'96 explorer limited 'air ride' problem

the ride on this vehicle used to be smooth as butter

but abt a year after purchase they put the car on a lift without taking precautions first (shutting off air ride?)

and it 'broke'

many attempted repairs and dollars later it's still not 'right'

does this suspension require special shocks particular to this system?

and is air actually pumped into something?

(i have a motorcycle with air shocks... and i know that when you put air into them, it must be with a special zero-loss hand pump... if you put a regular air hose on it you run 2 risks: 1) you'll blow the seals or 2) the air you want in the shock escapes when you disconnect the hose)

if air is pumped into the shocks (or something), what is factory spec psi?

and should it be done with a special (hand?) pump or is regular air hose ok?

just out of shop for repair... ride hard as rocks... 'check air ride' light comes on

dealership doesn't know what to do

any ideas???

thanks

steve

I have a 98 limited which I have had since Sept. 2001 when it had 25,000 miles on it. The air ride system has never worked right, the dealer could never find anything wrong, after driving the car for 10 minutes, the message center says 'Check Air Ride System', i do not know what is up with it, but if you fix it let me know.