Off the beaten path again..59' Cadillac air ride

[Justin B.]

Well, I have been trying to get my old 59'Cadillac 2dr. Coupe De Ville back on the street after a long hibernation (28 years) and I have a few questions about its' factory air-ride system. So, I thought that maybe some of you old school guys (ha ha) could educate a young blood like myself.
Heres the problem, the car will not pump itself up. It sits about 3 inches off the ground at all times. It still has the factory air bags, all of the lines, and the air pump motor which mounts in front of the power steering pump. We were able to disconnect the factory lines and fill the air bags to 80psi which they held overnight but even with this air pressure, the car still wouldn't rise...not even an inch. So for fun we put on air shocks all the way around in addition to the factory air bags and pumped the shocks to 100psi and they MAY have lifted it up an inch. It acts like something is holding the car down but when the car is on a lift the wheels and suspension hang freely. What is the deal with this big turd? Excuse my asking a Caddy question on a Corvette board but at least it's still a GM product.

[Wayne W.]

Re: Off the beaten path again..59' Cadillac air ri

Ask around here.

http://www.cadillaclasalleclub.org

[Tom B.]

Re: Off the beaten path again..59' Cadillac air ri

It seems odd that 80 psi won't lift your Caddy. My truck operates on a 120 psi maximum tank pressure for brakes and suspension. I think that the suspension bags are regulated to less pressure than the brakes. If the suspension is deflated and I start the truck to build pressure it will trip the safetys and lift the truck around 80-100 psi. I'm talking about a 80,000lb loaded vehicle and your Caddy is slightly lighter than that. Are those air shock too short and extending all the way before the car lifts? You should be able to walk under that thing with 100 psi in the shocks.

Do you have a service manual that gives operating pressure? There may be a down loadable on one line someplace. Is there any in line regulators or check valves that could be stuck?