Tire rotation w/EAS

[FS1]

Hi all! new to this forum. I was wondering if anyone had any info on doing an oil change and tire rotation with the Electronic air suspension? I have an 05 LR3 V8 HSE. I am tired of shelling out $250 for an oil change and rotation at the dealer. Something I do on my Harley and my 4runner in my driveway for little cost. No shop other than Land Rover will touch my rig because of the EAS to do an oil change or the tire rotation. Is there anyway to get this done without going to Land Rover? Do both services have to be done on an alignment rack to avoid stretching the bags? Any help would be great!

Thanks,
Mike

[cachinfool]

What good would putting it up on an alignment rack do. You would still somehow have to lift the thing up to get the tires off the ground to remove them. Try a tire shop, when I hade new tires put on Les Schwab had no problems putting it on a lift to put new tires on.
Oil Change: try a Jiffy Lube type of place that uses a pit instead of a lift.

[scott]

i've rotated our tires in the drive. hardest part was listening to the wife saying "be careful" over and over. she wasn't worried about me she was worried about her car. a tire shop lifted it once to replace the rear tires and their lift crushed over $1000 worth of suspension crap

[bbyer]

Seemed it took me two days to change tyres.

I just removed my winter 18" Dunlop snow tyres/rims and put my 19" summer Goodyear HP's back on. I think I am getting to old for this sort of thing however as it seemed that it took me two days to change a mere four wheels.

Well it really did not, but it did take an afternoon; the rest of the time was spent cleaning up the removed wheels and properly storing them for installation this fall.

There is nearby a local independent tyre shop that understands Land Rover air suspension and can do the changeover without damaging either themselves or the LR3, (squashing the air compressor primarily), however time wise, I can just about do it myself with less overall fussing. As long as the shop jacks the frame up so all four wheels are off the ground at the same time, all will be well unless their hoist arms crushed the compressor houseing. Trying to jack one wheel at a time is where the problems start and of course the way we have to do it.

The question is how to jack the 3 up, one wheel at a time. I now have worked out a system that is time consuming, but safe.

In brief, I first put the 3 into Off Road Height, then disconnect the battery. Removing all power from the 3 seems to keep the suspension from venting and generally creating havoc. I have the 3 in Park, but do not set the electonic parking brake as I do not understand how it works, nor do I trust it.

As such, I have two pair of big rubber wheel chocks. I suggest one employ two pair as I find that when I go to remove the chocks, I have to kick one side of the chock out from kind of under each of the two wheels I chocked. In other words, the 3 has rolled either forward or rearward and tightened up against the chocks on one side of each wheel. The chock on the other side is of course, loose.

The actual jacking is a three part process. Prior to jacking, I loosen the wheel lugs on the wheel I will remove. Then with a floor trolley jack ( 3 ton), I jack on the frame sort of near where the Land Rover sissors jack was supposed to be placed. (The Land Rover jack stays in the cargo area.) I raise the vehicle up sufficient to where I think the wheel is about to come off the cement. (Yes, all jacking is done on concrete.) I then have one of those adjustable axle jacks that I place under the frame near the trolley jack and then lower the 3 back down so that some of the weight is still carried by the trolley jack and the remainder by the axle jack. Now with my hydraulic bottle jack, I set it under the wheel lower A frame member in one of the dimples that are in the underside of the A frame and then jack until the bottom of the tyre is about a half inch off the concrete.

I then fully remove the lug nuts that I have previously loosened, remove the wheel and install the new one and thread the lug nuts back on and snug up.

I then release the pressure on the bottle jack, pull it out, then jack up the trolley so I can remove the axle jack and finally lower the 3 back down and properly tighten the lug nuts.

Then I start on the next wheel - that is when I notice that chocks have been doing their job; also that there was no "farting" of the air system.

That is the reason I disconnect the battery. The "farting" is the 3 trying to auto level itself. There is a wakeup program that is always alive and independent of the ignition or door open circuits. Land Rover makes a logic distinction between leveling and vehicle height. Vehicle height changes are inhibited by leaving doors open or having the ignition off, but leveling is always alive and well if the battery is connected.

Incidentally, do not throw the Land Rover sissors jack away. You may need it if you have a flat where the tyre is completely deflated and your fancy jacks are all too tall to get under the 3. The air suspension can lift the 3 somewhat up, but the sissors may just serve a purpose to get the 3 high enough up that you can get your good jacks under it.

[scott]

wow, i just used my floor jack and two jack stands, jack up the front place stand, jack up rear place stand, switched front to rear rear to front. did other side the same way. even replace front pads while there. only issue was the crappy lug wrench broke.