air ride compressor fun

[Stidman]

First a big thank you to every one who advised me to go with the KYB gas-a-just shocks. WOW what a difference!! Love them!
And the rear shock upper mounting design? WTF! That just SUCKS!
So on to my dilemma. I removed air shocks and switched over to the Firestone air bags. Hooked the factory compressor to the bags with an adapter tee. Compressor comes on, runs for about 2, maybe up to 3 minutes then stops. Some pressure in the bags, but not enough to do much of anything. Car does not go to the old ride height. Compressor only seems to cycle when the key is switched off, then back on. Question I have is am I asking too much from the factory compressor? BIG difference in volume required now to pressurize the new system. Or is my 25 year old compressor just wore out?

[Mainemantom]

On two of my cars, I did not hook them up to the compressor. I routed a fill valve near the back bumper. When it needed air, which was rare, I just added some air from an air hose.

[gadget73]

The compressor should have ample volume. They used that same compressor to do 2 air springs on later Towncars, and 4 on the Mark VII and Continental. Takes a bloody age to get a Mark off the ground if all 4 are flat but it will do it if the compressor isn't dead. Check for air leaks where the air line connects to the compressor, and at the bottom of the drier. You may also need to tweak the height adjustment to get it to do it's thing. Its possible its worn out, but make sure it doesn't leak before you get too far down this rabbit hole. There is a timeout in the system, probably about 2-3 minutes, but that ought to be enough if there aren't excessive leaks to overcome.