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1999 STS rear shock stuck

6K views 19 replies 7 participants last post by  ben.gators 
#1 ·
Hey everybody

Im going to have a look at another 1999 Seville tomorrow but the rear right shock is stuck referred to the seller. Most likely the shock itself? or maybe even the air compressor? Anything special to check?

Thanks for any advice
Mike
 
#2 ·
Not sure what the seller means about it being "stuck." Wouldn't be likely to be the air compressor, whatever that does happens to both rear shocks (either no air or raised to max).

If it is the shock itself, the STS has active shocks at $700 a piece. Others may be on the way out. Would not be surprised if you saw the "Service Suspension" message.
 
#5 ·
those "active" shocks from Monroe, which I assume you are reffering to, will not give you the same ride quality as the OEM CVRSS shocks. Not to mention it is a 1999, which is the worst year for headgasket failure....just my two cents. It's 2011, you can get 2001-2003 STS's for a fairly reasonable price these days, with a much lower tendancy of headgasket failures. Hell, I even found a 2005 STS with 75k for $9,995 the other day, was almost tempted to inquire about financing options....
 
#13 ·
:yeah: and even more, I want to expand it to the newer generation of STS either.
I never have owned a sigma platform Cadillac, so I am unable to judge about reliability of these cars. However, as a Cadillac Seville owner, I can securely claim Sevilles are not cheap cars to own in any way you think of, premium gas (Sevilles before 2000), HG problems, active suspension system, oil leaks from half seals and oil pan, and tons of little actuators and sensors here and there that will start to fail, like blend door actuators, etc. When you are buying a 10+ year old Seville with 100k+ miles on it, there is a very high chance that the car comes with these problems, or eventually they will happen during your ownership (I exclude HG problem from this statement, the chance for an individual car is not that much high, although the total number of failed HGs is considerable).

On the other hand, if you buy a newer low millage STS, it will not have that much problems that an old worn out STS has, although the new generation might have more potential problems (based on your claim). The key point is in general, a system with potential problems still has some usable life and if you buy a fairly new car you are still in that life span. Also, since the car is fairly new, the car had warranty or still has, and therefore most of the problems have been addressed under warranty coverage...

However I understand there are tons of people who prefer older STSs over newer sigma platform Cadillacs and that is why they are buying fifth generation Cadillacs. But buying an old STS to save money is not the smartest thing one can do. There are 2002, 2003 STSs with very low mille for very reasonable prices, they could be wonderful choices...
 
#15 ·
^
That is an interesting question and I am eager to know more about it... As far as I know, the OEM active suspensions are built by a supplier, named Delphi. They are not AC Delco parts, just a product of another company. The reason those struts and shocks are that much overpriced in comparison to active monroe struts/ shocks is they carry the title of OEM part! However I have read somewhere that Cadillac is having some negotiation with Monroe company and there is a possibility that Monroe becomes the official factory supplier for active suspension systems.

I really like to know is Delphi struts have better performance than Monroe struts and that is why they are overpriced, or it is just all about being the OEM supplier...
 
#16 ·
i have heard that some ppl have told me they wont go with anyting other then OEM new or used because they went with the Monroe and they didnt last more then a year or 2 at best before the ride got bad again

i know that i couldnt aford 600 or 700 dollars a peace from OEM
if i had 900 and needed to get the shocks or struts replaced id get a pair of the Monroe
for the price i seen them aas low as you can pick them up and pay someone to put them on for like 900 to 1000

but if i only had a few hundred to spare id get used OEM with low Miles from a 2001 or 2002 something that has about 60k on them or less i seen them in junk yards in cleveland all the itme for 75 to 150 depending on th emiels
 
#18 ·
talking about the active not passive
shoot for passive just grab what ever you enjoy
but for active go with what your gut tells you and what your wallet will allow
my ride 2000 sls with cvrss has 167k
im preaty sure they are original and still go strong
only reason i will ever replace it is if the strut totaly blows out for some reason or if a rear shock starts to leak bad or something

and in that case right now the way money is im only gona replace the one thing that needs to eb repalce and it will be with a used one

i knwo the places i bvuy from the bone yards near me give 4 month warrantys on all parts they sell
and none of this oh thats broken we give you credit for soemthing els and if they dont have it then they say well we can order it but its not in stock so will cost
if they dont have a replacment part they give money back i go to another place and get one
but right now thats just where my money is in used struts and shocks if anyting happend in the next year or so im betting that it wotn but im gambling on that also
 
#20 ·
^
The both! struts, shocks and tires are the parts that need to be replaced pair by pair at the same time. Your other strut is worn out too, although it might not give you electrical error code or there might not be any oil leak. However having a brand new strut and an old, worn out strut together will destroy the balance and ride quality of your car....

There are some people that prefer to replace springs, and strut mount kit, including bearing and upper and lower insulators when they want to replace the strut. But I suggest you inspect the parts and replace anything that is worn out. I believe you will need to replace the upper and lower insulators. They are not expensive parts, they are just some rubbers that sit between strut and spring and prevent metal by metal contact.
 
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