kcd1184 Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 Took a real close look at the driver's side dog bone and it was cooked. It is right above the thermostat, which I was replacing. It must be the heat in that area because the bushing towards the radiator was ok. The passenger side dog bone bushing was cracked on the motor end also. Replaced both. The ones I replaced I had installed new, 8/04, 30,000 miles ago. Just passing this along. Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CadillacETC1997 Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 Took a real close look at the driver's side dog bone and it was cooked. It is right above the thermostat, which I was replacing. It must be the heat in that area because the bushing towards the radiator was ok. The passenger side dog bone bushing was cracked on the motor end also. Replaced both. The ones I replaced I had installed new, 8/04, 30,000 miles ago. Just passing this along. Kent how much did they cost? The Twins 1997 ETC & 2003 STS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cadillac Jim Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 What knocks these out is running with bad front motor supports. -- 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...
Regis Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 Took a real close look at the driver's side dog bone and it was cooked. It is right above the thermostat, which I was replacing. It must be the heat in that area because the bushing towards the radiator was ok. The passenger side dog bone bushing was cracked on the motor end also. Replaced both. The ones I replaced I had installed new, 8/04, 30,000 miles ago. Just passing this along. Kent Hi Kent, Been awhile since we chatted. How's the 94 been running? Did you change the dog bones because they looked bad or were you getting a thump, thud, knock sound? The bushings are looking a bit rough with cracks on my 3 year old dog bones. But there is no thudding sound and they're holding the engine firm. And like many of the other bushings, the apparent wear on the outside of the bushings is not necessarily indicative of the wear on the inside of the bushing. But they aren't exactly expensive and can be had at most Napa stores these days. So back to my burning question. Were you getting any sound(s) indicating that the dog bones were shot? "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...
Ed Hall Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 how much did they cost? From what I remember, they are less than $10 from Rockauto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcd1184 Posted November 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 The bones I replaced were about $38 total. The ones I bought before were almost $80. If they are crapping out that fast, I'll see how these wear. I am trying to do most things on the Eldo myself, so I believe I have a pretty good feel for the car. There were no noises leading me to the dog bone issue. I was changing coolant and tranny fluid a few weeks ago . Getting ready for these changes, I noticed that the bone felt loose (saw a crack) but I didn't inspect it. Put in a non oem thermostat and had problems so I bought a oem thermo and went back in. When I work on the coolant system, I remove the dogbone bracket. This time ( because there was a crack showing) I removed the bone. The rubber bushing was completely cooked, and there was nothing left of the center. Inboard side. I have inspected what I think are the motor mounts and they are good I think. I really believe this is a heat issue concerning the dogbone rubber bushings close to the motor. Both radiator side bushings on each bone were ok. Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 I replaced my torque struts a few months ago. The rubber on the left side was so bad it was hard and fell apart. What about treating the rubber with a preservative once in a while? Vinylex is a good product—it’s water-based so it doesn’t dry out rubber/vinyl. I read that Armoral can actually make vinyl more prone to cracking since it’s a petroleum-based product and dries out elastomer. I can’t vouch for the truth of it but I would think that a water-based product would be safer to use? I used Vinylex several years ago and was pretty impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epricedright Posted November 17, 2006 Report Share Posted November 17, 2006 I replaced my torque struts a few months ago. The rubber on the left side was so bad it was hard and fell apart. What about treating the rubber with a preservative once in a while? Vinylex is a good product—it's water-based so it doesn't dry out rubber/vinyl. I read that Armoral can actually make vinyl more prone to cracking since it's a petroleum-based product and dries out elastomer. I can't vouch for the truth of it but I would think that a water-based product would be safer to use? I used Vinylex several years ago and was pretty impressed. Silicone is good for rubber. You're right, any petroleum product is definately a no-no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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