If you have issues with your ELC pump and think it's on the noisy side, or not working efficiently, you can quite easily do something about it. This can also be the cause of blown ELC fuses due to friction and resistance causing the motor to over-work itself. Keep in mind that ELC system performance can be affected by leaky air lines or leaky rear shocks. Although we're not talking about that in this article, it's important to know that rear ELC shocks are actually GAS shocks just like conventional shocks, but with the ADDED feature of air assist. Troubleshooting leaky shocks (the air assist portion) will be covered in a different article.
On to the ELC pump.....the pump pictured here is from under the hood of a 92-95 Bonneville, 96 and newer is in the left rear wheel well, and is similar. Remove the pump from the car. On the 92-95, there are three 10mm bolts. Two towards the front, and 1 near the rear of the mounting bracket. Remove them and disconnect the electrical connector. There are two connectors (one front, one rear) that you'll need to 'pop loose' from the bracket to remove the whole assembly:
Removal from the car isn't pictured because it isn't rocket science with the above description to guide you.
Now remove the three screws so you can separate the compressor assembly from the bracket:
For the 92-95, if you only want to lubricate the piston/bore, remove the three screws visible in this picture (on the radius end), and lift up to expose the piston. Lubricate the piston with air tool oil (or similar) or very light grease. Oil is preferred, as it will migrate through the ELC/Inflator system and help lube/seal o-rings, shocks, and valves:
If you want to go all the way, it's not much more work. The restrictor poppet (one-way) valve can be accessed, cleaned, and lubricated easily. Remove and clean both parts identified by arrows. Again, light grease or air tool oil are best:
Now remove the 4 screws on the front cover, and gently pop it loose from the gasket:
Here's how it rotates (click to watch video):
Remove the retaining clip on the 'crank' with a screwdriver inserted in the 'loop' shown by the yellow arrow. Then remove the curved spring washer shown by the light blue arrow. Now lubricate inside there with light grease or oil and reassemble:
Put the whole thing back together, and it should run more efficiently and quietly. The lubrication in the piston bore is the most important to the function.
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