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If I replace my rear struts which are air-controlled while I have a faulty air compressor, could they be damaged?

Only if the compressor is stuck on.

Ive heard that running on the struts flat all the time isnt good for them. Makes your back end sit pretty low too.

Couple of concerns here. The shocks will not be damaged, as there is nothing to hook up the air line to, so it would be just hanging there. I believe that the air shocks are factored into the springrate though, so when you start putting stuff in the back <or even people in the back seat> the car will start riding like crap and getting closer and closer to the ground. You will likely want to unplug or pull fuse for the compressor, but in all honesty, how much more expensive are the air shocks compared to the standards?

RJolly87 wrote:Couple of concerns here. The shocks will not be damaged, as there is nothing to hook up the air line to, so it would be just hanging there. I believe that the air shocks are factored into the springrate though, so when you start putting stuff in the back <or even people in the back seat> the car will start riding like crap and getting closer and closer to the ground. You will likely want to unplug or pull fuse for the compressor, but in all honesty, how much more expensive are the air shocks compared to the standards?

So your thinking that I should just go with the standards?

If you don't plan to fix the compressr, then no need for the air shocks. But you loose the auto leveling feature.

ColdScrip wrote:

RJolly87 wrote:Couple of concerns here. The shocks will not be damaged, as there is nothing to hook up the air line to, so it would be just hanging there. I believe that the air shocks are factored into the springrate though, so when you start putting stuff in the back <or even people in the back seat> the car will start riding like crap and getting closer and closer to the ground. You will likely want to unplug or pull fuse for the compressor, but in all honesty, how much more expensive are the air shocks compared to the standards?

So your thinking that I should just go with the standards?

I think that you should either go with air shocks and repair the leveling system, or put in standard shocks and replace the springs with those that are from a vehicle that does not have leveling.

Here is how I see it:

The shocks are shot on my Park Avenue, they leak air faster than the system will keep them aired up. When putting any weight in the rear of the car, not only does it sit lower than it should, but the rear end gets very bouncy, and the ride is very bad. This is even with people in the back seat, any thing more than a small child back there and the rear is almost dragging. Being that you state the compressor is done, you prolly already know how it is going to feel. I believe that if you simply replace the shocks with standard units you will be disappointed. It might be best if a gear head chimes in, as I may be completely wrong.

I HIGHLY recommend you replace with air struts and repair/replace the air compressor for the air suspension -the air compressor is a 10 minute job to replace and you should be able to get one shipped in for under $30.
Retaining the air suspension and replacing the bad components with the proper parts will be 100x better you will find. I just replaced my compressor and I swear my 160K old rear air struts make the car ride like it has 50k miles WHEN the air portion is working.
Not to mention I don't scrape my exhaust tips any more.

Alright thanks guys. I got the air compressor to kick on today. So it will be repaired properly. If the compressor kicks on manually but does not kick on to pump the struts, what could be the issue? The old struts are fine and the car is level front and back. I am just curious and would like to know the answer to that question before doing the job.

Probably a bad level sensor or linkage rod.