southbama Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 Hello All, I'm new to this board. I just bought a 2000 Eldorado ETC. It bounces like it needs new shocks, but it has an air-ride / electronic suspension. I've had some experience with these in the past with a 1994 DeVille and a 1993 Lincoln Mk 8. I have no "Service ride control" messages. Does this model have ride control issues that the OBD doesn't detect? I was thinking of installing after market passive shocks and doing away with the ride control. Any opinions out there? TIA, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 You have electronic struts (FE3) in the front and electronic air shocks in the rear. The electronic portion can be fine, but the struts can be bad (leaking piston) whereas they provide no dampening in either or both directions.. My experience is that they are good for about 60K miles. If you go to www.rockauto.com you will find that there is an ACDELCO passive strut for your car for about $150 each for the front...and about $165 each for the rear air shock... 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...
southbama Posted March 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 You have electronic struts (FE3) in the front and electronic air shocks in the rear. The electronic portion can be fine, but the struts can be bad (leaking piston) whereas they provide no dampening in either or both directions.. My experience is that they are good for about 60K miles. If you go to www.rockauto.com you will find that there is an ACDELCO passive strut for your car for about $150 each for the front...and about $165 for the rear air shock... Wow, Thanks for the quick response. I was looking at the passive replacements at http://www.strutmasters.com I bought some Lincoln replacements from them a while back and they were fine. I had some squeaks afterward but it turned out to be poor workmanship with folks that replaced them. I think I'll try this job myself. Any "gotchas" if I do a job like this myself? Any thing I should look out for?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 I replaced my front struts and rear air shocks with aftermarket Boston Suspension parts, BIG MISTAKE..... not a direct fit and they are NOW out of business... I also replaced my front and rear springs and the strut mounts.. If I had to do it over again, I would find a different solution, and use an AC DELCO passive or the original OEM actives.... TIP, take your front struts to a machine shop to have the springs swapped over, I tried doing it myself and its too much without proper equipment here is my thread on my strut replacement... http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?sho...hl=front+struts Check http://www.arnottindustries.com also 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...
WarrenJ Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 I replaced my front struts and rear air shocks with aftermarket Boston Suspension parts, BIG MISTAKE..... not a direct fit and they are NOW out of business... I also replaced my front and rear springs and the strut mounts.. here is my thread on my strut replacement... http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?sho...hl=front+struts Check http://www.arnottindustries.com also I did the Boston Suspension as well on my '95 Eldorado; all four quarters fit well after an initial misunderstanding. Gernerally speaking, I was quite pleased with it. I always wondered, however, how it might have gone if I'd used OEMs. Regards, Warren There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved. - Ludwig von Mises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stsjoe Posted March 6, 2007 Report Share Posted March 6, 2007 I did Bostons also but it was on a 96 STS, BBF says you can get OEM passives that's probably the best route to go. They weren't available 4 years ago and active replacements were in the 2500.00 dollar range. Installation is involved but not impossible. Welcome to the board, Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southbama Posted March 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 I did Bostons also but it was on a 96 STS, BBF says you can get OEM passives that's probably the best route to go. They weren't available 4 years ago and active replacements were in the 2500.00 dollar range. Installation is involved but not impossible. Welcome to the board, Joe So, from what I'm seeing, no one has tried the passive replacements at strutmasters.com? What were the issues with other after market replacements? Were they just a pain in the *smurf* or were they impossible to install?? Any tips on necessary mods to make them work??? I appreciate all ya'lls time. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 I have heard good things about arnott. But if you want passives, and they are available, I would go with the AC DELCO if I were you...they will FIT! Installing struts is not hard, you will need to get a 4 wheel alignment, the hard part is transferring the spring and spring seats to the new parts.. The rears are really easy.. Follow the factory service manual so you can follow the sequence and what to mark, etc.. With the Boston struts it wasnt exactly modding them, it was that you needed to invoke Rube Goldberg fixes that Boston sanctioned to get them to work/fit/attached. I really didnt car for Boston but that's a moot point now. I don't know if these 'fixes' were necessary with Arnott. Do a search here for 'strutmaster' and see if you can find anyone else that has used them. I am here quite a bit, and strutmaster usage by one or our members does not ring a bell... I think that I recall someone over at cadillacowners.com using strutmasters, you might search over there also... 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...
BodybyFisher Posted March 7, 2007 Report Share Posted March 7, 2007 See this on strutmaster I ran a search: http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?sho...;hl=strutmaster 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...
Terminus Posted March 8, 2007 Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 I did Bostons also but it was on a 96 STS, BBF says you can get OEM passives that's probably the best route to go. They weren't available 4 years ago and active replacements were in the 2500.00 dollar range. Installation is involved but not impossible. Welcome to the board, Joe So, from what I'm seeing, no one has tried the passive replacements at strutmasters.com? What were the issues with other after market replacements? Were they just a pain in the *smurf* or were they impossible to install?? Any tips on necessary mods to make them work??? I appreciate all ya'lls time. Mike I put strutmasters on the 95 a few months ago, piece of cake install. Unfortunately, I screwed up (I think) the wiring, and my "service" message comes on, but only once, until you scroll it off. As far as ride quality, it's NOTHING like the OEM ride. Not horrible, mind you, but certainly....different. Not really "Cadillacky". The wife didn't like it at all, and it's one of the major contributing factors of the STS purchase. If I had it to do over again, I wouldv'e gone with OEM. 95 Eldo---Sold! 05 STS4-WooHoo!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Posted March 8, 2007 Report Share Posted March 8, 2007 From what I understand from an ebay parts dealer GM is no longer making electronic struts for my 94 Eldorado. I think I'm in need of new front struts because the front seems to have too much bounce. I'm actually worried at times about it bottoming out. Would it be accurate to say that OEM electronic struts are best? Would GM's passive struts be as good as the originals? On ebay someone is selling used electronic struts with 103K miles. I tend to think with over 100K miles they are probably at the end of the road as far as useful life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.