Air Suspension Deflates Overnight (sometimes)

Juicy K

Original poster
Member
Feb 14, 2012
433
Indianapolis, Indiana
Alright, My Bravada has had this problem for a little over a year now. It will fully deflate after it is parked and sometimes it will be just one side (not all the time, there are times it will go a week without doing this). There are times it will be deflated only an hour after driving, sometimes it can take up to two days of being parked. Once the truck is started it will air up quickly to normal height. There have also been a few times when it is cold (bellow freezing) the air compressor will not kick on unless I shut the truck off, and re-start it. This weekend I plan on going out and spraying the air bags and air lines down with soapy water, other than that I am not sure what else there is to do, I would like to keep the Air Springs considering that is what the truck came with, but I also do not know much about the compressor setup. I had seen there is a TSB for a check valve, but that looks like it corrects a compressor that WILL NOT air up the system.

Any help or advice would be very welcome. :biggrin:

And for anybody about to say it, I have told the Wife Unit that once the compressor goes out, I will most likely install coil springs. But I feel coils can be avoided for now, could be wrong though. :undecided:
 

Jayman

Member
Mar 4, 2012
96
I expected to see at least some replies here, but not one surprises me. I am having the same issue except my compressor was replaced under warranty less than a year ago. It also pumps up to normal ride height but it leaks down quicker now than ever before. On the other hand our 2002 SLT doesn't seem to drop at all.
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
I admit - SOMEBODY should have acknowledged the post. But the diagnosis was right. Compressors are known to be flaky and fail. When they do, the prudent owner has a plan and doesn't need to make it up on the spot. If coils are acceptable, do it. If you need adjustability, add AirLift1000 bags to the coils. If you find an Arnott compressor for an acceptable price, do that.

We do NOT want to be thought of as a ghost town like trailvoy. Sorry, Juicy K. :redface:
 

Jayman

Member
Mar 4, 2012
96
Thanks for that. So in my situation my compressor is fairly new still, what typically causes the leak down between run times? Is it a leak in the compressor itself or the lines somewhere? Want to be able to run it past the dealer and have an idea of what it may be first as I still have warranty on it.
Thanks!
P.S. How do I turn back on email notification? Before when I entered a post through conversation I was notified of new posts. I didn't receive one for Roadie's response.
 

Jayman

Member
Mar 4, 2012
96
Still can't edit. I found the notification area. It had been turned off... Now for info on the leak down issue please:smile:
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
If there's a warranty, you don't have to bring a diagnosis in with you. And the dealer will pooh-pooh you anyway. What can an OWNER possibly know, they think.

That said, it's most often in the compressor check valves. GM sells a rebuild kit with those parts. Or they used to in the past. Or it could be the lines, or the bags. It requires troubleshooting. Experiments and observations. I don't seem to recall ONE smoking gun bad part that always takes out the functionality of the system. It's not like the notorious 2002 TCCMs.
 

Jayman

Member
Mar 4, 2012
96
I had dealer replace my compressor about a year ago as I mentioned. Recently it went back in as it was losing all air completely after 3 days. All under warranty. So they replaced the compressor again, and it still sank. Then the left side air bag was replaced and it still leaked. They then did the right side as well and it still leaked. Finally they decided to replace the left side bag again because, you guessed it, it still leaked!
They tell me it's now fixed however it runs a good 5-10 seconds after being parked for only 5 minutes. It appears to still be leaking but slower. Our 02 Envoy holds air better than this one does.
Anyone know what else to check? Dealer says checked everything and all good. I'm not buying it...
Appreciate it!
 

Wooluf1952

Member
Nov 20, 2011
2,663
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Jayman said:
I had dealer replace my compressor about a year ago as I mentioned. Recently it went back in as it was losing all air completely after 3 days. All under warranty. So they replaced the compressor again, and it still sank. Then the left side air bag was replaced and it still leaked. They then did the right side as well and it still leaked. Finally they decided to replace the left side bag again because, you guessed it, it still leaked! They tell me it's now fixed however it runs a good 5-10 seconds after being parked for only 5 minutes. It appears to still be leaking but slower. Our 02 Envoy holds air better than this one does. Anyone know what else to check? Dealer says checked everything and all good. I'm not buying it... Appreciate it!
That is the normal key-on test that should happen.
 

Forum Statistics

Threads
23,271
Posts
637,476
Members
18,472
Latest member
MissCrutcher

Members Online

No members online now.