Land Cruiser nearly let me down. (1 Viewer)

[Julian Stead]

I had to take my dog for a MRI scan this morning, the clinic was a 2 hour drive from home so decided to stay in the area whilst it was being done. I drove down to Stonehenge and went offroading around some local tracks when my AHC pipe decided it was time to let go and the suspension dropped to low with the off light flashing. I was 20 minutes off from the main road and a further 2 1/2 hours from home, I didn't want to call recovery as I had a drugged up dog to collect, I phoned my local Land Cruiser specialist and he said just pull the fuse and drive it. I took it slow to get it out of the rutted tracks and back to the main road, the journey was entertaining in that the rear end never seemed to settle, but I was suprised to how good the ride was.

So the specialist has a AHC pipe on the shelf, so I have just got to decide whether to exchange AHC for standard suspension or just replace the pipe. I am not in a rush so I will make up my mind over the next couple of weeks. For what I use my truck for then AHC is ideal, but letting me down today of all days is making me have a rethink.

Would OEM standard suspension be my best option as I rarely go offroad and carry no weight, I do plan on taking a trip to morroco but will probably stay in hotels as well as a tent so will be travelling light.

 

[BillZ260]

keep it

 

[ibrahim83]

standard suspension drives way better than ahc. much more solid and connected.

 

[suprarx7nut]

As someone that doesn't have AHC, but would love it for a variety of reasons, I would absolutely keep it.

What's the cost of the pipe fix?

 

[Julian Stead]

The cost would be £240 for pipe and £120 for labour. I think I have fluid. So £360 Sterling. It would be the cheapest option just to replace the pipe.

 

[Matserelli]

Reliability and a bit extra money or comfort with minimal money spent.

 

[Julian Stead]

Reliability and a bit extra money or comfort with minimal money spent.

Agree, that is the dilemma. I could spend more and make the reliability of the AHC better aswell though. It is a very well maintained system, could do with a pipe on the other side also just for preventative maintenance. The main issue is you won't be carrying spares and lack of stock if any longer trips are planned.

For AHC, I find it cheap as there isn't really any options to upgrade, you just repair what breaks. It is very adaptable if most of your driving is on tarmac, a lift at a push of a button when required. Against, it could leave you stranded.

For standard, can be cheap, reliable, easy to carry spares, ease of repairs.
Against, could end up upgrading as there are so many options, so it can get expensive. Compromised ride.

 

[ballardcruiser]

In case this happens to one of us, what is the advantage of pulling the fuse? Was it inoperable with the fuse in there? Just curious...

 

[SoCal Dan]

As someone who replaced AHC with a standard suspension, I am happy with the result. My truck had AHC issues when I bought it, so I don't know how great AHC can be, but I am very happy with the ride provided by the standard suspension.

I previously had an LR3 that had a wheel speed sensor fail while I was off-roading. The ECU apparently thought the best course of action was to lower the suspension to the bumpstops. Not sure why the ECU isn't programmed to raise itself all the way in that scenario, since it almost left me stranded. At that point I stopped being a fan of adjustable suspensions.

 

[Julian Stead]

In case this happens to one of us, what is the advantage of pulling the fuse? Was it inoperable with the fuse in there? Just curious...

The reasoning behind this was to stop the pump from activating to minimise any more fluid lose, before this the pump was trying to raise it to neutral after gaining speed, so to protect the system I pulled the fuse.