jeeves44 Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Hello everyone, I have a 2003 Cadillac Deville. Have had several problems with it but now the newest and latest....while at the tire store (trying to get my tire monitors replaced ) they come back and ask me if I've hit a curb lately?! HAA, being as I normally have aftermarket 20" rims on other than winter I couldn't help but laugh--I have never hit a curb!! I quickly ask them why as I knew something bad must be wrong now. They begin to tell me that my drivers side front of the car is slanted down quite a bit. Shamelessly I admit I have noticed but kept hoping it was just a slant in the driveway or so! So they tell me it's either my shocks or struts but they'll take a look and let me know their opinion, being they're just a tire store. Nicely enough he comes back and says yes it's just your drivers side shocks! Well I have been trying to do research because everytime I pull up something about shocks it also talks about struts. I am unsure if there is only one of those on the front and the other on the back?? What I'm starting to see is that maybe I only have shocks on the front and struts are only on the back.??? And then do only the back ones use the air pump? I'm clueless on this part! I was ok with the last ones--the bearings. But this one I'm having quite a bit of trouble figuring out! Any help pleeease? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 A MacPherson strut as found on your front suspension has a shock with a concentric spring (the spring is around the shock). You have struts in front. You have shocks in the back. You have an air pump on the back shocks. The purpose of the air support is to compensate for if you put a lot of luggage in the trunk. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 If your drivers side front is slanted down, I believe you have a bad/sagging SPRING, not STRUT. The FRONT strut controls MOVEMENT not LEVEL. As Bruce noted you have computer controlled air shocks in the back that are filled with a compressor behind the RR wheel. If you have a leak in the rear, both rear shocks will drop not one side. Tell us the history of this car, has any work been done to the front suspension to permit/allow the 20" wheels? Have the springs been CUT/Modified? If you are sagging in the front, there are very few reasons for that but I DO NOT believe that a bad STRUT can cause you to sag 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...
SwampeastMike Posted December 3, 2008 Report Share Posted December 3, 2008 Hello everyone, I have a 2003 Cadillac Deville. Have had several problems with it but now the newest and latest....while at the tire store (trying to get my tire monitors replaced ) they come back and ask me if I've hit a curb lately?! HAA, being as I normally have aftermarket 20" rims on other than winter I couldn't help but laugh--I have never hit a curb!! I quickly ask them why as I knew something bad must be wrong now. They begin to tell me that my drivers side front of the car is slanted down quite a bit. Shamelessly I admit I have noticed but kept hoping it was just a slant in the driveway or so! So they tell me it's either my shocks or struts but they'll take a look and let me know their opinion, being they're just a tire store. Nicely enough he comes back and says yes it's just your drivers side shocks! Well I have been trying to do research because everytime I pull up something about shocks it also talks about struts. I am unsure if there is only one of those on the front and the other on the back?? What I'm starting to see is that maybe I only have shocks on the front and struts are only on the back.??? And then do only the back ones use the air pump? I'm clueless on this part! I was ok with the last ones--the bearings. But this one I'm having quite a bit of trouble figuring out! Any help pleeease? I haven't owned or worked on a Deville of that model, but struts in the front and shocks in the rear have been pretty much the norm for a long time. I've owned numerous cars with auto-leveling suspension and only the rear shocks have been used in all. Struts are usually easy and not terribly expensive to replace unless you have an active suspension system. Active struts/shocks are about $1k per pop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jim Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Not trying to hijack the thread...but I have a similar question... On my 2006 DTS Performance Sedan... with the MAGNETIC RIDE suspension.. does it still have shocks on the rear and struts on the front or struts all the way around. PS it also has an airpump for the level ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Not trying to hijack the thread...but I have a similar question... On my 2006 DTS Performance Sedan... with the MAGNETIC RIDE suspension.. does it still have shocks on the rear and struts on the front or struts all the way around. PS it also has an airpump for the level ride. All models of the DTS are described as: 4-wheel independent design, front: McPherson Strut-type with side-load compensation, 29 mm stabilizer bar, L-shaped aluminum lower control arm, 80 mm hydraulic ride bushing and 24 N/mm spring rate; rear: multi-link with coil springs, semi-trailing arm, monotube shocks and 28 N/mm spring rate; automatic rear-level control system The main difference with the Performance model is that the Magnetic Ride Control Shocks are used instead of the standard shocks, and it gets the FE3 suspension, which normally would mean different shocks and perhaps different stabilizer bars. For the DTS this is not clear. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jim Posted December 4, 2008 Report Share Posted December 4, 2008 Thanks Bruce. That answers some questions I had. The GMPP warranty covers STRUTS.. it does NOT cover shocks. Just trying to figure my potential expense further down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeeves44 Posted December 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 A MacPherson strut as found on your front suspension has a shock with a concentric spring (the spring is around the shock). You have struts in front. You have shocks in the back. You have an air pump on the back shocks. The purpose of the air support is to compensate for if you put a lot of luggage in the trunk. Thanks Bruce! That clears up quite a bit Do you know if there is also Air Suspension in the front too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeeves44 Posted December 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 If your drivers side front is slanted down, I believe you have a bad/sagging SPRING, not STRUT. The FRONT strut controls MOVEMENT not LEVEL. As Bruce noted you have computer controlled air shocks in the back that are filled with a compressor behind the RR wheel. If you have a leak in the rear, both rear shocks will drop not one side. Tell us the history of this car, has any work been done to the front suspension to permit/allow the 20" wheels? Have the springs been CUT/Modified? If you are sagging in the front, there are very few reasons for that but I DO NOT believe that a bad STRUT can cause you to sag Thanks Bobby. I hope the spring is easier and less expensive for that matter No work has been done to any of the suspension. Just other mechanical stuff. The first month I got it a full transmission and torque converter job. Front wheel bearings done. Tire Monitors need replacing. Now my parking brake light is on, and now today the Service Engine Soon came on. Other small things, the temperature button on steering wheel light is out. The three buttons left of the steering wheel for trip a/b, engine meter and I can't remember the other..have all been broken from before I got it. The mirror turn signals have never worked. The front cigarette lighter has never worked. My radio quit working one day, well quit working as it would be on for 7 seconds when you first start the car then quickly shut off without turning back on. Thankfully for that I did have another one laying around just had to take to dealer to have them match the vin numbers. ... What else, I just know theres more!! It's always something with this car! And at only 64,000 miles now But for now my latest concerns are the brake light and now the front strut/spring something. O yea and the engine light..GRRR! I had read the owners manual tonight and it said if that light is on your brakes are seperated into two parts incase one stops working you can still stop. It said to pull over immediately while you can still stop and have your vehicle towed! It also said that your brake pedal may become either hard to push or very loose. Which mine is hard. Can't imagine what that can be now. I'd love to just dump this dang car but being 20 yrs old I owe my life on it still!! Any ideas about the brakes guys?? I'll be taking to Auto Zone in the morning to see what codes I can pull up--I'm sure several! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted December 9, 2008 Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Thanks Bruce! That clears up quite a bit Do you know if there is also Air Suspension in the front too? No, air support is in the back to compensate for loads in the trunk. It is not an air suspension which is to say that the shocks are actually electronically modulated, and do not depend on airbags in the suspension. Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeeves44 Posted December 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2008 Thanks Bruce! That clears up quite a bit Do you know if there is also Air Suspension in the front too? No, air support is in the back to compensate for loads in the trunk. It is not an air suspension which is to say that the shocks are actually electronically modulated, and do not depend on airbags in the suspension. Very nice, thankyou! Yea I was wondering about that because the local autozone told me that for front struts the price jumps from $85 for a regular one to $452 for a strut with air pump--or whatever you call it. hmmm.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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