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167K views 149 replies 87 participants last post by  MoistCabbage 
#1 ·
Well like many of those out there driving around 10 year old Caddies, my new-to-me, 1993 STS had 4 blown shocks.

Not wanting to pay the $900CAN each for all 4 plus install, I bought a set of passive replacement struts from http://www.strutmasters.com
Picked up all 4 for $500US or $800CAN after taxes and duty.

I bought them from strutmasters because GM does not have passive replacement shocks for the rer of the STS, only the fronts.

I had them installed today after driving for about 1 month with the blown setup. I would have done the install myself, but it is too cold out right now where I am, and I don't like spending 7 hours of my day to replaces 4 shocks.

The shocks have been installed and my ride is much, much nicer. The car now corners with confidence, doesn't bottom out and get all jittery over bumps. Sit at the right ride height.

Basically, if you have a problem with the active struts, the Strutmaster replacements are a perfect replacement shock. Installation can be difficult (rust and the air bag suspension make a torch nearly a necessity) but nothing the do it yourselfer can't do. I just chose not to.
 
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#102 ·
Thanks for sharing blunted! When you say the Boston system "works good", could you be a bit more descriptive. How does it compare to the original with regard to ride and handling, particularly when the original system was working correctly? George shared some thoughts about the Arnott performance, so I'm thinking your words about the Boston's characteristics might be valuable to many faced with this same decision! Thanks in advance.
 
#103 ·
Hey blunted, thanks for sharing! One more favor though; when you say it "works good" what do you mean? How are the ride and handling characteristics compared to the original, particularly when the original was working properly. George shared his thoughts on the Arnott vs. Northstar, so I think your input on the Bostons would be helpful to many of us in the same spot. Thanks in advance.

I'm leaning toward the Arnotts, but if I do have a bad leveler that will still need to be addressed independently...correct?
 
#104 ·
Duncan101 said:
Just got a set of Passive front struts for my 94 STS with 100k
from ARNOTT INDUSTRIES $299.00 US. Here is the link take a look
http://www.arnottindustries.com/products/products.asp?modelYearId=32
received them very quickly and really knowlegible people on the phone to talk too.They have kits for LINCOLN and FORD as well,will post as soon as they are installed.

Cheers
I haven't looked forward to view your results, but I had bought front passive struts from these people and had a LOUSY experience and lousy parts! First off, they shipped me one dead strut. One would think they'd do a Q.C. on parts BEFORE they shipped them out! Once they were installed, they rode like a hard-tail Harley! Talk about RIGID!...GEEZ! In short, do not buy Arnott passive struts, you WILL feel every grain of sand and dead bug in the road!!!
 
#105 ·
51magnum said:
Sorry but I have to post a VERY, VERY negative post about ARNOTT. I ordered a set of struts for the front of my 94 STS. After about 1 week of driving I noticed a loud clunking noise coming from the front. To make a long story short I found leaking fluid from the left front strut. So I talked with ARNOTT and they made me pay $150 for a new strut and they told me they would credit me when they tested the old strut. Well they tested it and determined the hydraulics failed. That was two weeks ago and I am still waiting for my $150 credit.

This is not the BAD part. I asked about some type of compensation on an alignment and the lady got really mad at me and hung up the phone. I know we can all get upset but I honestly was being really nice and was not trying to offend anyone. I called back to talk to someone and got her husband who also hung up on me. I also tried to talk to them about the 90 day money back guarantee. Both people told me the 90 days were up and they would not give me my money back. Of course it was passed 90 days but I contacted them about the leaking strut within the 90 day time table.

To be totally fair I just received two new struts from ARNOTT (which are made in China). I guess I just have to live with the new struts.

Anyway, I just wanted to say stay away from ARNOTT their customer service is horrible and I feel I got screwed.
DITTO! I had to deal with the same RUDE female at Arnott after receiving a BAD strut from them and had to deal with the same return policy. BTW...these were front passive struts for my '94 ETC.

DO NOT BUY ARNOTT!!! You WILL be sorry!
 
#106 ·
Ion,
Sorry that you were not happy with the struts that you bought from Arnotts. I am very satisfied with the shocks, struts and service. I base this on initial purchase, shipping, and even more important to me, how the shocks and struts perform in my car. They ride and control very well, much nicer over sharp bumps/holes in the rode than the original equipment.

If I was going to spend much time at speeds over 130 mph, I might want a stiffer system, but like most drivers on the road I am normally at speeds far less than that.

To further increase my confidence in the Arnott shocks/struts, when one of my struts lost its fluid, I contacted Arnott's and explained the problem. They shipped a replacement one immediatly, with a prepaid return UPS shipping tag; all at no charge, with a very polite and knowledgable woman on the phone.

As it turned out, one of the struts got damaged during installation; a scar on the shaft cut the seal. Not a defective part after all, so I called them and paid for the shock. I was actually charged slightly LESS then the original part, plus $15 for the shipping (Florida to California).

As for 90 day warranty....? the warranty is lifetime.

As quoted from the Arnott website.
"Warranty Information:
LIFETIME WARRANTY. (We at Arnott, Inc. are so certain that you will be 100% satisfied with this new product that we offer you a 90-day money back guarantee.)"

I can confidently recommend Arnott’s shocks and struts. I also found their service personell very helpful and polite to deal with.

-George
 
#107 ·
Beware, you may have to do a little downhome engineering. I put a set on the wifes '96 eldo. The sway bar ends don't fit the holes properly and you have to just tighten and deform the washers that come with the kit until they fill up the holes. They should have included some bushings that fit. Also make sure you mark the rotational position of the upper strut spring purches before removal. The factory manual says there is an indicator on the perch, but mine had none. It took lot's of trial and error to get them located right. If I remember right the rear shock mount bolts were signicantly smaller diameter also I had to kinda monkey that install also. It works, but it could be better engineered very easily and it might cost them $2 more to make it right.
 
#108 ·
My '93 Seville had recurring problems with the ride control error message coming on. Fixed it by replacing a faulty rear shock for $600. Months later the ride control error message came on again and the Cadillac dealer diagnosed the problem as rear shocks and front struts. I asked the service manager for options. He said that Cadillac has a harness and relay kit which disables a computer function dealing with the error message, also he recommended replacing the original computer sensed struts with passive struts. I had the Cadillac dealer install the harness, relay and passive front struts and am happy with the results. Car rides well. Cost: $$800.
 
#109 ·
maydog said:
I thought I would chime in on the passive shock thing. I got an email from a guy named Larry who said that gabriel hi-jacker shocks fit the older caddies and connect right up to the ELC compressor. I do not know if this helps anyone here but I thought I would pass it along for those who would like to keep the load leveling.
What did you pay for those Gabriel's? How do they ride? I have a 91 with the air ride and need shocks but don't want to pay an arm and a leg for them.
 
G
#110 ·
Goodyr said:
I think it is acceptable use other than original parts. After saying that there are some things I would always use Cad/GM/Delco parts. I just didn’t want to part with that much cash. I have been driving these cars for over twenty years. As soon as the new passive system loosens up a bit it will be fine. I don’t believe the passive system will ever give you the ride that you get with the air. I don’t spend a lot time in my cars so what I did made sense to me. I am still getting the SRC sometimes. I have read some where that some Cadillac dealers are offering a passive system. I think you have to be the judge of what you do. I hope this helps some. So far I am satisfied.

Ralph
Curious, though. Since the caddy system is not airbags, wouldn't the change be minor rather than major? I've read that the electronic struts are not completely reliant on air pressure like a traditional bag, and therefore do not provide their cushion from air alone. I would assume therefore that the change in ride would be minimal. I'm looking into installing a set of Eibach Pro-Kit springs at the same time as the passive changeover. So my ride will be more performance oriented anyway.
 
#111 ·
The struts do not have air bags, only the shocks. The air bags are used to keep the car at the correct height for increases in passenger weight, and cargo; not for any dampening action.

The struts and shocks rely on traditional hydraulic dampening, with electronically activated valves, to rapidly switch to varying degrees of stiffness; as required.

The Arnott shocks have a "dummy" solenoid in the same place as the stock strut or shock. Plugging in your cars strut/shock plug fools the computer, and there are no computer error codes.

Other methods have been used to fool the computer, but the "dummy" solenoid is a good way to do the job without experimenting with a bunch of different resistance methods, that may or may not work.

I have a set of Eibach Pro Springs for my 93 STS (fits 93-97 STS and SLS). I installed the rear springs and after a couple of weeks of local driving I decided they wern't right for me. I removed them, and they along with the unused front springs, are in the original packaging. If you are interested in them let me know, not sure about a price, but it would be less than any where else.

-George
 
#113 ·
Passive struts are avalible at dealers for some older models, It depends on the system... The reason why is the tuned struts that the vehicle had are no longer manufactured... After installing struts a relay is installed to fool the cluster that the module is fine and no trouble noted.. Just correct info for y'all
 
#116 ·
AdnanBomova said:
alright, this thread is about strut masters, not arnott or boston, i want some feedback on the strut masters struts/shocks, im guessing strut masters has the best ones considering no one has complained once about them yet?

Ok here you go...........I replaced my rear struts with Strutmaster struts, Just to be on the safe side I also replaced my rear springs as well, on my 97 Deville Concurs. The car rides and sits nice My mechanic swore to me he could get the resitors to work and get the error messages off, he could not so Im screwed. I called sturtmasters in early febuary( see febuary 3rd post by me) They told me they would have a new product that plugs into the plug like the Arrnot system, call back in 2 weeks, 2 weeks has become 6 weeks, after multiple messages and e-mails I finally got ahold of some one today, I explained my prolbem which is compounded with my car NYS inspection expires next week and it will no pass if it throws a brake light code.

Now since I hvbe some knowledge about these cars SM cant really argue that theres a brake or Anti-lock prolbem, so They are trying to find me some parts form an old strut and send them to me so the car will pass inspection. They are suppossed to get back to me with an answer. If they can not find the old strut parts SM is now saying the new adapter plugs should be ready in 3 more weeks.

So right now its a wait and see.
 
#121 ·
I got the front and rear struts from Boston Suspension.
1.5 year ago for my Cadillac Seville STS 1992.
I have driven about 10.000 miles, and now they are already broken down.
So my advice to you all, is NOT buy suspension parts from Boston Suspension.
It is a complete waste of money for cheap crappy parts.
And the ride in the 1.5 year was terrible as well.

So now I'm buying expensive original GM suspension parts.
They give a great ride, and last a lot of years.
 
#122 ·
this message is for falconeo or for anyone else: besides strutmasters.com who was the person on ebay that was selling the rear struts for a 97 cadillac deville concour?????? i'm still shopping around online to find replacements for my rear struts..........don't care about the air ride any longer so i would be happy to switch over to just a regular strut and then block out the air signal back to the electronic box.......anyone if you can help i would appreciate it.....thanks!!
 
#126 ·
I put the Arnott passive system on my 97 eldo and ran them for two years and loved em. Sold the 97 and bought a 99 STS which obviously needed struts / shocks when I drove it before buying. (negotiated the price accordingly) Went right to Arnott and have them on now but ride is not there yet. Not that concerned about the STS "firmer" ride. Can you mount SLS softer suspension parts on the STS to smooth out the ride?
I think I have leveling issues as well. Love the car though.. just need to tinker through this. New to the site as well. Awesome!!! :worship:
 
#127 · (Edited)
New to the site.. this is awesome.. I bought the Arnott passive system for my 97 eldo and they were great. Sold it recently and bought a 99 STS which needed suspension addressed. Went straight to Arnott again but not as happy with this application. Not sure my problems are all struts and shocks. Will be checking compressor and leveling issues but wondering if SLS softer suspension struts / shocks will mount on the STS.
 
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