2001 3/4 Suburban, very weird noise, possible auto ride failure?
 

I have a 2001 with Auto Ride. Im around 105k, I bought the vehicle around 100k. I have used it to tow my boat which is roughly 5,000lbs.

My question is how do I know the Auto Ride is even working? Will I see it or feel it lift the back end when I start it after hooking up my boat? I dont notice it do anything. Also when I go over speed bumps the rearend goes over hard like the suspension is really stiff, not what I would expect from a system called auto ride! Plus others on here described a "caddy like" ride with this system, which it doesnt quite feel like.

I have also just recently started to get a strange noise I think is coming from the back, but I cant seem to isolate it yet and it is really only bad upon start up, I dont hear it going down the road.

After reading some other threads I am curious if it could be a faulty pump? My haynes manual does not cover the auto ride so I know nothing about how it works or if this new noise could be related.

The best I can describe the noise is like a loose baffle in a muffler, but I know its not that. Its like a rattle, but a more constant noise when it happens. When it happens it makes the noise for a few seconds, stops for a few and does it again. Never the same interval or length.

Can I jumper the pump to kick it on and see if it makes the same noise, where and how would I do that?

Thanks for the help.