure you leave the nut on (loose) before belting the hell out of it with a sledge hammer! Progressively unwind the nut as you go. Patience and a dry garage are great assets too!!

18mm thin spanner for the flats of the ball joint nut.

Re-assembly was a doddle; would've been a really simple job overall if the bolts had come out!

Now to solve the extended mode issue...!

Many thanks again.
Rich

WD40 is useless as a penetrating fluid, in fact it's useless except for cleaning and water displacement. Plusgas or diesel / paraffin make much better penetrating fluid. It's a shame that Land Rover dont lubricate these things on assembly, it would save a lot of heartache. BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6

You must never lubricate nuts or bolts! If a nut or bolt is lubricated in any way this has the effect of doubling the tensile load that can be applied. This results in the potential applied load for a bolt being doubled at the same tightening torque.

I hear that sort of thing all the time, now consider rusty nuts rubbing on a corroded metal fitting which would present much more friction, the torque measurements have gone out of the window. During assembly the stem of the bolt could easily have grease or other corrosion preventative / protection applied leaving the threads clean and therefore complying with the torque measurement recommendations.
i seriously wonder how many people actually use a torque wrench in these situations? I also wonder how many people have their torque wrench calibration checked / adjusted ? BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6