stefank Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Hello everybody, the left rear knuckle of my '96 SLS had a lot of play in the upper and lower bushings. After removing the knuckle from the car, I found that it is possible to press out the bushings. It seems that these bushings are not available separateley anywhere, and fabrication is not straightforward due to their unique construction. So I decided to replace the complete knuckle. I found that this part is extremeley expensive over here (Germany; 1.050 USD just for the knuckle) and much cheaper in the US (300 USD approx at gmpartsdirect). I’m talking here about the same part from the same manufacturer. Scotty aka BodyByFisher aka Mike offered help to buy that part on my behalf in the US and ship it to me. He did a great job and some days ago the parcel arrived. Yesterday I installed the new knuckle. This is a pretty straightforward job, but there were two things to mention: The lower knuckle bushing sleeve of the new part was 4mm wider than the old one. It would not fit in the lower control arm opening. I put the new knuckle in a vise and used an angle grinder to carefully grind off 1.5mm on each side of the sleeve. Problem solved The second issue came up fitting the toe link bolt (see attached photo, red arrow). The manual states that this bolt should be renewed. Well, I didn’t see any problems reusing the old bolt (smartass as I am) but upon fitting the bolt I discovered that it was harder and harder to turn the deeper it went into the hole. The toe link wasn’t tight when the bolt bottomed out in the hole. Well, it should be simple to remove the bolt, but the thread in the knuckle came out with it… I found that the hole / thread in the new knuckle is shorter than in the old one. I ended up shortening the bolt to fit the new hole, measured the thread of the old bolt (M12x1.75) and tapped a new thread into the knuckle. That went fine and I was able to install the bolt in the knuckle and torque it to spec without problems. I used loctite to prevent the bolt from loosening. BTW, that bolt should be tightened with the suspension in normal driving position, to prevent bushing wind up. Whole operation took about two hours. Thanks again to BBF for his great help. Best Stefan [attachmentid=2848] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjayzway Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Scotty/Mike, You rule man. I love how you go out of your way for everyone! Big Jay Life is too short to grow up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 We need to have a place for posts like this on our board. -- 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Scotty/Mike, You rule man. I love how you go out of your way for everyone! Big Jay Thanks Jay, I am blushing... Mike Stefan, glad you got it installed. I am curious how your ride is. I know the NOISE is better now, but I am curious how your handling changed or if it tightened up... PS, do you drive on the Autobahn? Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted October 22, 2006 Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 We need to have a place for posts like this on our board. The place is called "Cadillac Owner Tips and Hints". Bruce can move this thread. Good job, Stefan and Mike! The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefank Posted October 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2006 Thanks for the nice comments! Mike, I drive about 50 mls autobahn everyday. I noticed a somewhat loose rear end for a while, when driving long, fast bends. I will see tomorrow whether this is better now. Interesting that the left knuckle was shot, I would have thought the right side of the suspension is more stressed. I will report back the results. Stefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Some thing to consider regarding the left knuckle wearing faster than the right side one. About 2 years ago my left rear knuckle went. The reason why? My fuel fill tube was rotting and had many holes along it. I discovered that there had been constant slow fuel drips from the bad fill tube. One of the drip spots was right on the end of the knuckle bushing. A great way to dry out a bushing in a hurry. Might want to check your fuel fill tube for holes and cracks. It is 10-11 years old now. Great job BBF....as always. And nice fabrication work stefank. I would have been nervous doing the modifications considering everything that went into getting the knuckle etc. Nice job! I love a happy ending. "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stefank Posted October 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 Hello all, now after having driven the car today at various speeds up to 120 mph I'm happy to report that it feels much more stable and the rear suspension is quiet again. It's much more fun to drive! Mike, you're my hero! Regis, this is good thinking. When I had the knuckle apart the last time, I took off the plastic shield and checked the fuel filler tube. It was starting to show rust, but not too bad. I removed all rust as good as possible and sprayed with zinc paint. It should last for a while... Best Stefan BTW Regis, love your avatar :-) Some thing to consider regarding the left knuckle wearing faster than the right side one. About 2 years ago my left rear knuckle went. The reason why? My fuel fill tube was rotting and had many holes along it. I discovered that there had been constant slow fuel drips from the bad fill tube. One of the drip spots was right on the end of the knuckle bushing. A great way to dry out a bushing in a hurry. Might want to check your fuel fill tube for holes and cracks. It is 10-11 years old now. Great job BBF....as always. And nice fabrication work stefank. I would have been nervous doing the modifications considering everything that went into getting the knuckle etc. Nice job! I love a happy ending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted October 23, 2006 Report Share Posted October 23, 2006 120 MPH, OMG! It sounds like its running terrific! Glad you are back on the autobahn! Mike Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e39dream Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 I need to replace this knuckle bushing on the rear passenger side- does anyone know where I can buy one or have a gm part number for it? Car needs an alignment bad but I need to fix this first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 I need to replace this knuckle bushing on the rear passenger side- does anyone know where I can buy one or have a gm part number for it? Car needs an alignment bad but I need to fix this first. Try http://www.gmotors.com or http://www.rockauto.com I am a big fan of gmotors the service is great and shipping is fast. Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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