zippinbye

Well, our 05 GX that we've owned for six years has finally come to a major failure, after easily resolvable/inexpensive malfunctions. The rear suspension is in full squat and the compressor won't come on. This, after I noticed a unequal bleed-drown of the bags while parked (the passenger side was sinking farther than the driver's side). It's been too cold for me to want to dive into a serious diagnosis, but I checked the fuses; no problem. No obvious breach of the air bags, but I'm quite sure that at the very least, the right one has a leak. So based on conditions and assumptions, I'd guess the compressor was working overtime trying to keep up with a leaking bag, leading to its death. I assume that they are not designed for anything approaching a continuous duty cycle, so a failure would be understandable. Having studied the options of air system swap for coil springs and/or elimination of electronic dampening control shocks, I'd prefer to to retain stock function, preferably taking a budget route to do so. While aftermarket bags seem to be very affordable (under $100 each) compared to OEM, there does not seem to be any shortcut for the compressor. About $1200-ish on eBay for new OEM (Fantastic price compared to dealer). Obviously not an expense to take on without being certain you need one. Sketchy-looking used ones for about half of that amount. Too much to risk with no warranty. Anybody know if the compressors can be rebuilt? I'd presume it would be an electric motor melt-down and not necessarily a pump failure, but who knows. We have a very competent and reasonably-priced electric motor shop locally, that's very old-school. I've had them rebuild boat and airplane starters and alternators. They can't compete with cheap rebuilds from O'Reilly or AutoZone, but for specially-certified marine and aviation motors, they provide a huge savings (A particular Delco starter that is FAA-certified goes for around $1200, while the identical part (absent FAA stamp on the case) for a Chevy is about forty bucks at Autozone or can be overhauled locally for $100 or so). Anybody know if this might be a path worth trying on a GX compressor? If I pull it and verify it's failed status, of course I'll ask the experts at this shop. But between chilly temperatures in my garage, and laziness, I may want to know the options before I'm deep into it. If rebuild is a known impossibility in advance, I may hunt a little harder for a used unit at a better price, and roll the dice, and have a replacement on hand to install the moment my failed unit comes off. Otherwise, the GX can sit in the garage while the shop rebuilds the existing unit. Since I'm out of work on disability and other expenses (kids college and medical stuff) are looming, I'm hoping to contain costs on this ordeal. It would be good news to end up with a rebuilt compressor and a couple of aftermarket airbags, and then worry about my aging shocks later on. Please share your thoughts. Thanks!

RushNatU

Car-Part.com has some used units for $500 or so. The plan on my 05 is to slowly get all the suspension parts from a low mileage wrecked vehicle as they come available. $1200 for a part that looks like it cost $50 to make is just ridiculous

LoneHiker

With the kind of money you're talking for a compressor, I'd put a Schrader valve on the end of the hose and inflate those bags with a bicycle pump! More seriously, I'd probably run the signal wires to a relay that triggers a cheapo tire inflator. You could mount it inside in the rear driver's side storage bin.

Those are both somewhat ridiculous solutions, but the buck has to stop somewhere.

BradTank

I would first actually make sure the pump is indeed dead and it's not just a leak in the bags. It could also be something like a relay or sensor, so I would verify everything first.

But most air ride suspensions use a similar type of pump, so I'm sure you could potentially adapt a much cheaper one from a different application, but be prepared to spend some serious time tinkering with mounting it and adapting it to the Lexus wiring.

I personally would either find a used pump from a salvage yard or put some coil springs and just move on rather than reinvent the wheel as I could see a project like that wasting a whole lot of time.

If downtime is not an issue, take it in and get a quote from a motor rebuild place.

There's no question a cheaper option can be found, it's how much time do you want to spend on an alternative solution.

shadowmite

I personally await the day that happens to convert to coil-springs. Complexity is just waiting for costly repairs to be needed. I have a co-workers who's GX was converted and the ride was actually pretty wonderful after the conversion. You just loose the easy ride height adjustments so consider if you tow things often enough to justify it.

IanB2

You could convert to coils with aftermarket airbags in the coils on a schraeder valve (for heavy loads, towing, etc) for far less than the cost to replace that compressor.

zippinbye

I hear you guys. 12 bills or more is a no-go for a compressor, unless it requires it's own shed and a dedicated power meter to supply pneumatics for my shop. Not for a silly little toy like we have in the GX. But seriously, has nobody ever gone down the rebuild path on one of these things? I see the value in the ideas like a coil spring conversion and the practicality to adapting some other compressor, but what would you think if you were shopping for a GX and came across one that had a bailing wire solution applied to the suspension system? I don't really give a rip about resale value, since I have no plans to get rid of my GX 470. But preservation of stock engineering and design has a certain appeal. Regarding long term reliability ... I made it to about 140,000 miles, much in the baking hot, dry desert and 13 years of service on the original equipment, so the odds are in my favor for continued good function. I'm at the juncture where a $350 to $500 used compressor or a similar or lower priced overhaul combine with aftermarket airbags is worthy of consideration compared to new OEM components. Just looking for insight about the feasibility of rebuilding my original compressor.

tkim415

I just had my suspension rebuilt in my 2004 GX, after reading many posts on the subject on this board. I went with Bilstein 5100's front and back (about $360 total), the Arnott coil conversion ($240), and Moog front springs. Highly recommend it -- I didn't realize how bad the suspension had gotten (it just sneaks up on you over time), but now the car rides as well as I ever remember it. I don't miss the air height or ride adjustments at all -- with the Bilsteins, it handles pretty much like the sport setting, which is what I always used, anyway.

bbrowncods

I only know second hand this information. My brother, who I trust, told me that when my pump goes that it is so simple to rebuild. It literally is an O-ring riding in a plastic piston/cylinder. It is the O-ring that wears out and a hardware store should have it. The second thing is the motor brushes. You might have to go to a electric motor repair (alternator/starter) shop to find a match.

I know it is a far cry from having a company provide a "kit" and guarantee that all the parts therein fit and will fix the problem.

Good luck.

zippinbye

Thanks. That's more or less what I was thinking. As nice as the piece of mind of all new parts would be, I'm proceeding with attempts to salvage the factory suspension using frugally-obtained parts. I have a used compressor with a 90-day warranty on the way. The wrecking yard threw in the air reservoir and lines too. I ordered the o-rings and plastic fittings for each connection, since most folks seem to break those during removal. From Lexus of South Atlanta (about $50 with shipping). $400 for the compressor and $165 for new aftermarket air bags. So $600 and change, unless I discover something else amiss. Already tested the compressor relay, but the solenoids are a wild card, as are the ride height sensors. I think I'll take the removed compressor to a local rebuilder. I can either resell it to defray project cost, or keep it as a spare. But since I'm reasonably sure a failed right bag killed my compressor, it's a pretty safe bet those are the parts that need attention. I'll report back after the install is accomplished.

new2005GX

Any luck rebuilding the compressor? Specifically the exhaust valve solenoid? I've replaced everything in the suspension at this point except the compressor and I beleive it is causing me problems with a rough ride (until I cycle the suspension). Curious to know how you made out.

allwheels

Just so you know, if you have leaking airbags, or other air leaks, the motor will eventually be timed out by the ecu to prevent damage to it. After a certain period of time, it will attempt to run it again. If it still can't achieve proper height, or it runs the motor over a predetermined time period, it will shut it off for an even longer period of time. Although there is no warning light for it, there will be a code stored in the computer for compressor lock or something to that effect. Just an FYI, if you have a leaky airbag, just do them both and be done with it. It'll probably work ok afterwards.