burekv Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 I am in need of replacing the front struts on my 97 STS. I am getting no codes for suspension and from an earlier post i think it is the struts. Can someone give me an idea of how much it might cost to replace. Right now my car is at NTB getting a nail removed from my tires and i was informed by then it would cost about $1800 per side. Again, i am getting no RSS codes so i has to be struts. When i drive the car it is very bouncy kind of like being in a boat. Any help would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 I am in need of replacing the front struts on my 97 STS. I am getting no codes for suspension and from an earlier post i think it is the struts. Can someone give me an idea of how much it might cost to replace. Right now my car is at NTB getting a nail removed from my tires and i was informed by then it would cost about $1800 per side. Again, i am getting no RSS codes so i has to be struts. When i drive the car it is very bouncy kind of like being in a boat. Any help would be appreciated. Are they talking $1800 per side utilizing OEM struts and meaning front and rear? If they are that sounds correct your front OEM struts according to Rockauto are $700 each. I am not sure what the rear price is. In your other strut thread, we suggested that you utilized after market struts from Strutmasters or Arnott. the Arnott struts are $601 for all four struts all you need to do is have them installed. The ONLY potential draw back it whether or not the strut message from your DIC can be suppressed due to the non active aftermarket Arnott struts, I would call them. <a href="http://www.arnottindustries.com/part_Cadil...yid6_pid38.html" target="_blank">http://www.arnottindustries.com/part_Cadil...yid6_pid38.html</a> 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...
Dasher Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 I haven't done this in a few years; but the last time I did, it was $653 per side for replacement of the struts including labor. Of course that didn't include motion sensors or accellerometers (whatever they are) that ran about $350 each. Funny thing. When I was replacing struts, I had to replace BOTH, even though I only really needed one; but, when it was under extended warranty, it was perfectly acceptable to do only one. Also, they say that it's necessary to have both front and rear aligned even though you''re only changing the front struts. I always questioned the idea that the struts changed between highway driving and city driving. Whether the suspension system was operational or disabled by a mal-functioning part, I could never tell the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burekv Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Thanks for all the answers. To give you an update, they told me new front struts at $682 each plus an alignment for $99. They said they would waive the $176 for labor. So i was mistaken when i said $1800 per side, it appears they will do both sides of front for about $1600. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Why would they waive labor? If the struts are about $700 x 2 or $1400, plus an alignment for about $100 that is $1500, plus tax is your figure of $1600 for the FRONT. Question them, as to what brand of strut they are using, are them OEM AC Delco? If they give you aftermarket struts their price is really out of line... Besides the struts you need to replace the strut mounts, about $80 each or $160 for both front struts. It would be foolish to replace struts without replacing the strut mounts. The strut mounts contain bearings, your 97 needs them replaced by now. Get clarification as to exactly what they are doing and what parts they will use. In addition, your can NEEDS a 4 wheel alignment, as noted above by Dasher, NOT a 2 wheel alignment. 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...
burekv Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Thanks again, i will look into what you suggested. There quote doesnt mention mounts. Not sure whether the $99 is for all wheel alignement or just front. i will look into that as well. I will also look into the after market struts. Unless any one feels that i shouldnt do that and stay with OEM parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 Thanks again, i will look into what you suggested. There quote doesnt mention mounts. Not sure whether the $99 is for all wheel alignement or just front. i will look into that as well. I will also look into the after market struts. Unless any one feels that i shouldnt do that and stay with OEM parts. Well, you need to consider that you are driving a 1997, and to question the logic of spending so much on a 97. That is what I did, I needed front and rear struts, springs, mounts, ball joints and hub bearings. Using OEM struts made the cost prohibitive. I could not see spending $850 a strut for my car which is a 96, plus I did the rear, which were not much cheaper. I do not see much of a difference other than the suspension message that I get. I used BOSTON STRUTS, the company is NOW out of business. If I had a chance to do it over I would looke at ACDELCO/Monroe passive, Arnott or Strutmaster. My car even with the Boston struts is terrific. I would consider the following, before I spent big bucks on OEM vs aftermarket; How many miles on your car Are you going to keep it What is its condition Will Arnott include electronics to shut off the suspension message 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...
burekv Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 To answer your questions, my car has 156k miles, will keep it forever, in great condition. No other problems but the bouncy ride. But one thing that is confusing me. If i change to after market i will get the suspension message. I am getting no problem codes. No RSS nothing. Shouldn't i be getting a problem code? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 To answer your questions, my car has 156k miles, will keep it forever, in great condition. No other problems but the bouncy ride. But one thing that is confusing me. If i change to after market i will get the suspension message. I am getting no problem codes. No RSS nothing. Shouldn't i be getting a problem code? Keep in mind that the struts are like the old shocks we used to use. They can be bad mechanically and provide no dampening but the electronics can function fine. It sounds like your struts dampening ability is gone but your electronics are still good, eventually your strut electronics will be bad or not. If you do change to aftermarket you will get the suspension message because they are NOT ACTIVE (they don't work electronically), they are PASSIVE, and don't need electronics. Meanwhile your suspension system will be looking for the struts and they will NOT be hooked up because they are PASSIVE. Arnott and JimD (our local suspension/electronics expert) may be able to help you with suppression of the suspension message, 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...
JimD Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 If you go with aftermarket struts, you will have several options for avoiding trouble codes & messages from the ride control module. One would be if the solenoids can be removed from your old struts. Install the solenoid somewhere out of the way in the wheel house and hook it back up to the chassis wiring. Another would be to do some experimenting with resistor values before you have the strut work done. I can give a starting point to using inexpensive resistors to fool the ride control module. In fact, you can read Post #26 here for the information. http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?sho...15&start=15 Read the whole thread if you have not already done so. Will you be doing any of this work yourself? Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'94 Len Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 GM is price gouging I bought the front struts for my '94 STS through a friend at a dealership and paid $770.00 for both. Other stealerships wanted $1600.00 for both. Keep checking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 GM is price gouging I bought the front struts for my '94 STS through a friend at a dealership and paid $770.00 for both. Other stealerships wanted $1600.00 for both. Keep checking. The operative word in this post is FRIEND. I have heard this before, that a FRIEND got the struts cheaply for someone. I am not sure how this occurs, but I would start hanging around the dealerships and look for a mechanic to make FRIENDS with . The cheapest I have ever seen struts was through gmotors and rockauto, the dealer is out of sight.. 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...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.