Hello,
Sorry if this has been posted before.

Well, to start things off, I put my car in the ditch awhile back The passenger side seemed to take all the damage, although I remember sliding into the ditch on the driver's side?

Anyway, I'm not sure if this is related. My air shocks seemed to stay up for quite awhile afterwards, but after sitting for several months, I've noticed the passenger side shock is very low. I tried airing them up using a cheap Dewalt 2 gallon compressor, but they would not air up. Both shocks are run off of the same air line. I pulled the lines off each side of the T fitting at the air inlet, and air is coming out of the T. I pulled the air line off of each shock, and air is coming out much more forcefully to the driver's side shock. Does this necessarily mean there is a leak in the line on the passenger side?

I've never changed an air shock either...anything to consider? Just put floor jacks under the rear axle, unbolt the shock, and bolt in the new one?

Any troubleshooting suggestions or tips are welcome!
Thanks,
Dan

I'd say ditch the air shocks alltogether and fix the suspension instead. Use standard shocks after the re-build.

Only way to tell is to air them up seperately...and wait for a leak.

ixnay on the air shocks... replace them with a good quality standard shock.

I should have mentioned: Be ready for the airchock haters...LOL. Some of us just need the extra clearance for larger tires...or the ability to level out our rear end. I replaced my springs and still needed the airshocks for a little extra.

Yup Bronzebird. We are in the minority and there are lots of haters out there LOL !!. It was the easiest fix for running 275/60's in back. Without the air shocks they rubbed on every bump if I had a passenger. Now I run with air shocks ('96 crown vic's are a direct bolt in) at 10 psi and no rubbing and very negligible ride difference. They just help out a little. Someday when I burn these pro-trac's off and change to smaller rubber, I will just run the air shocks with no air.

I've been running them for 15 years now. I use them to adjust the ride height to keep the car level when going between different sets of tires I have.

Pontiac offered them as an accessory, so I never understood all the comments about how air shocks will destroy your shock mounts, or punch a hole in the body.

I've run regular shocks too, and yes, regular shocks ride a little nicer than air shocks, but it's not a night and day difference in ride quality.

If the shocks are tee'd into a one valve, and you have a leak only affecting one side, that's......weird! Even if it was an internal leak in the one shock, the air would transfer from the other shock, and both would go down.

If you replace the shocks with new air shocks, let all the air out at the valve first, then unscrew the hoses. Follow the directions carefully when installing new lines. There's TWO rubber rings and plastic piece at each end (at least the Gabriel's are like that). They recommend using soapy water on the rings before tightening, which works very well. And don't crank on the plastic fittings, just finger tight.

ddunne69, you said "I pulled the air line off of each shock, and air is coming out much more forcefully to the driver's side shock. Does this necessarily mean there is a leak in the line on the passenger side?"

Were you trying to add air when you said it was coming out the drivers side more forcefully? If so you may have a kink on the line to the pass shock slowing (or stopping) the air flow to that side. That or somekind of blockage would expain why only the pass. side is low. If they are tee'd at the back they should both always be the same pressure.

I ended up just taking it to a shop in town...they are really cheap and I didn't have the time to look into it much longer...we are moving 7 hours away next weekend and I have packing to do...

They said they got tired of messing with it and just changed all the lines. Shocks were okay. $50 bill, including an oil change (I supplied the parts and oil/filter).

I solved my tire rubbing problem by going back to 14" rims and 205/70 redlines.

How things change with age.... Back in the 70's air shocks were the first thing I did my car. Had to have that jacked up look. Now I am trying to get the rear end of the bird lower!