Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks

Subject: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Tue Jul 17, 2007 3:36 pm

See write up below.
____

I was wondering if anyone here have used the monroe MA822 shocks to replace the factory installed ones and if so how are they and did you have anyissues installing them and connedcting the air lines ??

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:11 pm

jhodges wrote:: I was wondering if anyone here have used the monroe MA822 shocks to replace the factory installed ones and if so how are they and did you have anyissues installing them and connedcting the air lines ??

i totally forgot what there called but i have some HEAVY duty TRUCK shocks that i got off of ebay for 40$ and i was able to set them up in 2 hours....... i like them and there very heavy duty because i had 1500LBS of sand in there and it squated (go figure) but if i were to do that with stock shocks it would look like a low rider... and thats just no good

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8054 Merit : 105

98riviera98 - Are those the Rancho F-250 shocks? Those are what I have.

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Tue Jul 17, 2007 4:56 pm

I have the Monroes, will be doing the install soon. I'll do a write-up.

_________________
'05 GTO 6.0L • 6-spd • 95k miles • 0-60: 4.8s • 16.9 avg MPG • Nelson Ledges Lap: 1:26

'95 Celica GT 2.2L • 5-spd • 165k miles • 0-60: yes

'98 SC Riviera • 281k miles • 298 HP/370 TQ • 0-60: 5.79s • ET: 13.97 @ 99.28 • 4087 lb • 20.1 avg MPG • Nelson Ledges Lap: 1:30
3.4" pulley • AL104 plugs • 180º t-stat • FWI w/K&N • 1.9:1 rockers • OR pushrods • LS6 valve springs • SLP headers • ZZP fuel rails
KYB GR2 struts • MaxAir shocks • Addco sway bars • UMI bushings • GM STB • Enkei 18" EV5s w/ Dunlop DZ101s • F-body calipers
EBC bluestuff/Hawk HP plus • SS lines • Brembo slotted discs • DHP tuned • Aeroforce • Hidden Hitch
^^^ SOLD ^^^ frown

'70 Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe 455cid • 116k miles
^^^ SOLD ^^^ frown

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8054 Merit : 105

AA wrote:: I have the Monroes, will be doing the install soon. I'll do a write-up.

Here, I'll do it for you Aaron -

1) Jack up car
2) undo two bolts at shock bottom
3) undo nut at top of shock
4)undo air line
5) remove shock
6) installation of new shock is reverse of removal.
7) repeat for other side.

Stock replacements are too easy wink

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Tue Jul 17, 2007 11:18 pm

Jack the R wrote:: 98riviera98 - Are those the Rancho F-250 shocks? Those are what I have.

yupp those are some BEAST's arent they surprised

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Tue Jul 17, 2007 11:28 pm

98riviera98 wrote:

Jack the R wrote:: 98riviera98 - Are those the Rancho F-250 shocks? Those are what I have.

yupp those are some BEAST's arent they surprised

Wow, I didn't know you did the F250 mod, did you use you original strut mounts or did you have to change them. I want to do that mod too.

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Tue Jul 17, 2007 11:55 pm

jax95riv wrote:

98riviera98 wrote:

Jack the R wrote:: 98riviera98 - Are those the Rancho F-250 shocks? Those are what I have.

yupp those are some BEAST's arent they surprised

Wow, I didn't know you did the F250 mod, did you use you original strut mounts or did you have to change them. I want to do that mod too.

umm the only modification i made was is i broke a STOCK bolt on the stock shock so i had to drill that out but all in all NO OTHER MODIFICATION to get it to work

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Wed Jul 18, 2007 7:19 am

I Got my monroe MA822's from amazon for $57.31 for the pair including shipping which I thought was an excellent price. I am going to install them this weekend. I was only wondering about the air line hookups and how well they connect to the factory airlines or what adaptations were necessary.
will post back after the installation

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Wed Jul 18, 2007 7:37 am

jhodges wrote:: I Got my monroe MA822's from amazon for $57.31 for the pair including shipping which I thought was an excellent price. I am going to install them this weekend. I was only wondering about the air line hookups and how well they connect to the factory airlines or what adaptations were necessary.
will post back after the installation

Johnny, everything should hook up with no problems. air shocks are pretty much a standard design. $57 is a very good buy! Let us know how you like them. happy

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:52 am

jhodges wrote:: I Got my monroe MA822's from amazon for $57.31 for the pair including shipping which I thought was an excellent price. I am going to install them this weekend. I was only wondering about the air line hookups and how well they connect to the factory airlines or what adaptations were necessary.
will post back after the installation

DONT USE the factory leveling air compressor thing........... just go to autozone and buy the AIR SHOCK LINE KIT........... its like 10 bucks then u can fill the shocks at your local gas station whenever u want........... ill post a video later..... maybe rolleyes

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Wed Jul 18, 2007 11:35 am

98riviera98 wrote:

jhodges wrote:: I Got my monroe MA822's from amazon for $57.31 for the pair including shipping which I thought was an excellent price. I am going to install them this weekend. I was only wondering about the air line hookups and how well they connect to the factory airlines or what adaptations were necessary.
will post back after the installation

DONT USE the factory leveling air compressor thing........... just go to autozone and buy the AIR SHOCK LINE KIT........... its like 10 bucks then u can fill the shocks at your local gas station whenever u want........... ill post a video later..... maybe rolleyes

If it still works I'll give you $75 for the Level compressor from your car.

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Wed Jul 18, 2007 12:46 pm

oldsman105 wrote:

98riviera98 wrote:

jhodges wrote:: I Got my monroe MA822's from amazon for $57.31 for the pair including shipping which I thought was an excellent price. I am going to install them this weekend. I was only wondering about the air line hookups and how well they connect to the factory airlines or what adaptations were necessary.
will post back after the installation

DONT USE the factory leveling air compressor thing........... just go to autozone and buy the AIR SHOCK LINE KIT........... its like 10 bucks then u can fill the shocks at your local gas station whenever u want........... ill post a video later..... maybe rolleyes

If it still works I'll give you $75 for the Level compressor from your car.

umm how the hell do u take it out????? i havent ever looked for it..... and yes it does work

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8054 Merit : 105

98riviera98 wrote:: DONT USE the factory leveling air compressor thing........... just go to autozone and buy the AIR SHOCK LINE KIT........... its like 10 bucks then u can fill the shocks at your local gas station whenever u want........... ill post a video later..... maybe

Why would you want to do that? When I had air shocks I never had to touch a thing. With this mod they'd have to be filled manually? Why bother?

Master Joined : 2007-01-16 Post Count : 8054 Merit : 105

jax95riv wrote:

98riviera98 wrote:

Jack the R wrote:: 98riviera98 - Are those the Rancho F-250 shocks? Those are what I have.

yupp those are some BEAST's arent they surprised

Wow, I didn't know you did the F250 mod, did you use you original strut mounts or did you have to change them. I want to do that mod too.

You've probably seen it by now, but here's a link to the F-250 shock write-up-

Link

You probably won't know until you get the Ranchos in whether you will need to mod your mounts or not. I think they've changed the length of the threaded end on top at least once. Modifying the mounts was unavoidable for me.

98riviera98 - can you take a pic of your shock mount inside the trunk?

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Wed Jul 18, 2007 1:52 pm

98riviera98 wrote:

oldsman105 wrote:

98riviera98 wrote:

jhodges wrote:: I Got my monroe MA822's from amazon for $57.31 for the pair including shipping which I thought was an excellent price. I am going to install them this weekend. I was only wondering about the air line hookups and how well they connect to the factory airlines or what adaptations were necessary.
will post back after the installation

DONT USE the factory leveling air compressor thing........... just go to autozone and buy the AIR SHOCK LINE KIT........... its like 10 bucks then u can fill the shocks at your local gas station whenever u want........... ill post a video later..... maybe rolleyes

If it still works I'll give you $75 for the Level compressor from your car.

umm how the hell do u take it out????? i havent ever looked for it..... and yes it does work

Its under the car by the exhaust. Its just a couple of bolts, 2 air lines and a wire .

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Wed Jul 18, 2007 11:59 pm

I love....... filling them manually
i can raise the back end at lest 5 inches between the whell and fender and the bumper is off the groudn allot to...........ill check that captain kirk

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:37 pm

Got the monroe shocks installed today, no problems plugged right up just as stock works and drives much much tighter !!
highly recommend the Monroe MA822.

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Sun Aug 19, 2007 7:18 pm

Be careful on high mileage cars, removing the air lines from the old shocks. My O-rings remained inside the nipple while trying to remove. This means a leaky line in the new shock.

Rather than purchase O-rings or a new line, I repaired mine with duct tape! This may or may not work for you, but it did in my case. The flared end of the line is supposed to have two rubber O-rings that are compressed when the clip is on. I wrapped a 1/8" wide, 3" long strip of duct tape (electrical should also work) around the line where the O-rings were to form a "duct tape donut". With the clip on, the line sealed up... no leaks. Not a long-term fix, but it will get me to work for a week or two until I can pick up some O-rings.

_________________
'05 GTO 6.0L • 6-spd • 95k miles • 0-60: 4.8s • 16.9 avg MPG • Nelson Ledges Lap: 1:26

'95 Celica GT 2.2L • 5-spd • 165k miles • 0-60: yes

'98 SC Riviera • 281k miles • 298 HP/370 TQ • 0-60: 5.79s • ET: 13.97 @ 99.28 • 4087 lb • 20.1 avg MPG • Nelson Ledges Lap: 1:30
3.4" pulley • AL104 plugs • 180º t-stat • FWI w/K&N • 1.9:1 rockers • OR pushrods • LS6 valve springs • SLP headers • ZZP fuel rails
KYB GR2 struts • MaxAir shocks • Addco sway bars • UMI bushings • GM STB • Enkei 18" EV5s w/ Dunlop DZ101s • F-body calipers
EBC bluestuff/Hawk HP plus • SS lines • Brembo slotted discs • DHP tuned • Aeroforce • Hidden Hitch
^^^ SOLD ^^^ frown

'70 Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe 455cid • 116k miles
^^^ SOLD ^^^ frown

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Mon Aug 20, 2007 12:29 am

Aaron, thanks for the tip. I should have the Monroes waiting for me at work tomorrow, been on vacation the past week.

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Mon Aug 20, 2007 10:00 am

Thanks to Jack the R for the write-up. As simple as his instructions were, they were enough. I did not even need to reference the shop manual. Job took 2 hours, but could have been done in one.

I would loosen the top nut (in the trunk) before loosening the bottom bolts, though. This prevents the shock from twisting in the mount. I would also remove air lines first, so they do not bend or break from twisting or dropping the shock during disassembly. So for me, the order was:

1) Lift rear of car.
2) Disconnect air lines.
3) Remove top nut.
4) Remove two bottom bolts.
5) Remove shock.
6) Replace hardware.
7) Install new shock.
8) Tighten bottom bolts.
9) Tighten top nut.
10) Reconnect air lines.
11) Lower car.

Car rides nice with the Monroes. Not a giant difference, but less boating on the hills and in the dips. And the bumps feel better, of course. At 140k miles, it just feels better not having the originals on there. I should credit the OEMs though... never failed, still working well for being 9 years old.

_________________
'05 GTO 6.0L • 6-spd • 95k miles • 0-60: 4.8s • 16.9 avg MPG • Nelson Ledges Lap: 1:26

'95 Celica GT 2.2L • 5-spd • 165k miles • 0-60: yes

'98 SC Riviera • 281k miles • 298 HP/370 TQ • 0-60: 5.79s • ET: 13.97 @ 99.28 • 4087 lb • 20.1 avg MPG • Nelson Ledges Lap: 1:30
3.4" pulley • AL104 plugs • 180º t-stat • FWI w/K&N • 1.9:1 rockers • OR pushrods • LS6 valve springs • SLP headers • ZZP fuel rails
KYB GR2 struts • MaxAir shocks • Addco sway bars • UMI bushings • GM STB • Enkei 18" EV5s w/ Dunlop DZ101s • F-body calipers
EBC bluestuff/Hawk HP plus • SS lines • Brembo slotted discs • DHP tuned • Aeroforce • Hidden Hitch
^^^ SOLD ^^^ frown

'70 Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe 455cid • 116k miles
^^^ SOLD ^^^ frown

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Mon Sep 10, 2007 11:34 am

Heading to the garage to install my Monroes right now, then do a tire rotation. Will look at the exhaust project this afternoon or tomorrow.

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Mon Sep 10, 2007 3:17 pm

Not a difficult project, though a short 10mm socket would have helped with removing the outside bolt on the bottom. I only have deep metric sockets, which won't fit to get the outside bolt. I had to use a wimpy little 1/4" socket/ratchet to get in there, which I wasn't sure would hold up to the torque. Both original shocks are in terrible shape, and had started to leak recently. When I pulled the driver side down out of the mount, a shower of rusty crap came out of the upper hole. Also wouldn't have minded having new bolts for the lower mount.

Anyways... here's the old stuff, good reason to get rid of your 9 yr old rear shocks:

Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Rshock

Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Rshock

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Mon Sep 10, 2007 3:44 pm

Wow Dave, bet she's glad to have the new pair of legs!

_________________
'05 GTO 6.0L • 6-spd • 95k miles • 0-60: 4.8s • 16.9 avg MPG • Nelson Ledges Lap: 1:26

'95 Celica GT 2.2L • 5-spd • 165k miles • 0-60: yes

'98 SC Riviera • 281k miles • 298 HP/370 TQ • 0-60: 5.79s • ET: 13.97 @ 99.28 • 4087 lb • 20.1 avg MPG • Nelson Ledges Lap: 1:30
3.4" pulley • AL104 plugs • 180º t-stat • FWI w/K&N • 1.9:1 rockers • OR pushrods • LS6 valve springs • SLP headers • ZZP fuel rails
KYB GR2 struts • MaxAir shocks • Addco sway bars • UMI bushings • GM STB • Enkei 18" EV5s w/ Dunlop DZ101s • F-body calipers
EBC bluestuff/Hawk HP plus • SS lines • Brembo slotted discs • DHP tuned • Aeroforce • Hidden Hitch
^^^ SOLD ^^^ frown

'70 Ninety-Eight Holiday Coupe 455cid • 116k miles
^^^ SOLD ^^^ frown

Subject: Re: Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks Mon Sep 10, 2007 4:18 pm

AA wrote:: Wow Dave, bet she's glad to have the new pair of legs!

Man, you got that right! Just went for a drive and the handling difference is remarkable. Wish I'd done this back in April or May. Feels much firmer in the turns, and vastly improved going over the "moguls"... it's amazing what functioning shocks will do for a car.

I rotated the tires too, and almost swapped the rears to the opposite fronts... stop

(directional tires)

» Rattling rear self leveling
» 1995 Riviera Self Leveling rear suspension operation.
» FAQ: Shocks & Struts Options
» Write-Up: rear shock air compressor (ELC)
» Write-Up: Installing Rancho F-250 shocks on the Riviera