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New Struts - replace Electronic Struts


coolnesss

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I have a 2002 ETC and it needs new struts in the front.

I see that Monroe took their electronic replacement off the market, but they have what seems to be a conventional strut and a kit to fool the car to think it's still hooked up to electronics.

Is this the ticket currently, or are the Arnott well done?

THANKS

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It's your car and your choice, but one of the reasons that I drive a Cadillac is for its design, which includes the electronic suspension. So, I would (and did, with the 1997 ETC) replace the shocks and struts with electronic parts. I had planned to buy the Monroes but AC/Delco was having a close-out and they matched the prices, so I put AC/Delco shocks and struts on it.

If all you are interested in is keeping your daily driver going and running well, then the subtlety of the difference between conventional and electronic shocks and struts may not be important to you.

But to address your question, the Monroes are almost certainly variable-rate shocks and struts. Variable rate shocks will give you a better ride with good control in difficult situations, but you will have stiffer damping all the time without variable rate valving. Arnott shocks and struts are good quality but I don't know whether all of them are variable rate or not.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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Thanks Jim. I've retired and don't have 2 grand to spend on shocks right now, so, while I'd love to keep the factory struts, it's a sacrifice I need to make to the gods of money.

What have other people experienced?

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New AC/Delco strut assemblies are $500 each and the rear shocks are a lot less. Shop for a deal. Make sure that you get shocks for the FE3 suspension of the ETC or you will be disappointed in the new shocks and struts.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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The Monroe struts on rockauto, Amazon, Ebay or an autoparts store will work fine. Just make sure you know your suspension type FE1,FE3 and if its an electronic strut you can wire up a resistor.

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It's an ETC, so it has the FE3 suspension.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...

I'm about to do this. What other pieces should I order while the tech is in there? Car's got 80k miles almost, but, it lives in Los Angeles and the roads here are awful.

There's a gentle almost silent rattle in the right front when the car hits irregularities in the road surface. I has recent tie rod ends.

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Stabilizer bar links?

You should look at the strut mounts, strut bearings, stabilizer bushings, any rubber (neoprene) bellows, and the rear knuckle bushings, but there is no reason to believe that any or all of them need replacing on a a 2002 model with 80,000 miles on it.

Look at the flexible brake lines and the rubber mounts on the cradle, and also the rubber mounts on the rear suspension mounts. These are even less likely to be bad because of age or mileage, but road debris or accident damage can make them worth replacing.

Check the motor supports, particularly the lower front and the dog bones. If your car came with fender braces, make sure that they are there and all four bolts are tight.

The rubber bumpers under the hood and trunk lid tend to work loose over time. They are inexpensive and, with a little weatherstrip adhesive, they will stay in place.

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the list Jim. I keep going through motor mounts - like every year or so, and now, about 1,000 miles after replacing all of them, at least one of them, I think, has gone foul - there's that stupid vibration in the steering wheel that tells me. I haven't investigated yet. The parts house keeps replacing the part free. Labor ain't cheap though.

JoeB, I agree - sounds like it could have been great.

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If you are going through motor mounts, then one of them is loose. Most people don't realize how tight the bolts on the dog bones must be to prevent engine rocking, which will take out the front motor support.. The transmission (rear motor) support rarely goes bad but when it does the front one has a hard time.

Is the cradle tight?

CTS-V_LateralGs_6-2018_tiny.jpg
-- Click Here for CaddyInfo page on "How To" Read Your OBD Codes
-- Click Here for my personal page to download my OBD code list as an Excel file, plus other Cadillac data
-- See my CaddyInfo car blogs: 2011 CTS-V, 1997 ETC
Yes, I was Jims_97_ETC before I changed cars.

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  • 2 months later...

If you are going through motor mounts, then one of them is loose. Most people don't realize how tight the bolts on the dog bones must be to prevent engine rocking, which will take out the front motor support.. The transmission (rear motor) support rarely goes bad but when it does the front one has a hard time.

Is the cradle tight?

The dog bones have a few thousand miles of use, and have play in them. The bracket where they mount is a little wider than the dogbones, and there's a few millimeters of lateral play in each one. Should that be the case? Am I missing spacers or something?

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Nothing to worry about. The dogbones resist the movement of the engine in the direction parrell to the dogbone.

Kevin
'93 Fleetwood Brougham
'05 Deville
'04 Deville
2013 Silverado Z71

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