Scotty Posted October 4, 2005 Report Share Posted October 4, 2005 Ok, I installed my LR strut today. My struts are from Boston Suspension. No problem with removing the old strut, I used a T-50 TORX at the top and a 15/16" box and it came right out, I have been hearing horror stories but it was easy. I don't know if it helped but I soaked the nuts over the weekend with a very good penetrant. The new strut went in fine, the air shock tubing faces inward now, and I covered it with 5/32" vacuum hose. Already I can feel the difference when I hit bumps, its quiet, and its tighter when I push down on the fender. The old strut was easy to push in and out and it had some DEAD spots through its range of motion... I did not hook up the electronics yet, so I got a code, SO WHAT, I cleared it and it was gone .... I will hook up the electronics in due time and keep my fingers crossed. I can't wait to get up to highway speed to see if I am still jumping all over the road when I hit the expansion joints.... Will advise as this job proceeds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnydone Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 one, you got lucky, two, when u replace the right strut you wont believe the difference in your ride when u replace the front and then get the car aligned u just hit heaven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Well I must have got lucky a second time...! The second rear shock came off like butter also. BUT....I have a VERY unfair advantage. My Cadillac loving neighbor gave me a product about 7 years ago and when he gave it to me he gave it to me like it was GOLD...and it is! I wet down both top nuts on my rear struts with this stuff over the weekend, and even thought I drove the car 100 miles since then, they were still wet with penetrant... Check this stuff out, its the best penetrant I have seen: ZEP 45-NC TYPE: Non-Chlorinated Penetrating Lubricant PROD. #0149 BENEFITS: An aerosol penetrating lubricant fortified with Teflon®, the slipperiest substance known to man, and Vydax ®, fluorotelomer dispersion. Zep 45 NC penetrates rapidly to loosen parts that are frozen due to wear, corrosion, heavy grease or grime build-up. Zep 45 NC provides excellent and long lasting lubrication to moving parts. Micron sized particles of Teflon and Vydax work like thousands of tiny ball bearings to reduce friction and wear dramatically. Zep 45 NC deposits a protective film to retard corrosion, prolong the life of machinery, and reduce down-time. The solvent action of Zep 45 NC removes accumulations of grease and grime from surfaces to allow contact with the lubricating, protective film. The lubricating film remains effective over a wide temperature range (minus 55 degrees Fahrenheit to 475 degrees Fahrenheit.). Zep 45 NC is excellent for use on industrial machines, business machines, motor shafts, guns, sports equipment, shop tools, saws and drills, electric motors, vending machines, locks, hinges, roller bearings, conveyors, pulleys, nuts and bolts, all rusted and corroded parts. Use on any surface that slips, slides, rubs, rolls, moves, turns, twists, or pivots. Performance remains the same as Zep 45. Zep 45-NC does not contain 1,1,1 Trichlorethane. Container has the same volume fill as Zep 45, but a lower net weight. It is also available in liquid form. ®-Registered trademark of E.I. DuPont De Nemours Company, Inc. CAUTION: This aerosol product has tested as flammable by the CSMA Flame Extension Test Method. PROPERTIES Appearance Clear, brown Can Size 24 fl. oz. Form Aerosol Fragrance Strong, sweet Net Weight 1 lb. (454g) Shipping Flammable aerosol PROD. # UNIT U/M WGT 014902 A8 2 doz Doz 39 014901 A8 1 doz Doz 19 014900 A8 1 each Each 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Well the rear is done. I will take it for a ride and report back later also changed oil, oil filter and the parking brake release vacuum servo motor... Tomorrow I will work on the rear electronics (resistors) to fool the computer and see if it works.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Well the rear is done. I will take it for a ride and report back later also changed oil, oil filter and the parking brake release vacuum servo motor... Tomorrow I will work on the rear electronics (resistors) to fool the computer and see if it works.. Mike, Can you see the wattage and resistance value of the resistors? I have a shorted actuator in the right, rear strut on my '96 Seville that turns on the SERVICE RIDE CONTROL message. The car rides fine and I'd rather just fool the system until the ride quality deteriorates to the point that strut replacement is necessary. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Yes! This is a aluminum heat sink surface mount resistor with this designation on its surface: KRL AT-50 (KRL's PART NUMBER) 12 ohm +- 3% 0438 See it at the KRL site, look at AT-50, its a 50 Watt resistor, however I am not sure what the spec MIL = 30 means. Click distributors maybe you can have one sent to you.. Maybe Dennis at Boston will send you one, if you want I will ask him for you, since I have been speaking with him. I posted a photo of the resistor below: http://www.krlbantry.com/products/Power/sect-326.htm Why don't you wait to see if this suppresses the Ride Control message on my 96 first.. I may cut the connector off the old shock tonight and solder it up, and install them tomorrow afternoon or Friday morning. Mike PS: Kevin, if I thought these struts were any good, I would send one to you, but they push in and out pretty easily. jhall suggested that if the resistors don't work, to take the electronics OUT of the old shocks and use the old electronics to fool the computer that way, what do you think about that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Here is my rear suspension with the Boston Strut installed: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted October 5, 2005 Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Grats on getting the install done successfully. Hope the new struts drive well. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2005 Grats on getting the install done successfully. Hope the new struts drive well. Thanks Bruce, I will report back my experience later tonight after I take it out on the highway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runar Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 Hi Scotty. Nice job, looking good. I believe that "Mil" is military spec. Used in airplane and other military applications. The ones we buy are lower spec.My left front took a hit in a pothole in the Alberta mountains years ago with my 91 deville. The light came on. If I remember right, I used a 400 ohm resistor to defeat the problem. The first code went away, but a second one showed up, saying something like "valves in between positions". I finally got rid of the light, by using instructions from this board by cutting a wire on the unit below the drivers seat. I drove the car over 3 years after that, but did not notice any difference in the handling. Later I installed AC-Delco passive struts, thre firm ones. Regards Runar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 Thanks Runar, Well I just got back from my test drive, here are my impressions: 1) I am feeling much less road vibration 2) I am taking bumps MUCH better in the rear 3) My RR use to slam over bumps, the old strut was easy to move in and out by hand, now it takes bumps very nicely with no continuation of the bump 4) When I hit expansion joints in the highway I no longer float, jump, or feel that the car has changed direction as much, I am confident that when I replace the fronts all of this will be gone, and 5) the best part is, that my rear end is up much higher than it used to be, I noticed that the old struts had cuts in the air ballasts, so i must have been leaking down I am very happy with the ride and the ease of installing the struts, over the next few days I will work on the Ride Control electronics and resistors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 Yes! This is a aluminum heat sink surface mount resistor with this designation on its surface: KRL AT-50 (KRL's PART NUMBER) 12 ohm +- 3% 0438 See it at the KRL site, look at AT-50, its a 50 Watt resistor, however I am not sure what the spec MIL = 30 means. Click distributors maybe you can have one sent to you.. Maybe Dennis at Boston will send you one, if you want I will ask him for you, since I have been speaking with him. I posted a photo of the resistor below: http://www.krlbantry.com/products/Power/sect-326.htm Why don't you wait to see if this suppresses the Ride Control message on my 96 first.. I may cut the connector off the old shock tonight and solder it up, and install them tomorrow afternoon or Friday morning. Mike PS: Kevin, if I thought these struts were any good, I would send one to you, but they push in and out pretty easily. jhall suggested that if the resistors don't work, to take the electronics OUT of the old shocks and use the old electronics to fool the computer that way, what do you think about that? Thanks for the info. Let me know if they supress the message - I'll give Boston a call to see if they will sell me a resistor - if not, I'll buy one from DigiKey. I don't think you can transfer the electronics from one shock to another - it may be possible to extract the circuitry from a shock and plug it into an existing system but I doubt it... Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 Nice job Scotty! Perhaps when you're done you'd like to make the "short" trip upstate to do mine? When you do the fronts some frame by frame pics of the job would be great to have for the archives. Just a suggestion if you remember. "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...
JasonA Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 Scotty, just wondering, why are you having to deal with resistors? Isn't the Boston kit supposed to have electronics built in to the dampers to suppress the message? Don't you "plug" those passive struts in to the car just like you would an active strut? Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 Scotty, just wondering, why are you having to deal with resistors? Isn't the Boston kit supposed to have electronics built in to the dampers to suppress the message? Don't you "plug" those passive struts in to the car just like you would an active strut? Jason, Boston supplies power resistors that you must wire into the system, these are passive struts and there is no wire on them at all.. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 I don't think you can transfer the electronics from one shock to another - it may be possible to extract the circuitry from a shock and plug it into an existing system but I doubt it... Kevin, I was not going to transfer the electronics to these shocks, I was going to utilize the electronics component part of the old shock (after detaching it from the old shock) to fool the computer, and tuck it up under the suspension someplace... Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted October 6, 2005 Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 I don't think you can transfer the electronics from one shock to another - it may be possible to extract the circuitry from a shock and plug it into an existing system but I doubt it... Kevin, I was not going to transfer the electronics to these shocks, I was going to utilize the electronics component part of the old shock (after detaching it from the old shock) to fool the computer, and tuck it up under the suspension someplace... Mike That would work if you could successfully remove the components from the old shock. Let me know if the resistor works. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 I don't think you can transfer the electronics from one shock to another - it may be possible to extract the circuitry from a shock and plug it into an existing system but I doubt it... Kevin, I was not going to transfer the electronics to these shocks, I was going to utilize the electronics component part of the old shock (after detaching it from the old shock) to fool the computer, and tuck it up under the suspension someplace... Mike That would work if you could successfully remove the components from the old shock. Let me know if the resistor works. Will do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2005 I drove a long distance to say with the new struts and I can say that the struts made such a HUGE difference in terms of the cars ability to handle rises and drops in the road and bad bumps.... The road noise is decreased greatly and the wandering feeling that I was having is diminished. I can't believe how high the rear stays now, I must have been leaking down I am SO happy with the Boston Struts so far... Can't wait to do the front now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Today I did the RR brake and turned the rotor. I was getting a thundering pulsation, that seemed to get better when I did the new rear struts, but I think the new strut buffered the vibration so I didn't feel it as badly. Since the rear brakes were done 30,000 miles ago when I bought the car, I was only going to turn the rotor. When I pulled the caliper off, the rear brake pads were almost at the squeal sensor, amazing. 30,000 miles and I needed brakes on the RR. Now that could have been due to the thundering pulsation that I was getting, I have not done the LR brakes yet as a comparison to see if the pulsating which I have had for 3 years blew the pads out fast. By the way, normally I use OEM pads, but the shop that turned my rotor had Raybestos PG Plus Professional Grade pads for $40, and they appear to be at least equal in quality to OEM.. http://www.raybestos.com/usa/brakepads.htm# I took it on a brief drive to warm the new pads up and then did a series of 50 to 15 MPH near lock up stops (it was raining). No more thundering pulsation! YEA! Does anyone know if new struts 'firm-up' after driving them awhile? The new rear struts seem to have awakened and they are tighter. Its really amazing how much of a difference these rear struts have made. Little things are beginning to be obvious, like when I take off from a stop, the rear no longer squats and it stays up firm, and I have more forward thrust and the car feels quicker. Very happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 .... Does anyone know if new struts 'firm-up' after driving them awhile? The new rear struts seem to have awakened and they are tighter. Its really amazing how much of a difference these rear struts have made. It is possible your "new" struts have been stored on the vendor's shelf in a horizontal position for (who knows how many) days/months/years. Installing the stuts on your car placed them in the correct operating position (vertical) and the internal seals are coated with fluid again? Just one possibility. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 .... Does anyone know if new struts 'firm-up' after driving them awhile? The new rear struts seem to have awakened and they are tighter. Its really amazing how much of a difference these rear struts have made. It is possible your "new" struts have been stored on the vendor's shelf in a horizontal position for (who knows how many) days/months/years. Installing the stuts on your car placed them in the correct operating position (vertical) and the internal seals are coated with fluid again? Just one possibility. Ah, Jim good thought! However, since I have purchased them in March, they have been sitting in my garage in an IN CAR position as I did not want them laying down. But, you bring up a good idea, maybe the oil has gotten distributed and that is why they have firmed up, Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rollingthunder1994 Posted October 9, 2005 Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Hey Scotty Did you notice if the rear raised up any since installing the new struts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 9, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2005 Hey Scotty Did you notice if the rear raised up any since installing the new struts? Yes quite a bit, its my #5 observation from the first page, that is the best part, she is riding so much higher. I also replaced the air shock tubing by the way...I bought it from the dealer My old shocks had cuts and splits in the rubber ballast at full extension.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted October 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2005 Here is a photo of the 1996 Strut where the wire enters the base of the strut. I noticed that there was a flat edge on the connector that made me think that this connection could be removed! See next post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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