Hello everyone,

Does anyone have any sort of guide for how to go about performing any sort of maintenance on the air suspension compressor for a 1996 Buick Park Avenue? With the '96 model of the Park Avenue, I believe the compressor sits behind the passenger side rear wheel. With the car being from the midwest, I'm looking to perhaps clean the compressor motor a bit on it, to (hopefully) ensure that it continues to work for a while longer. Currently, the compressor starts and runs when the car starts, and appears to work correctly. However, the compressor itself is louder than other compressors I've heard on identical Park Avenues, and I'm hoping I can maybe drop it and hopefully quiet the operation of the compressor a bit.

Does anyone have any sort of guide for how to go about doing that sort of preventative maintenance?

Thanks!

https://www.gmforum.com/2000-2005-90...ar-gas-303362/

check out post 5

some people say oil it. i would say mostly leaks take out the compressor, leaky air struts around the rubber boot took mine out. if yours is original i would inpect this area with some water and dish soap in a spray bottle look for bubbles when sprayed.

Just inspecting the compressor itself leads me to believe I have leaks in the hoses connected to it.. Darn you road salt! I'll check with some soapy water when I get off work.

I've been searching around, for just a general diagram of the compressor that came with the '96 model, but my searching has exclusively ended with the price of replacements. Is it fairly straightforward to oil, or is some disassembly required?

Oh shoot, further reading on that article lead me to the question I just asked, sorry. I can't seem to find an edit post button either. I'll update this thread again when I find out what exactly may be leaking down there. Is there a set size of the hoses for the lines that run to each strut for easy replacement?

to find hoses isnt that easy. they look like little plastic vacuum lines. i was trying to find some and the yards said they dont keep those and the pick a part place said you could look your self but they dont allow jacks so i didnt bother. ended up being my struts anyway.

Didn't I read somewhere that the air shocks are no longer available and that you have to buy the regular ones?

Pretty sure Monroe still makes the replacements

I think I know which hoses you are talking about, but just to be sure, you are talking about the soft EVAP hoses coming from the compressor right?
There should be a Tee in there, with one of the hoses going to a green plastic nipple on the under-body, mine had dry-rotted so bad the hose came off of that nipple, all of the EVAP hose on mine needed replacing, but it is only a couple dollars to do so, I should remember but I forget the exact size, but it should be standard size EVAP hose, if you take it in to Advance or Autozone, they can find it for you, it sells by the foot.
I'm looking for my old pics from when I was messing with mine, if I cannot find them I'll take some for you ASAP.

If your compressor is a little loud get some light machine oil, and squirt a few drops in the nipple on the compressor that has the soft EVAP hose attached.
Be sure you are using light machine oil, as stuff like WD40, gun oil, and the like, will not stick and lubricate the internals of the compressor.
This is what I used, the needle point fits in the nipple perfectly, once you lubricate it, and the compressor kicks ion a few times, then it should quiet down a bit, I suggest a couple drops added per each time you service your engines oil, this will keep you from having to search for another compressor.

Pay attention to that compressor, and if you ever hear it constantly running, be sure to inspect your struts air bag, if it feels dry-rotted replace it or the compressor will eventually die from running constantly.

Not to get off topic, but if your Park Ave EVAP hoses on the compressor are dry-rotting, then you may want to consider inspecting your other soft EVAP hosing throughout the car, I had to replace every bit of mine as it was all dry-rotting.
If you want to do that you can start another thread, and I'll try to help you find/replace all of the soft EVAP hoses, they are not hard to find/replace.

And on the air struts, you can still get them for 60.00-80.00 depending on where you shop, I got mine from amazon as they were cheapest there, but rockauto has them for a decent price.
In our cases if we have to replace our rear struts, we can get Monroe Sensa-Trac quick struts for the rear, which makes replacing the strut around a 15-30 minute job.
If you ever have to replace them be sure to order the quick struts, and not do what I did and order everything separate, if you do you will regret it I promise.

if you have a impact its still easy, and you can save a bunch

Wow, thank you for all the helpful advice!

I'll have to post some pictures of my compressor, as I'm not familiar with such air systems. I went ahead and ordered the Hoppe'* oil from Amazon. I'll update this thread when I can take some pictures of my compressor and struts.

Again, thank you all for chipping in.