Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks

albertj wrote:

AA wrote:

KYB rears weren't available until recently. I use the Monroes in rear, but would not hesitate to try the KYBs. If people are saying Monroes ride rough, I would argue they ride plenty firm, but not rough in a bad way. I think the KYB struts fronts are just as firm as the Monroes, if not more so. A good match, imo.

I have had KYBs and OE shocks on the rear. Currently riding KYBs. They are fine, nicely tuned, seem to be valved so that they try to comply with the small bumps (pavement dividing lines) and give great control when pushed (twisty country roads). It would have been worth ditching the OEs for them, for my kind of driving.

I wonder if anyone has had an opportunity to compare the rear KYB SR1002 with the Monroe Max-Air MA822?

Interestingly, but not necessarily meaningfully, RockAuto lists the KYB shocks under the "Original Ride Quality" section, where they list the Monroe's are listed under the "Load Assist" section and the Monroe's are noted specifically for "Towing & Hauling".

So I wonder if the Monroe's are a bit more firm?

Al

I am trying to replace the rear shocks on my car, but ran into trouble with the airlines that go into the shock.  They seem to be stuck in place.  I slid back the outside cap and the lines are still stuck in the shock.  I have them soaking in Kroil right now, but is there something that I can put on the air lines to keep them from getting frozen in place when I install the new shocks?

I ended up breaking the flare off one of the lines. Where can I find a flaring tool that will work on that small of a line? Never did figure out why they were stuck in there.

Same thing happened to me. I used a torch to heat the end of the line, then molded it with my flare tool. It has worked well so far.

AA wrote:

Same thing happened to me. I used a torch to heat the end of the line, then molded it with my flare tool. It has worked well so far.

Do you have a link to the flare tool that you used?  Also what kind of flare is it? Would this one work? http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-6483-Flaring-Tool-Set/dp/B000NPUKVG/

Mine's like that kit. I think I bought it at AZone a while ago. You can slide a piece of hose around the line to take up the slack in the flaring tool clamp. That way it will grip the thinner line. Softening the end with heat lets you use less flaring pressure. I think I even heated the line while it was on the flaring die.

AA wrote:

Mine's like that kit. I think I bought it at AZone a while ago. You can slide a piece of hose around the line to take up the slack in the flaring tool clamp. That way it will grip the thinner line. Softening the end with heat lets you use less flaring pressure. I think I even heated the line while it was on the flaring die.

Thanks. Would you call it a bubble flare or does it matter what type of flare it is?

I just did these with my brother and ended up replacing the shock side of the air lines with a universal air line kit. I used brass compression fittings on the nylon lines to splice them together - works great.

I ended up getting the Monroe AK29 air hose kit and spliced in the new fitting using the included t fitting.

so I did not read all 16 pages but I'm ready to replace mine as well. So the question is: do I need to depressurize the the system before taking the air lines off the old shocks?

If mine is any comparison, my shocks were so bad there wasn't any pressure to begin with. When I did them on my Bonneville though I took off the sensor arm from the rear control arm and pulled it all the way down, making the car thing the rear end was jacked up, therefore it let all the air out on it's own.

96_Juggernaut wrote:

so I did not read all 16 pages but I'm ready to replace mine as well. So the question is: do I need to depressurize the the system before taking the air lines off the old shocks?

No, it will depressurize once you pull the air line off the shock. Be prepared to have extra nuts and bolts for the lower mount, they have a tendency to break. Use grade 8 fasteners if needed.

That makes sense - 20-30 psi in small air lines like that isn't really anything to worry about.

Just pick up some Monroe MA822's. Thinking I'm gonna tackle this tomorrow after work. I have not got a good look at the stock units but are these alot beefier?

Installed today. Super easy and a huge difference in the way the car drives now. The rear feels nice and solid.

The new aftermarket replacement shocks are beefier, or at least appear to be. The Delco replacements are beefier as well (that's what I have). I think that they just put the bag inside the body, which gives it the appearance of being huge. I'm guessing they do this so that the bag doesn't prematurely rot out like the OE ones do. Either way, a beefy shock certainly looks better than a skinny one lol

Inherited a '97 SC with 97,000 miles on it - picked it up a few weeks ago. I suspect everything is original since it has been in the family since new.

I used the KYB rear shocks and can endorse them - very nice and a huge improvement. Have to do the fronts soon and will use KYB struts.

A couple tips from my experience:

Have new O-rings ready for the air connection at the shocks. The old O-rings are leaking now that they have been removed and re-installed. Just ordered a Monroe AK29 air line kit so I have all the parts I could possibly need.

The clips that hold the air lines to the shocks I found tricky. With the air lines disconnected from the shock, I squeezed the clip to a slightly less than rectangular shape (narrower on the open end), slipped one side of it into one of the slots on the connector and then very carefully slid the other side across the face of the connector, being cautious to not stretch it to the point of bending it. I slipped the other side of the clip into the opposite slot and then snapped the connector into place. I could not get the clips on with the connector fastened to the shock without bending it to the point of being useless.

This all may have been covered previously but thought I'd toss in my $.02 in case it is helpful. So many pages of commentary which is great but hard to sift through!

Just installed the Monroe MA822 shocks on our 95, easy as reported, probably 45ish minutes per side if one isn't in a big hurry. I bet one could do it in 30 if you really had everything laid out and had done it before. I've never changed shocks that were so easy.

Now, I don't live in a snow/rust zone, so the bottom "speed nuts" came right off after soaking the night before with penetrating oil.  

Also the Monroe shock air fitting was a 100% match to the OE shocks and air line, so that was super easy to pull off and snap back on.  I had hit the fittings with penetrating oil the night before too, so not sure if that helped any.

The shocks were black.


Also installed the Monroe upper bushings, although the stock bushings looked fine.  The Monroe bushings felt quite a bit stiffer and were built a little differently on the top in such a way that I think they will be a bit more firm. The Monroe bushings also were a 100% fit compared to the OE bushings.

So what would happen if you use new shocks that are not for the self leveling system? Just regular shocks with no air filling required? I am sure there are probably lots of pros to keep it stock, but does anyone know what would happen if you just disconnect the lines from the old shocks and install new shocks that don't have an air line fitting? What needs to be done to make this happen? Reason I am asking is that up here, my local AC Delco retailer quoted me $200 for factory replacements, and a set of Monroes from the local part store (which are correct for our cars are $80 a set)!

Check out RockAuto. It's actually cheaper to get ones that use the existing system. If you were going to convert I would recommend doing the Rancho F250 shocks. See the appropriate thread for that.

Bro, i think the rancho F250s are discontinued but correct me if im wrong

Can the MA822's be pumped up with any normal air compressor? Like one that you would find at a gas station? Would the air be contained in the shocks and not leak as long as the shocks are not leaking? I'm pretty sure the compressor in my car hasn't worked for awhile. I replaced the factory shocks a few days ago and they had 163,000 miles on them!

Thanks for the response guys. Rockauto does usually have better prices but then we get nailed with the shipping cost to get it up here. But just out of curiosity, what exactly has to be done to convert over to regular non self-levelling shock?

KnottyEagle wrote:

Can the MA822's be pumped up with any normal air compressor? Like one that you would find at a gas station? Would the air be contained in the shocks and not leak as long as the shocks are not leaking? I'm pretty sure the compressor in my car hasn't worked for awhile. I replaced the factory shocks a few days ago and they had 163,000 miles on them!

Even a bicycle pump can be used.

Look at the parts in the air shock section at rockauto. you will find the manual air line kit.

Delete the pump and shed a couple pounds of weight in the back.

BMD wrote:

Thanks for the response guys. Rockauto does usually have better prices but then we get nailed with the shipping cost to get it up here. But just out of curiosity, what exactly has to be done to convert over to regular non self-levelling shock?

look for the manual swap kit in the parts list at rockauto. its like < $15 ?

charlieRobinson wrote:

KnottyEagle wrote:

Can the MA822's be pumped up with any normal air compressor? Like one that you would find at a gas station? Would the air be contained in the shocks and not leak as long as the shocks are not leaking? I'm pretty sure the compressor in my car hasn't worked for awhile. I replaced the factory shocks a few days ago and they had 163,000 miles on them!

Even a bicycle pump can be used.

Look at the parts in the air shock section at rockauto. you will find the manual air line kit.

Delete the pump and shed a couple pounds of weight in the back.

What exactly does the air line kit do? Allow me to use different fittings?

This is going to sound dumb, but what does the air pump look like? I've read It's underneath the car by the exhaust, and I've been underneath my car and can't find it. What do I need to take it out?

KnottyEagle wrote:

charlieRobinson wrote:

KnottyEagle wrote:

Can the MA822's be pumped up with any normal air compressor? Like one that you would find at a gas station? Would the air be contained in the shocks and not leak as long as the shocks are not leaking? I'm pretty sure the compressor in my car hasn't worked for awhile. I replaced the factory shocks a few days ago and they had 163,000 miles on them!

Even a bicycle pump can be used.

Look at the parts in the air shock section at rockauto. you will find the manual air line kit.

Delete the pump and shed a couple pounds of weight in the back.

What exactly does the air line kit do? Allow me to use different fittings?

This is going to sound dumb, but what does the air pump look like? I've read It's underneath the car by the exhaust, and I've been underneath my car and can't find it. What do I need to take it out?

The air line kit allows you to manually fill up the shocks.  It has a schrader valve like your tires that you can put a pump to.  You can find the air pump if you go to the rear passenger side of the car right behind the plastic cover in the wheel well.  I believe it is 3 bolts holding it to the car, the electrical connection and the air lines that need to be removed.  You will probably have to spray some liquid wrench, etc. on the bolts.  Check the fuses and the lever on the rear drivers side lower control arm before you remove the pump for good. You can get a replacement pump for a $100 or so on ebay if you want to replace it.