project shocks n strutts help

I have a 1995 buick Riviera s/c with 97,000 miles and I am ready to change all shocks and strutts ! what kind of shocks and strutts should I replace them with is my question? and I don't think my ride leveling is working. thank you have a gr8 day!

Struts: MONROE 71822, $15 (!) at rockauto.com. Closeout sale, you better grab 'em while you can )
Shocks: MONROE MA822, $57 for a pair at rockauto.com.

Get the ride leveling fixed before you put new struts in, otherwise they will die very soon. They need some pressure to operate properly. OR - hook up MONROE AK29 hose kit so you can pump the shocks up manually.

Has the air pump ever worked? Do you know what it sounds like? If it's working it is intrusively loud, and it doesn't take much to make it kick on and start levelling. You could try testing it by loading the trunk down, or even parking on an incline will make it kick on.

DeepFrozen meant to say to get the levelling fixed before putting the SHOCKS in. Struts go in front, shocks in back. I don't see 71822 anymore, maybe they sold out already. That was a helluva price for struts! They've got 71664 for $32.79, which is still really good. You should also replace the front and rear strut/shock mounts. At 25 years old maybe all the rubber in the suspension should be replaced, but I don't think anyone has gone that far yet.

Ah, Jack - you right, of course, I meant shocks, not struts.
As for the prices - 71664 are struts for '97, and yes, they are $32.79. But we're talking about '95 here, and they do have helluva price right now. BTW, can I adapt those '95 struts to my '97? Reading old topics now...

If the ALC is working correctly, you'll hear it EVERY TIME you start the car. Start the car and walk around to the right rear. After a 17-35 second delay, the compressor will run for 3-5 seconds. Actually, you don't need to start the engine, just turn the key to run then listen behind the right rear tire.

yes the compressor still works it was unplugged but the hoses in the rear to the shocks are dry rotted and falling apart is there a hose kit ? and yes every few minutes or so it kicks on..car was garage kept few dings n dents but no rust

DeepFrozen wrote:

As for the prices - 71664 are struts for '97, and yes, they are $32.79. But we're talking about '95 here

I stand corrected.

DeepFrozen wrote:

, and they do have helluva price right now. BTW, can I adapt those '95 struts to my '97? Reading old topics now...

IIRC there was a suspension change in 97, then again in 98, but I'm working off a vague memory.

[quote="Rivieraz"]yes the compressor still works it was unplugged but the hoses in the rear to the shocks are dry rotted and falling apart is there a hose kit ? /quote]

Yes, and it's only $10.95 - Link

I am learning as I go  do the shocks and struts you mentioned do I need to compress any coils??should I replace any coils ? also do you recommend any quick struts?

Yes, you need to compress front coils in order to replace struts.
In general, original coils at 97k miles should be fine. Mine at 200k+ are original.

DeepFrozen wrote:

Yes, you need to compress front coils in order to replace struts.
In general, original coils at 97k miles should be fine. Mine at 200k+ are original.

what about the rear coils should I replace them?, do they make any good quick struts ? the ak29 hose kit do I need one for each side?

1. If your coils aren't broken and you don't want to change ride quality (make the car firmer, lower, etc.), then, most likely, you can keep original coils. But only you and your butt can really tell Or good mechanic.
2. I, personally, have zero experience with quick struts, sorry.
3. You need only one AK29 hose kit, it contains hoses for both shocks and some connectors. I guess, you can use it to fix original tubing.

Jack the R wrote:

Has the air pump ever worked?  Do you know what it sounds like?  If it's working it is intrusively loud, and it doesn't take much to make it kick on and start levelling.  You could try testing it by loading the trunk down, or even parking on an incline will make it kick on.

DeepFrozen meant to say to get the levelling fixed before putting the SHOCKS in.  Struts go in front, shocks in back.  I don't see 71822 anymore, maybe they sold out already.  That was a helluva price for struts!  They've got 71664 for $32.79, which is still really good.  You should also replace the front and rear strut/shock mounts.  At 25 years old maybe all the rubber in the suspension should be replaced, but I don't think anyone has gone that far yet.

*your* air pump is loud. Mine purrs, he he.

Hard to tell about the suspension rubber - get a magnifying glass and inspect for surface cracks kind of like what you see on an older tire sidewall. If you see those, replace. The rubber in the front control arms is *hard* to inspect, and I'm not sure how they get that rearward bushing on the late 97 and later arms in.

The 71822s are here, at $15.81 each: https://www.rockauto.com/en/parts/monroe,71822,strut,7584

Albertj

It's unlikely you need to change the coils front or back. You don't need to touch them in the back. Changing shocks is easy. Changing struts can kill you. It takes a lot of force to compress a front coil. You don't want the tool to slip off the coil. It's like a crossbow with a strut for an arrow. I was able to do it with no experience, and I'm sure you can too, but take care.

DeepFrozen wrote:

3. You need only one AK29 hose kit, it contains hoses for both shocks and some connectors. I guess, you can use it to fix original tubing.

Have I recommended the wrong thing? Are there other hoses not in the kit?

MONROE MA822 shocks MONROE AK29 air hose kit ACDELCO 19210500 rear lower shock mount ACDELCO 901046 rear mount ACDELCO 45G0000 stabilizer MONROE 71822 strut MONROE 902930 front mount hopefully I have all parts covered ?any suggestions are welcome.... all for my 95 Riviera 429.00 in parts and Monroe wanted 2000 for parts and labor

If you're doing end links (stabilizer bar link), the rear links are sold seperately.  I only see the fronts in your list.  

Playa came up with a custom made end link solution which you may want to read about - Link

I didn't see anyone address the "quickstrut".
In my experience, with my Buick Regal, I had the quickstruts installed up front & it changed my ride height, raised it.
Here I have seen others have the same issue with quick struts on their Rivieras, you could also have a problem with unpredictable ride heights replacing the springs. this may be more predictable if you bought AC Delco springs..
If your ride height front and rear looks right & no springs are broken I would only do struts.
IMHO

Jbird

jbird wrote:

I didn't see anyone address the "quickstrut".
In my experience, with my Buick Regal, I had the quickstruts installed up front & it changed my ride height, raised it.
Here I have seen others have the same issue with quick struts on their Rivieras, you could also have a problem with unpredictable ride heights replacing the springs. this may be more predictable if you bought AC Delco springs..
If your ride height front and rear looks right & no springs are broken I would only do struts.
IMHO

Jbird

Depends on the 'quickstrut' - some of them are terrible.

The Gabriels now on Rockauto.com seem fine. What I don't like is somewhat thinner gauge spring wire. My original springs lasted 20 years -- they still functioned OK but admittedly they had sagged about an inch maybe. Which for my all-highway driving isn't a bad thing. Ride height is about stock according to the FSM and I suspect these things will settle a bit over the next 1-3 months.

A reason for me not to get quickstruts is that instead I could have 'upgraded' to the Delco variable rate (DVR) springs for my '98, it's now their only SKU for this family except for the F41s on the upmarket version of the Park Avenue. I'd think the Gabriels or OE Spectrum Monroes would be great with the DVR springs. ACDelco apparently provides the Gabriel strut in their Professional series BTW.

albertj wrote:

The Gabriels now on Rockauto.com seem fine.  What I don't like is somewhat thinner gauge spring wire.  My original springs lasted 20 years -- they still functioned OK but admittedly they had sagged about an inch maybe.

I'd hate to think my Riv used to ride an inch higher. You've got 275,000 miles on me though, so maybe my springs aren't as worn.

I used the Gabriel ready struts.  My ride height was perfect. It did settle a bit after a day or so. The Monroes definitely had a problem.

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t9615p75-monroe-quick-strut-complete-strut-assembly?highlight=monroe+ready+struts

Jack the R wrote:

albertj wrote:

The Gabriels now on Rockauto.com seem fine.  What I don't like is somewhat thinner gauge spring wire.  My original springs lasted 20 years -- they still functioned OK but admittedly they had sagged about an inch maybe.

I'd hate to think my Riv used to ride an inch higher.  You've got 275,000 miles on me though, so maybe my springs aren't as worn.

Frankly I think it's better an inch lower, and that might account for the solid 30 MPG on the highway at 65 MPH and slower (he he). Problem is one tends to bump into parking stops if not careful.

I'm sure it looks better lowered. I think about it every now and then, but I scrape enough as it is.

Jack the R wrote:

I'm sure it looks better lowered.  I think about it every now and then, but I scrape enough as it is.  

I just stay back from parking stops. Point was the 1" lower in front didn't hurt. And with the new struts, it's back to level.

FWIW: I was looking through this site for suspension intel. In this thread I noticed the deal on Monroe struts at RockAuto. For my '97 Riviera, I ordered the Monroe 71664 for the great closeout price of $32.79 ea. plus tax and shipping.

The install, I thought, was going well. I impacted the piston rod nuts down a bit while in the vise. Planned to finish the torquing on the car. Well... I torqued both to 55 ft/lbs but they didn't look right. Closer inspection revealed they were not right. Though torqued to spec, the nuts had not yet landed on the upper strut mounts. I realized that there was a mismatch problem with the threads on the piston shaft and the (locking) nuts. I decided to just go ahead and tighten them further until they bottomed on the mounts. Right side went down but it was tough getting it to go that far. The left side turned to $#1t. The nut galded up before it bottomed out.

Thought I would remove the right side nut and cut off the left side nut (not at all an easy task) and just use the old nuts from the original shocks. Nope. It wasn't the nuts being too small. The problem was the shaft threads being too large! Both the old nut and new nut would not thread on even one full turn. Conversely, both nuts would easily thread on to the old, removed strut.

Conclusion: These shocks have too large a diameter threads on shaft.

Speculation: Someone knew and unloaded them to RA cheap. Caveat Emptor! I could have sent them back as simply dis-satisfied. I had already done some handy work on them to get the camber lined up. The extra work required to get them to bolt up okay offset the headache and loss of shipping cash. They were sold with no manufacturer warranty.

So, I did get them installed but it was way more work than it should have been. Read, take the screwed up one back off and dis-assemble it, cutting off the galded nut and then working the shaft threads down by hand enough to get a nut bottomed out against the mount.

Huh. Maybe you should drop Rock Auto a line anyway and let them know what happened.