Hissing suspension

charleylamb · #1 (**permalink**) 07-08-09, 01:56 PM

When I brought my 05 with MRC into the garage after going through a car wash, I heard a hissing sound like a tire going flat. I quickly removed the right rear tire, but it was ok, and the noise was coming from the suspension. I put dish soap around the air bag and fitting and did not see bubbles. After a few minutes the noise stopped and I have not heard it again. The dealer said I have a bad hydraulic seal in the shock and they want $2200 for the pair and labor. I don't believe them. I am confident it is the leveling system. Perhaps the blast from the underbody flush loosened something up. Any recomendations for diagnosing this? If I do need shocks, I will buy them from gmpartsdirect for $444 each and either install them myself or pay somebody else. Has anyone ever attempted this?

smithb · #2 (**permalink**) 07-08-09, 09:26 PM

I haven't tried it, but I did see the shocks weren't too expensive at gmpartsdirect in case I needed to replace them. It shouldn't be too difficult. They have the repair guide at autozone.com. I would call around to independent shops and ask how much they would charge for labor to change one rear shock, then you can just take them the shock. I can't imagine it would take much more than an hour, certainly not more than 2. Depending on where you live, it should be around $70/hour for an independent shop.

charleylamb · #3 (**permalink**) 09-14-09, 10:59 AM

I finally heard the sound again and with some soapy water, was able to locate it. It seems to be coming from in between the inner fender and the shock. Is there a seal in there that can be replaced? I need to tear out the interior to remove the top of the shock so it would be really nice to have the replacement part in hand.

carguy2009 · #4 (**permalink**) 09-14-09, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charleylamb

I finally heard the sound again and with some soapy water, was able to locate it. It seems to be coming from in between the inner fender and the shock. Is there a seal in there that can be replaced? I need to tear out the interior to remove the top of the shock so it would be really nice to have the replacement part in hand.

On my 04 Seville the upper part of the shock is a rubber bellows. I had the air line that feeds the bellows pop out once and heard the air leaking. I think a piece of cardboard flew up while I was driving and hit the air line. I pushed the line back in place and that was that.