Took the DTS on a long road trip and it rode very nice. On the way back however, a clunk developed in the left front. It started very faintly, but when we got home it was noticeable. Also noticed that at 65-75 mph cruising speed there a slight shake in the steering wheel. Time to fix these annoyances and get on with fixing this thing. It looks great after the new paint job, now it should also drive like it looks
The clunking noise was predictable. The previous owner replaced the shocks at 65K miles, but they cheaped out and only replaced the strut cartridge and not the springs or the mounts themselves. On these big FWD cars, the mounts trash up fairly quickly. So it will get new strut/mount assemblies. The vibration was expected. When I replaced the brakes pads a few months back I only did a pad swap, installed new hardware and cleaned the caliper brackets. The rotors were marginal, but I went with it -- well today I replaced the rotors and the OEM rubber sway bar links with quality urethane bushings.
In my small garage, getting this behemoth in the air is no small feat. The scissor lift is a god-sent, but space is at a premium.
When I first took the wheels off I also noticed the tie rods. The boots were starting to crack, and they are not greasable. Time for an upgrade -- and pretty cheap at NAPA -- new grease fitting on these ends are a good upgrade.
Next the sway bar links -- the old ones are pretty worn, and the rubber bushings are cracking
To make it easier to install the links and to remove the strut assembly later on, the hose clip brackets were removed from the strut.
Much stronger and durable material than the OEM links
While I was at it I loosened the three strut mount bolts and the two steering knuckle bolts that hold the strut assembly to the knuckle.
The old unit doesn't look that bad, but the mount and bearing are shot -- that's where the noise was coming from.
Gabriel to the rescue -- Quality and budget friendly replacement.
These things just slip in and out very quickly. The only real issue is to make sure the old rubberized mounting gasket on the mounting plate is not stuck in up the shocktower. If so it needs to be scraped out and the tower mating surfaces thoroughly cleaned or the alignment will be off.
The lower end bolts back on fairly easily -- this entire job (using a complete strut, spring, mount assembly) is a very easy task on these FWD GM vehicles.
Last but not least, a new set of Raybestos rotors -- nice and true, with a corrosion resistant coating.
After doing both sides, I buttoned the brakes and calipers back up, and took it for a test drive on the interstate. No more clunk! -- and the shake at highway speed is totally gone.
Next week I'll take it in for an alignment, and we should be good to go for the next long road trip.
