update on riviera camber, and air shock question

[David Bacheller]

Hello again to everyone. Many thanks for the advice and instruction on my questions about camber on my Riv.

And to my current question: As my automatic ride height air compressor is not working, I have decided ( I think) to plumb the rear air shocks for manual air adjustment. There is a kit for accomplishing this for about ten dollars. And I humbly request advice, to wit:

I have shop air, but I assume that I can use a little 12v accessory compressor to add air to the rear shock. And leave this little compressor in the trunk. Does one plumb the air fitting into the trunk for this? And if so, where? And if not in the trunk, where?

And what is a good general air pressure to run the rear shocks? I suppose I can experiment. My thinking is that for just two people, a relatively low pressure, add a mother-in-law, a bit more, add luggage, a bit more, etc.

I might even get creative and add a psi gauge for the rear shocks. Right next to the intake boost gauge I am contemplating………

Thanks again for the helpful advice. Grace and Peace,

David B

Topic

[college man]

I think the best place to come up through would be
the trunk.either in the front of the trunk or to the
side of the trunk for the fitting. You want it in a
convenient spot to get at but out of the trunk space
area. also keep the lines away from exhaust and rubbing
objects.As for air pressure 10-20 psi what your looking
for is level ride height.otherwise your headlights will
be affected with the rear upward motion.I don’t remember
if I gave you this link. It solves the air ride problem.

http://www.strutmasters.com/Buick-Riviera-Suspension-Parts-s/70.htm

[Dustin Hicks]

[quote=”docdavidb” post=66787]…As my automatic ride height air compressor is not working, I have decided ( I think) to plumb the rear air shocks for manual air adjustment. There is a kit for accomplishing this for about ten dollars. And I humbly request advice, to wit:

I have shop air, but I assume that I can use a little 12v accessory compressor to add air to the rear shock. And leave this little compressor in the trunk. Does one plumb the air fitting into the trunk for this? And if so, where? And if not in the trunk, where?

And what is a good general air pressure to run the rear shocks? …[/quote]

First, you said the compressor isn’t working. Does it self test when the ignition is turned on?
This link has an entry talking about that: http://buickforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23903 It covers Park Avenues, but the idea is similar on a Riviera.

Does it run at all? Try jumping power and ground straight to the compressor (use a fused lead). If it doesn’t run unless jumped, check the wiring, fuses and relays on both power and ground sides. If it doesn’t run at all, then the compressor is likely bad.

Yes, you can convert to manual air. A 12v ’emergency’ type compressor may or may not generate enough pressure to work. You’ll have to find out what the normal ride height in the rear is, and the min/max pressures the shocks allow. Then inflate the shocks to achieve that height, and record that pressure. It’ll probably be more psi than a inexpensive unit can make.

The fitting can be placed anywhere you wish. Just remember to paint the hole if you drill through sheet metal.

[David Bacheller]

Well, I finally got around to completing my Riviera suspension project. For those interested, here are the experiences and factoids:

But first, to respond to the very kindly offered suggestions:

Yes, the on-board ride height compressor was running. But no change in the ride height would happen. As the old shocks were completely kaput, I assumed that the compressor had run for long periods, perhaps timing out or ?, and had worn out. I dismounted the fuse for the on-board compressor and, sadly, I have not followed up with any diagnosis of the compressor system, other than to note that the air lines and fittings appeared well and good.

So, I was successful in installing the “manual” air kit (number AK29) and it was surprisingly simple.

I found a rubber grommet on the right side of the trunk interior with an unused hole. This is in the area very near the motor for the power antenna. With the rear end up on jack stands, (the car rear end, not mine) and the rear wheels dismounted, I uninstalled the small plastic inner fender shield at the rear of the right side fender well. Then, I ran an electrician’s fish tape through that unused grommet bit, and, after mounting the air lines to the shocks, I fished the new air lines up into the trunk.

I mounted the T fitting for the two air lines on an inner structural member in the trunk, just below the right side trunk lid support, after drilling an appropriately sized hole. No need for paint, as this mounting spot is completely interior to the trunk. Yea! I also relieved a portion of the trunk liner stuff, so that the air fitting would be accessible.

For “on-board” compressor, I’m using a hand held little cheapie that plugs into the cig lighter. Has a built in gauge and is very capable. Goes to 120 psi, and easily can fill a tire or whatever. For the shocks, it takes about one second of compressor run to bring them to 20 psi.

Someday I may get around to finding or running a 12v power source in the trunk for my little hand held compressor.

The instructions with the AK29 kit state that the shocks should be run at a minimum of 20 psi, so that is where I started. That yielded about one inch increase in ride height. And that seems fine for the driving that I do. And by the way, the instructions in the AK29 kit were very good.

My only addition was to add a tiny bit of O ring grease to the O rings in the air line kit.

All in all, I am pleased with the outcome. I left the old lines and compressor on the car, and taped the ends to prevent contamination. Perhaps, someday, I will get the stock system running, but this fix was cheap and, so far, seems to work a treat. Cost wise, the replacement Monroe air-assist rear shocks were $92 (US) for the pair, and the AK29 air line kit was $12. Time wise, the rear shock dismount/install took this amateur about an hour, and the air line install/ modification took about two hours, because I performed this project separate from the shock install, and I augmented the project with grain based carbonated beverage breaks.

The additional suspension travel has enhanced the ability of the car to deal with the bumpy roads of the midwest USA.

I’ll be installing the same air line kit on my 1996 Aurora. as it has the same problem of new(ish) Monroe replacement shocks and a nonfunctional air compressor. It will be interesting to see how often I will need to top up the air in the shocks. So far my experience is that , unless I get three Pinkwater’s worth of humans and luggage in the back seat/trunk, it seems that not much psi adjustment will be needed for daily driving.

Again, sincere thanks for the helpful suggestions. I hope this thread will be of some assistance to other souls dealing with aging g-body GM cars with the auto ride-height system.

Grace and Peace

David B

[college man]

Thanks for the update and the fix. 🙂

[Author]

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