Write-Up: Rear Self-leveling Air Shocks

this may sound kinda ricey. but hear i go. i wish that a valve could be hooked up to then so they sound be lowered down when parked kinda like air bags. then be pumped back up going down the road

I thought the ELC did that. I used to hear a hiss after I turned the car off, then the pump when I started the car again.

If you wanted to, you could replace the mechanical ride hight sensor with a variable resistor (or something else along those lines) and you could essentially command your ELC to raise or lower within it's capacity, by the turn of a knob, give or take. If my pump worked still, I'd give it a shot but I'm not buying another pump.

Speaking of which, can I remove the ride hight sensor assembly without disturbing any of the suspension or electronics of the car since It's not really serving much purpose without an operational ELC pump?

I think the ELC is an on/off switch. Not sure if a resistor would do what you want (that might make the air pump run faster or slower instead of turning it on or off). You could just wire a hard switch up front and turn it on when you wanted to go up. Not sure how you'd release the air.

AA wrote:

I think the ELC is an on/off switch. Not sure if a resistor would do what you want (that might make the air pump run faster or slower instead of turning it on or off). You could just wire a hard switch up front and turn it on when you wanted to go up. Not sure how you'd release the air.

That's much easier than my idea. Sometimes I forget the simple methods. The switch i'm speaking of would replace the sensor, not directly activate the pump so it would likewise be able to purge the air out as well as pump more in. It would probably be easier still to have an on switch for the pump like you said and figure out what wire you need to command it to release pressure and have another switch to toggle that circuit. It can't be hard.

If anyones got an extra working pump laying around, I'll be the test lamb. That is given, of course, that there's any real interest in this modification.

I have an extra pump, but I don't think it's working at the moment.

The tape thing didn't work out for me. I tried electrical tape because I thought it would seal better than duct tape but in any case, I couldn't get the line into the L fitting with any tape on it basically.

I picked up the AK29 kit this morning from work since I had to order it and installed it without a hitch. Took about 20 minutes and that includes me eating lunch and talking on the phone. Piece of cake. It seals up fine now. The kit had the same parts I have on there but black air lines instead of the clear ones I had. One thing I did notice is that the new L fittings for the shocks appeared to have a center stalk that my old ones didn't. There were no O-rings for that piece either. So the old kit must have been another brand or monroe updated it since. I put about 90psi in it when I was checking for leaks and nothing.

So I guess the verdict is, if you're going to replace those shocks, spend an extra 7 bucks on the air kit to be safe, if you're running a manual air setup, that is.

turtleman wrote:

So I guess the verdict is, if you're going to replace those shocks, spend an extra 7 bucks on the air kit to be safe, if you're running a manual air setup, that is.

Manual air fill FTW

Quote :

One thing I did notice is that the new L fittings for the shocks appeared to have a center stalk that my old ones didn't. There were no O-rings for that piece either.

No O-rings on the new L-fittings, or the old ones?

AA wrote:

Quote :

One thing I did notice is that the new L fittings for the shocks appeared to have a center stalk that my old ones didn't. There were no O-rings for that piece either.

No O-rings on the new L-fittings, or the old ones?

The old ones had two o-rings in that location. The new ones did not. The little stalk was much longer and seemed to have a built-in sealing surface on the new one.

Hmm. My new kit had the O-rings. Glad you got it fixed, though. I agree it's hard to believe they hold that kind of pressure with such a simple connection.

My driver's side rear shock is leaking oil, so I need to replace it pretty soon. Does anyone know the part number for the stock GM replacement?

I'd recommend the Monroe replacements. I forget the part #, but the info is here to be found with a search. If you have to replace one, do yourself a favor and replace both.

Something like MA822 ?

take a look at RockAuto.Com - if you buy the Delco/GM OE replacements, they give you new mounts - a very good deal I think. You have to check the pictures and buy the air shock with the mount pictured on it.

And oh by the way you really should get these In Pairs. Matter of fact the MA-822s (are supposed to) come pair packed (but some parts counter people split the packs if they think the customer does not know).

Albertj

I was planning on replacing both of them. I saw the ones at rockauto.com, but I just wanted to compare the price to other places. Will the Monroe shocks be smooth like the stock ones or are they rougher? I found the Monroe MA822 at Amazon for $63.50 shipped, so they are quite a bit cheaper than stock replacement ones. It would still be nice to know the stock part number if anyone has it.

Thanks for the help.

I don't consider my Monroes to be rough riding. And they replaced what appeared to be original 115k shocks.

R = 22064809
L = 22064808

The Monroes should be fine. I concede they are cheaper - did not realize RockAuto bumped the price on the Delcos #50496's up to $160/pr. Gee, I'm sorry - they just did not cost that much when I bought mine last year. Ahem. Wow. At that rate you could buy the Spicer mounts at $40 each, the Monroe MA-822's (either Rock or Amazon) and be a few bucks ahead.

BUT - By the way - you may be able to get the Monroes or Gabriels (people on list like the Monroes better) locally for not that much more than the Amazon price. For instance, PartsAmerica (Advantage Auto stores) shows them for $68.78, and mounts for $20 each (McQuay-Norris) - so I guess it boils down to when do you want them.

Wow, the difference between aftermarket and OEM prices changed... wonder why... ?

Albertj

Well the shock has gotten progressively worse. It pretty much looses all of the air after it sits and the pump has to fill it back up. I ordered the Monroe shocks from Amazon for around $57.00. I ended up choosing the Monroe's because they were cheaper and I wasn't sure which AC Delco shocks I should choose on Rockauto. They have two different AC Delco numbers listed. I think the stock mounts should be fine with 48,000 miles. It seems like the shocks failed kind of early, but it doesn't look to hard to fix.

i got it pretty good over here, the company i work for has a corporate account at Delcoline, which is a proprietary distributor for AC Delco, i get 50% off..

i forgot the monroe part number, but i paid around $60 for the rear shocks as a set. they work just as fine as the factory shocks. i didnt have to buy any bushings or air line kits i just used my old ones. aint broke dont fix it

I got my shocks today. They are black instead of white. Hopefully I can get them in tomorrow.

Got the shocks installed tonight. Didn't take too long, but it would have gone faster if everything wasn't soaked with all of the rain we have been getting from the once hurricane Gustav. It went a lot easier using an impact wrench to remove the two lower shock bolts. They were pretty incrusted with junk. Also the torque spec is 18 ft/lbs for the lower two mounting bolts. Also I found it helpful to use a little jack to push up the lower control arm to help get everything hooked up.

Did anyone receive two packets of hardware with their shocks? I only received one package with a nut and two different size washers. I used the old stock hardware, but just wanted to know if I was missing something.