gmwa_pro Posted May 27, 2004 Report Share Posted May 27, 2004 I know I have seen it b/4......can someone supply the post on all the ins and outs of going with OEM or Aftermarket. Who makes a viable strut outside of GM? Thanks! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbuc Posted May 27, 2004 Report Share Posted May 27, 2004 Hey whats up, I also have a '98 STS and have been informed from my local caddy dealer the the front struts are "Weak" what ever that means. I believe that the '98 and up models of the STS have the electronically controled struts that are tied into the ride control circuitry for the suspension and what not. I believe they are upwards of $400.00 a piece. I have not heard of anybody that makes a cheaper replacement for these cars but I'm sure there somebody out there that must. They just need to be found.....hehe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmwa_pro Posted June 2, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2004 danbuc......I hear ya.....I have heard that also....I now have 118K and every bump I hit (MI roads no less) it feels as if the car bottoms out.....you are correct about the active ride control and the electronics involved....does this ARNOTT company have any passive struts for the 98's and above???? I will post again if I find anything! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocFey Posted June 4, 2004 Report Share Posted June 4, 2004 www.arnottindustries.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronson Posted June 5, 2004 Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 I replaced the struts on my 96 STS with only 42000 miles, dealer told me only one was bad but I replaced both as per recommendation so they would match. They are very $$$$. I have read there is aftermarket alturnatives but they do not work with the computer. I have also replace the strut mounts recently as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wilson Posted June 5, 2004 Report Share Posted June 5, 2004 I also have a 98 STS with 90k on it when driving it I too occasinally hear noise in the front end like the font struts have bottomed out when going over large bunps or potholes. Does the STS have air struts that are controlled by the computer? I am a newbie to this site and do enjoy reading about all the other Caddy owners concerns. By the way does anyone know what the speed is limited to a 98 STS I had her up 183K and she still felt like she had a lot more in her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbuc Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 Arnott Industries does not make a replacement strut for the 98 and above STS. Does anyone have any other links for other companies that might have a viable replacement for my car. I don't really have $1100 to replace the front struts with oem parts at the moment. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poobah Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 I went through all this a little over a year ago and I offer the following for your consideration: OEM Cadillac struts and shocks are expensive, no two ways about it! My first thought was to look for a less expensive aftermarket solution. I did a lot of looking into alternatives and found nothing that would fit AND work with the computerized ride control system. If you want to use aftermarket parts, there are ways to defeat the ride control error messages by wiring power resistors to the electrical system. To the best of my knowledge, however, there just isn't a "plug and play" part available. Genuine Cadillac OEM parts can be purchased over the internet from gmpartsdirect.com for about half your local dealer's price (they do get some of that back on the shipping and handling charges, though). Since crawling around under my car working on some electronic science project is not my idea of fun and since I want my Cadillac to ride like a Cadillac, I decided to buy the parts from gmparts direct and do it right. Aftermarket parts aren't free and you will probably find when you add it all up, you aren't really saving all that much money plus you may not like the result. (Several years ago I spent about $1000 putting a set of Monroes on my 89 Deville and I was never happy with the ride.) If the money is an issue (and it always is), you can certainly put up with the bouncy ride a little longer until you can set aside the additional money to buy the genuine parts. If you like your Cadillac and plan to keep it for a while, I personally think you'll find OEM is the best way to go, especially if you can get the parts at a steep discount! Happiness is owning a Cadillac with no codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbuc Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 At GMPartsDirect, I was looking for the struts for my '98 STS and found universal struts for the 'Seville' in general. I thought that the electronically controlled struts were car specific depending on whether or not it was an STS or an SLS because the STS has stiffer suspension. The ones they have there are listed as $360.68 a piece. Any info on this would be great Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poobah Posted June 6, 2004 Report Share Posted June 6, 2004 You need to be VERY sure you have the correct part numbers because these are special order electrical parts and they are not returnable! There are different parts for different cars depending on which suspension you have. The best way to be sure is to get your VIN number and have your dealer's parts counter person look them up for you. (They can run your VIN through their computer and determine the exact suspension components that came on your car originally.) The problem is complicated by the fact that (at least for the 94's) there have been some part number changes over the years. I actually checked with three different counter people at two different dealerships (one of which gave me the incorrect numbers) and then verified the numbers with gmpartsdirect by E-mail until I was sure I had it right. I got the right ones and they bolted right in (another advantage to OEM - sometimes aftermarked parts require some mickey-mousing to install). Just be patient and do your homework and you'll be OK. Happiness is owning a Cadillac with no codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmwa_pro Posted June 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2004 I (we) appreciate the Poobahs comments and I "hear ya"......I have started my homework as well and rockauto.com has a great parts catalog to work with.....it gives the acdelco number and the OEM gm PN as well....here is what I have: Left side OEM strut=GM#22064765 (acdelco # 580-120) Right side 22064766 (580-121) GM Dealer cost is 360.68, list is 721.36 and dealer trade is 504.95. rockauto.com will sell them for 511.79 plus S&H I have also found that delco # 503-379 will fit but no CVRSS electronics on them and are listed as "premium gas charged" struts the GM # on these is 88985526 and list for 96.94 a piece at GM recommended dealer MSRP. I still am leaning towards the cheap delcos but am leary of the exact procedure for overiding the ride control error messages using power resistors as desc by Dan-O or "maydog" in another post somewhere on this board. also see: http://www.cravener.org/struts/Page0.htm Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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