Air Suspension Compressor Replacement

[GSD222]

Just replaced the suspension compressor in my 2019 Limited and took some pictures along the way. I've posted parts of this in a few other places here, but figured a step by step guide could be useful since I've seen a lot of other people on here lately dealing with air suspension issues. I am not a mechanic, just a DIYer who hates bringing his car to the dealer. It really wasn't that hard of a job and if I had to do it again I could do it in under 2 hours I'm guessing.

-First, lower the truck to entry/exit and drain the system of nitrogen. I used AlfaOBD to empty the system. After the system is drained of nitrogen pull the fuse for the suspension compressor (F17). Jack up the rear passenger side, and remove the tire, and all the wheel well moulding. This will give you full access to the compressor.

-Remove the dust shield from around the compressor. There are 2 clips and 2 10mm bolts that hold the dust shield in place. It's practically made of dust at this point and will be dropping dirt on you the whole time, so eye protection isn't a bad idea here. I washed it off before I reinstalled it.

-With the dust shield off, you now have full access to the compressor. Make sure the color coordinated labels are still on the air lines, and if not make sure to label them yourself. There a 5 total lines running out of the compressor assembly, and each of them should have a color corresponding to where they run to (Reservoir, Left Front, Right Front, Left Rear, Right Rear). The in and out lines for the compressor to draw in air when needed and release it when needed are labeled as well.


-After checking the labels, use a 13mm wrench to remove the air line fittings from the compressor assembly.
-Pull off the in/out hoses from the compressor assembly. There are a few fittings here but just take them off at the end and you'll see a barb fitting when they are off.
-Remove the wiring harness from the compressor. The plug is held into place by a locking mechanism on a hinge that'll free the harness when you rotate it all the way down

-There are a few clips on the top frame of the compressor assembly holding the wiring harness into place. Once removed you're ready to unbolt the compressor.
-I didn't get a good picture of the compressor before I took it off the truck, but there are 4 bolts holding it into place. It was very easy to remove with a 13mm socket and extension. You can see the bolt holes here:

 

[GSD222]

Now, you're ready to install the new compressor. A couple notes:
Another user here found the recommendation from Ram that unless you change the air lines as well, you probably shouldn't use the new fittings that come with the compressor. I followed this guideline except for the reservoir line, which was leaking at the connection point. The connectors do cost something like $13 each so good idea to hang onto them in case the need arises in the future.

Before installing the new compressor, you'll need to decide how you're going to repurpose or refit the in/out fittings from the old compressor to the new compressor. I called a local Ram dealer to see if they sold these fittings that have a barb on one side, and a tube that pushes into the plastic fitting on the new compressor. Turns out they don't sell these, and they wanted me to buy a new exhaust hose for $104 plus tax.

If I had to do it over again, I'd probably just take the port (making sure to get the o-rings) off the old compressor and swap it onto the new one, as it's just one torx screw holding it into place. I ended up taking a 13mm wrench instead and tapping into the gap where it connects to the port, and gently pried it up. This ended up working fine too.

-I have a little step stool that fit perfectly into my wheel well, so I set the new compressor on the stool and installed the wiring harness first.

With the harness on, I bolted the compressor into place, and then put the in and out lines on the fittings.

-After the compressor is bolted in, the air lines need to be put back in place. Start with the reservoir line fitting and work your way in order towards the back of the truck from there. Mopar specifies that these fittings need to be screwed in by hand first to avoid cross-threading. I was a bit paranoid about overtightening and screwed them in as far as I could by hand, and then just used the wrench to tighten them down a bit.



-Rather than putting the dust cover and harness clips back in immediately, it's a good idea to make sure everything is working first. Put the tire back on, lower the car off the jack, recharge the system with nitrogen (I have instructions on how to do this elsewhere), and reinstall the fuse. I had to recalibrate the air suspension in AlfaOBD afterwards as well. Not sure if this is standard though as I had issues with the system the day before.

-Even after calibration my truck wanted to stay in tire jack mode. The second I drove it down the road tire jack mode shut off automatically.

Last step after reinstalling the dust cover and clipping the wiring harness back into place is to pull the brisket out of the smoker and crack open a beer.

 

[Coachrandle]

Quick question. I changed out my air suspension compressor now the system won’t respond at all. Prior to the install the rear suspension would drop to exit mode and the compressor would at some point cause the truck to level and ride smoothly. Now after the install. The front is slammed down to the tires and system is unresponsive. Any idea what I did wrong

 

[kapinallinen2]

Quick question. I changed out my air suspension compressor now the system won’t respond at all. Prior to the install the rear suspension would drop to exit mode and the compressor would at some point cause the truck to level and ride smoothly. Now after the install. The front is slammed down to the tires and system is unresponsive. Any idea what I did wrong

Read the posts by GSD222, there might be some pointers there.

 

[TopazM3]

Ready to order a new RAM. I’m probably going to get the air suspension, but I am a little bit nervous about getting it. There are so many ways it can act up or fail. How reliable is it? I know that early ones were freezing up. I live in KY, so we don’t get insane cold temps. I just hate things that are unreliable, so I’m still not certain. My 2012 RAM has been almost completely trouble free…. except for the HEMI exhaust manifold bolts, of course!

 

[Driver]

I had air suspension in my 16 for 8 years in Va, and never a problem.