Our 2001 4x4 Expy with air ride [we love it for towing trailers and aren't going to change over to coil springs] is making a minor creaking/rubbing sound when the truck is stopped and the vehicle is rocked back and forth.

The sound is not loud enough to hear when driving.

The suspension drives/rides fine.

I crawled under the right rear and my SO rocked the truck and it sure seems like it's coming from the right side airbag or the shock inside it.

Our truck has 100,000 miles on it and the only thing I did to the air ride was change the compressor at 70,000 because the rubber isolators wore out.

Has anyone removed the shock inside the bag and can post on what special tools are required, if any, and how long it would take me? [I've got a well equiped home shop]

Any other suggestions if you think it's not the shock?

 

The front shocks have an air provision and the rears do not. Usually the only time the shocks squeak is when they are worn out or the rubber mounting bushings are worn out.

 

My 99 makes the same noise. I dont have air suspension. There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of the components in my suspension, so i just ignore it. It could be the spring rubbing on the spring seat, dirt in suspension components, etc. Check to see if everything is in good condition, then ignore it

 

spray all of the rubber bushings for the trackbars and the airsprings with soapy water 1 by 1 and give the rig another shake. The soapy water solution "lubricates" the bushings a little bit so you can pinpoint whatever is creaking. It'll also help you track down any air leaks in the airbags.

At least you can pinpoint what's broken, if anything. Short term fix, you can rub the rubber bushings with tire polish. It's got something in it that "softens" and "revitalizes" the rubber, but it's only a short term solution.

 

this post made me smile. NOT because of what you are experiencing, but because my 99 started creaking last weekend after hauling a load of dirt. the day after pulling, i had my wife rock the truck while i crawled under it. i found the right rear air bad squeaking at the lower mount. when i bought this truck my first order of business was to gut the LLS and switch to coil/shock. but i've grown fond of the LLS and want to keep it.

 

If you've never changed the rear air springs, you would be surprised to find how rusty the upper spring mounting plate and the lower spring mounting clip get at 100k. Both of my rear air springs were very rusted and corroded in those areas. That'll cause a squeak. If you replace the air springs, take the time time overhaul/de-rust/prime/paint the retaining mounts. No more squeaks after that. All the above posts are accurate; that area of the truck takes a lot of abuse over the years with rust build up from water constantly hitting it from the wheels. If you keep chasing the rust and restoring/painting it, you can keep the truck for another 10 years.

 

Interesting comments so far.

Does anyone know how to bleed the bags once the air ride switch is turned off?

Any special tools req'd to get the bags out, what's the removal sequence?

 

Just remove the safety clip on the solenoid, then rotate the fill solenoid about 1/8th of a turn and the air pressure will cause it to pop out and bleed the pressure out fast. Be sure you have the suspension turned off and the truck high as you can get it on jack stands. Once the air is out you can turn collapse the bag to get it out of it's holders. To get the solenoid to remove the rest of the way you twist a bit more and it will come out. To remove the air line from the solenoid you will have to push the line in while pulling out on the colored ring of the solenoid. A trim panel tool works best here, it looks like a screwdriver with the flat bent about 15 deg. and has a V notch in it.

 

Mel's right on above, but I would also add that if you have never removed the solenoid from a rear air spring before, just be prepared for the sound/pressure, it can come flying out of there pretty loud, first time I did it I thought it was incoming, like the way an IED or mortar round sounds. When you reinstall the solenoid, coat the two small o-rings and the large o-ring with some type of silicon grease to ensure it can be removed easier later on.

 

Thanks for the suggestions Moto and Vze!

I'll be sure to update when I do the work.

 

I finally got my Strutmaster Air springs installed today on my '00 Expi. Still had all the originals at 166k miles.
The compressor was running too often.
Now, with new Monroe shocks on all 4 corners and new air bags the truck rides like when it was new, I'm happy with the results.
Very little compressor noise now, just a few seconds at startup and some little spurts at various times.

 

Ok, so I just bought an '01 EB Expy today. I drove it like I stole it during my test drive,lol. It drove like a newbie! Well, that only lasted a few hours. I stopped to top off the gas tank & this awful noise took me by surprise. Thanks to this site, I was able to find others that have had the same experiences. So now that I have identified the problem as the air ride suspension compressor, now I need to fix it. The ride is super smooth, is it possible that the new grommets solution that has been mentioned will be the best thing to try first? And if that doesn't work to fix the problem, then what is the next step I should take????