Air shocks to regular gas?
 

Ok, so I had a problem with my 2000 SSEi a while back, think it was the height sensor but either way I just unplugged the air susp. The thing rode fine and had no stability/traction lights on so i figured..screw it. Well my rear air shock blew through today. Sounds like the rod is bouncing around freely inside. My question is, will the regular gas shocks bolt up? I know its the wrong attitude but I would rather put money into the Trans Am im restoring...Thanks in advance, Dan

Last time I bought shocks air shocks were cheaper than gas filled ones.

I think I got Monroe shocks from O'Reilleys @$60 a pair.
That was about 5 years ago and they are still working fine on the three cars I fitted them to.

Roger.

Monroe MA822
 

Monroe MA822 are the replacement shocks that have the load-leveling fittings for the pump to control the rear height. They are about $70 for the PAIR IIRC from rockauto.com. The air tube fittings may be an exact match for the originals or may need an adapter kit--I can't keep straight which years were which. I know my 2003 air connections fit right on. The shocks stiffened up the rear nicely and the Sensatrac struts on the front made it drive like it stuck tot he road.

thanks for the quick replies guys. I guess I'll do it right after all. See, the ELC kept commanding the compressor on and the thing was riding wicked high in the back. Looked awful. Now I have access to a much better scanner than I had then. So if it is the 300 dollar height sensor I will be able to tell. Thanks guys

There are quite a few that go to the gas shocks, or struts, over the air filled, I personally went with air struts as I like to keep things as OE as possible.
If you convert them the conversion kit, with a decent pair of gas shocks plus hardware needed, will be about the same price, all you do is unplug the unit that I believe is under the driver seat.
Check RockAuto for the MONROE part # 90007 , 102.79 plus shipping for the conversion kit/pair.
Here is that same gas shock kit from Amazon, with free shipping.

They mention if the OE Absorber has threaded fittings then you ACDELCO Part # 19210500, I don't think you'd need them, but I am not familiar with your cars shocks, those shock mount kits are 50.00 per kit and you'd need two, so hopefully if you want to go gas you won't need those mount kits, maybe somebody here more familiar with your car can let you know for sure if yours are absorbers are threaded or not.

The air shocks I recommend if you are staying with the air shocks are these.

Some tips, if you keep the air shocks, look in the rear of the car, somewhere near the muffler, or in that area, you should find the compressor with some EVAP hoses connected to a T on it, unless it is totally different on your car, if you can find that compressor, remove the lower hose from it, and use something like the following to get a few drops of light machine oil inside the nipple, then put the hose back on.
I only lube mine every time I do the engines oil, it helps to keep that from failing sooner.
Here is what I used to oil mine.

or if you dont want to pay for all that aggravation, you can do like i did and replace the leaking ones with oem type air shocks and get a manual fill kit and set the air once every 6 months or so when the temps change.

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Wow great replies guys thanks. I wasn't worried about the price of the shocks themselves but I need to figure out the other problem of the air susp. Which is the right way to do it. I have a suspicion its the stupid height sensors..which is over 300 bucks.

I did not really understand the issue when I first read the post, sorry about that.
So your shocks are fine, and do not need replacing, they just keep getting aired up too high, and that is why you considered going the gas shock route.....

I do not know specifics about the way the height is controlled, but I have heard with my car it is a bar, and something else under the rear that triggers the pump if it is below what the bar is set to.
I am not sure if your height sensors are the same as what I've read my car has or not, but that sensor being broken/able to move, it should cause the pump to constantly stay on, I've heard that can kill the compressor pretty quickly if it is allowed to stay running constantly.

Hopefully somebody can find a diagram showing where those sensors are on your car, if they can I'm betting you can find that sensor a little cheaper than from the dealer, if you have a part number I can try to help find it cheaper, unless you have already looked around.

there is a little bar hooked to a arm that connects the sensor to the lower control arm, you should be able to disconnect it and move it up and down to see if it works properly. mine took a few seconds so do it slow.