My '91 Buick LeSabre needs new shock & struts. Normally I would take it to my local shop and just have a new set put on. Here’s the hang up though, the vehicle is equipped with air ride suspension and the replacements are $200.00-$250.00 a piece?! Yowzah! Can I disconnect the power to the compressor and install regular shocks and struts and save some dough?
You could but it’s going to be expensive either way. It may be time to say goodbye to this vehicle and look for something else to drive. These air ride suspension are difficult to work on and are failure-prone as they age.
That $200-250 price must be for OEM (ACDelco?) shocks. There are very likely some aftermarket shocks for it that would be a lot cheaper. Do a quick pass through the parts chain store websites. I have a very different & much newer vehicle (Olds Silhouette) so it may not apply at all - but ACDelco replacements went in the $250 range. I replaced both rear shocks with Monroes for all of $75. They’re fine.
At Rockauto, Monroes run $50 for the front and $60 for the rear. He must be talking about fully loaded struts with the spring, bearing plate, etc. for that price. Costs in parts but saves in labor. Cost you $250 if you do it yourself with shipping.