A couple questions about rear shocks

[knb]

Hello, everybody!

My deville'96 has loose rear wheel (right one, while lifted it is possible to move the wheel up and down couple of inches), supposedly this is somehow connected with rear shocks (this was concluded from the dirt buildups on the shocks, that must be a grease leaked from the shocks). No codes though. On speed bumps it sometimes sounds like I have a couple of frying pans in the trunk.

1. Why rear shocks for '96 are so expensive (~$300 for nonOEM), while for many older and younger models they could be bought for much less (~$60)? What are the differences between them?

2. Is it possible to make some simple diagnostics to figure out what is exactly the problem with the suspension?

3. Is it possible to repair the shocks or it is easier just to replace them?

[Cadillac Jim]

As far as I know there is nothing peculiar about 1996 Deville rear shocks. All Cadillac rear shocks use load leveling through an air bag, and those with electronically controlled suspension have wiring and valving in the shocks that raises their price, but the 1992-1997 Deville rear suspensions are very similar overall.

The noise is likley a rear knuckle or ball joint, not a shock. Changing your shocks won't fix that. Perhaps you should have that looked at first. If whoever is working on your car now thinks that slop in the rear suspension is caused by bad shocks, you should get someone else to look at it before you spend a dime.

[knb]

As far as I know there is nothing peculiar about 1996 Deville rear shocks. All Cadillac rear shocks use load leveling through an air bag, and those with electronically controlled suspension have wiring and valving in the shocks that raises their price, but the 1992-1997 Deville rear suspensions are very similar overall.

yes, that is why the following numbers look strange to me (all for deville):

'65-84 ... $46~$73

'93-95 ... $279 (rear air shock kit for Base model from Arnott)

'96 ... $300 (rear air shock kit for Base model from Arnott)

'97-99 ... $279 (rear air shock kit for Base model from Arnott)

'00-05 ... $62, $75, $239 (rear air shock kit for Base model from Arnott)

The noise is likley a rear knuckle or ball joint, not a shock. Changing your shocks won't fix that. Perhaps you should have that looked at first. If whoever is working on your car now thinks that slop in the rear suspension is caused by bad shocks, you should get someone else to look at it before you spend a dime.

thank you, I will look at knuckle and ball joint (didn't know it even exist in rear suspention!)

and what about grease on the shock? Is it possible to fix this?

[Cadillac Jim]

I would ignore grease on the shock, or simply wipe it off with a rag (use a grabber to push the rag in there if you can't reach it with your hand). It can come from anywhere. I have seen service people squirt brake fluid from an oil can onto shocks to make them look like they are leaking. It's happened to my wife, and me, several times over the years.

As a general thing, you should never spring for service or repair that doesn't address a scheduled maintenance item or a driving complaint, like a clatter like a trunkload of frying pans when the rear tires hit a pothole. or an OBD code or some such.

[KHE]

Hello, everybody!

My deville'96 has loose rear wheel (right one, while lifted it is possible to move the wheel up and down couple of inches), supposedly this is somehow connected with rear shocks (this was concluded from the dirt buildups on the shocks, that must be a grease leaked from the shocks). No codes though. On speed bumps it sometimes sounds like I have a couple of frying pans in the trunk.

1. Why rear shocks for '96 are so expensive (~$300 for nonOEM), while for many older and younger models they could be bought for much less (~$60)? What are the differences between them?

2. Is it possible to make some simple diagnostics to figure out what is exactly the problem with the suspension?

3. Is it possible to repair the shocks or it is easier just to replace them?

If you can move the wheel up and down 2", there is something broken in the suspension on that side.... It should be easy to locate the bad component.

[knb]

first, it was found that rear, passenger side knuckle bushings are bad, I thought that their replacement will do the trick (and ordered a couple). But yesterday, when the car was on the rack I saw that this 2" movement is due to completely rotten/cracked bushing and rusted surroundings of the place where rear suspension holds on to the car body...

And at a closer look it became obvious that all the suspension is extremely rusty as if it was taken from 100 years old car.