Regis Posted November 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 Here's the latest. Both sets of control arms were the wrong kind. Both were missing the ball that the ride sensor socket snaps into. Another set are arriving this week with everything intact. I have another appointment set for Monday the 21st. Hopefully things will go better this time. At least I'll have 4 sets to pick the best bushings from. Yesterday on my way back from the garage and to the bank I noticed that my odometer was about to hit a milestone. I pulled over and snapped a pic and then snapped another when i pulled into the bank parking lot. Yeah these are great cars...... cheers everyone! "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 OK OK, now take it off kilometers, 136,701.66 miles, not bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spurlee Posted November 15, 2005 Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 Some of you may remember that I replaced the endlinks and stabilizer bar bushings a few weeks ago. That solved the banging over bumps as well as some other minor issues. Can you point me to that thread? I need to examine the bushings on my Eldo, it bangs around on bumpy roads. And the strut bearing loads up as well. Thanks Scott 1996 El Dorado 2006 STS 2000 Corvette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted November 15, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2005 Spurlee, Did you read Page 1 of this thread? It should have the information you're looking for. I had/have several issues with my front end and they include: stabilizer bar bushings, endlinks, strut bearings, strut bar bushings, and finally worn down strut bars (check out the pics on this thread). The new strut bars are hopefully the last piece to the puzzle. Since they don't come seperately from the control arm I'm getting the whole arm. "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevyorange Posted November 22, 2005 Report Share Posted November 22, 2005 Aha! My "rattling" when going around turns was caused by: Worn out starter! It only was happening when going around left turns. Apparently the starter pinion was sliding down and contacting the flywheel at speeds above 15MPH and that is where the noise came from. Replaced the starter - noise has gone away. Man, that took a lot of time to figure out. I even got talked into new CV joints (I was at 90k miles so it wasn't like I wasted money - I'll use them)... suspension... all kinds of ideas.. turned out to be a simple starter. Sorry I didn't end up having a real "solve" on my end.... but that is what it was. Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted November 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 Here's the long over-due update. The semi-new control arms provided by Scotty's caddy parts contact were installed this past Monday morning. As usual I wanted to give it a couple of days to settle in.... just to make sure. Here are the results: The thunk and clunk are now gone. I had to take it down some rough rodes just to make sure because the snow tires tend to absorb most of the shock. The side to side sway that happens from uneven surfaces at slow speeds is reduced and firmer. Hope this information is helpful to some. "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poobah Posted November 23, 2005 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 I've been watching this thread with interest. For some time, I've been trying to chase down an elusive clunk in my front end. It sounds like it's in the right front suspension. It's a solid sounding clunk like it's in the frame or suspension rather than in the body. It tends to occur when I first put the car in gear or the first time I give it the gas after shifting from drive to reverse or visa-versa. It sometimes occurs when making a left turn either going forward or backward and/or when the right front suspension is flexing. It's usually a single clunk but it can be a rapid double clunk. It doesn't seem to have anything to do with applying the brakes. It just happens now and again some times more frequently than others. I haven't yet figured out how to reproduce the sequence of events that causes it. It sounds to me like sometimes when the load on the right front wheel changes, something which is normally tight enough slips. I just had my lower control arms replaced with new OEM so the ball joints, bushings, rivets, etc. are all new. The old control bushings were quite loose (150K miles) and the ride is definitely tighter now, but the clunk is still there. I've inspected the right front suspension and everything feels tight except for two things: 1. There is play in the drive shaft joints. This is evident when I turn the brake rotor backward and forward. When I shift from drive to reverse and back the slack runs out and I can hear it. This is a different sound from the clunk, however. 2. There is slop in the brake rotor holes that allows the rotor to turn slightly relative to the wheel bolts. I presume the rotor is retained by the squish between the wheel and the hub when the wheel nuts are properly torqued to 100 ft. lbs. (which they are). The struts, stabilizer bar bushings, and stabilizer bar links were all replaced with OEM about 30K miles ago. My mechanic tells me that he re-used the old strut bushings when he replaced the struts because they were in good condition. One other thing that may or may not be relavent: I've gotten the S061 (right front position sensor fault) code a few times lately. The diagnostic tree for this code leads to a sensor problem, a wiring problem, or a module problem. My guess is that none of those relate to the clunk but it is the right front sensor so it could have something to do with it. Anyone have any ideas? Happiness is owning a Cadillac with no codes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regis Posted November 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2005 Poobah, Let's first start here. Pop the hood and take off those black plastic caps that allow you to see the top of the strut.....rather the bolt and upper bushing. Compare the right to the left one. Are they both the same and centered? Next thing I'd like to know is..... when the control arms were done were the strut rod bushings replaced? Those should be replaced if the control arm is new otherwise the bar will actually bang the edges of the hole they fit through. Those bushings deal with a lot of pressure. As far as the right front position sensor goes...... turn the wheel so you can access the sensor. Now wiggle it side to side. Is it sticky? If it is then take a pair of needle nose pliers and pop the sensor off from both ends. Take a piece of sand paper and lightly sand the rust and grit off the balls of the ball and socket fittings. Add a little grease to the balls and reattach the sensor. One more thing.....before reattaching the sensor make sure to work the sensor in and out (compress and pull out) to free up any sticking in that direction too. Start with those and we'll see where it goes from there. Hopefully others will chime in with their ideas of what could be the cause. "Burns" rubber " I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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