FAQ: Shocks & Struts Options

Got them in today. You actually receive Parts Master struts when you order the Gabriels. However, after doing a little research it appears that Parts Master just rebrands Gabriel or KYB struts, and when you order them it's kind of up to chance what you get. The good news is that it looks like I got 2 Gabriels like I wanted. It's all coming along smoothly now....

Anyone know if the knuckle mounting holes and shaft diameter are the same on the Grand Prix as they are on the Rivi?

So, I stumbled across something interesting today. I replaced the rear air shocks on an '07 Lucerne. As most of you may know, the Lucerne is damn near identical to the Riv, minus a few updated parts (as far as suspension/drivetrain are concerned). Anywho, there's an updated rear shock design to replace these stupid, crappy air shocks we have. This is a "new" design, much like the Yukon air suspension system.


The one major thing I noticed is that the *new* shocks are fully extended at rest, unlike the stock air shocks on the Riv. I had to physically pull the shock on the right out to make it full length. The new ones also act like a "normal" shock. Compress it, and it extends back up on its own. Now, these shocks are quite pricey. For those of you looking for good, quality air shocks, I'd get these. I'm actually going to put a pair of these on my '97.

These are not Delco's. These are GM factory shocks.
P/N 19300034 RR Shock
P/N 19300035 LR Shock

Another incentive to have them installed is that they come with a LIFETIME WARRANTY.

Very interesting! 195.63 and 194.25 on rock auto... yup pricey. Whats the difference left to right? Weird to have a $1.38 difference.

Neat. You're better off converting to coilovers for that price though, unless you want to keep the floaty ride.

Karma wrote:

Whats the difference left to right? Weird to have a $1.38 difference.

The position of the upper mount and the air fitting. If you tried putting the left on the right (or vice versa) the fitting would be facing forward instead of rearward.

I drove the car after installation. They aren't mush at all. When I set the car down, with no air in the system, the car was at normal ride height. I actually think there may be a spring inside. When compressed, it goes right back to fully extended unlike a standard shock that takes a few seconds.

Nice find. They do look like a better quality part.

I've noticed Rockauto's pricing isn't always consistent. The price difference between L/R shocks is coincidental. I think I paid $5 less for my left control arm compared to the right. A month later, the prices could reverse.

If '07 max -air- like air shocks fit then this airless conversion should fit too?

http://www.strutmasters.com/products/2006-2011-buick-lucerne-rear-air-suspension-conversion-kit-cl1rb/

AA wrote:

Nice find. They do look like a better quality part.

Thanks! I took it out of the box and went    I didn't even know they existed lol.

charlieRobinson wrote:

If '07 max -air- like air shocks fit then this airless conversion should fit too?

Yep. Mounting all looks the same from the pics! Lucerne is our exact car underneath. I have quite a few pics of the suspension/underside of Lucernes....basically for my own research. Totally not related, but I think I'm going to get a cradle out of a 3.8L '07 Lucerne. Use the control arms and everything. Very beefy.
I just have to measure the track (width) first.[/quote]

Do Oldsmobile Aurora (the first generation) struts fit in these cars?

KnottyEagle wrote:

Do Oldsmobile Aurora (the first generation) struts fit in these cars?

I guess we'll find out. They're both G-Bodies, weigh pretty much the same, and are exactly the same length so I'm lead to believe they will.

KnottyEagle according to Oriellys the strut assemblies are not the same. The only compatible struts that can be used are from a 98-99 Riviera or a 98-2005 Park Avenue. I hope this helps. I would like to change mine too, I saw a good pair at the yard, I know they are now new, but right now I'm strapped for cash and anything is better than the rusted ones I have.

The reason I ask is because these ones were basically brand new and I got a deal on them. I have trouble justifying a brand new pair of struts when I'm going to be leaving for awhile without my car. I also need new tires and an alignment, but there's no point in getting either of those when the struts are bad. I suspect they're original, but I can't tell.

EDIT: The junkyard had the Aurora struts compatible with the Riviera, but websites like Rockauto don't have them compatible. I wonder why that would be. Maybe they were compatible from the factory, but aftermarket options aren't?

RvieraRider wrote:

but right now I'm strapped for cash and anything is better than the rusted ones I have.

From my experiences junkyards usually charge a lot for struts, especially since most don't let you separate them from the springs/top mounts. It might actually be cheaper (or around the same price) for you to buy new struts/mounts and reuse everything else. Right now RockAuto/Monroe has a deal where you buy 4 shocks/struts and get 20% of your purchase price back in a gift card. It comes out to $143.57 plus $39.05 shipping (to my zip code, may vary for yours) for the struts/shocks. You would end up with a gift card worth $28.71. Offer expires 7/31.

EDIT: I noticed the admin made a mistake in merging these threads (KnottyEagle's name is shown twice). Admin can feel free to delete this edit after it's fixed.

If the struts are from a 97 Aurora then the mount will be different. The mounts are the same for 98-98-2001-2003 model years, according to oriellys the actual struts are not the compatible for any model year of the Aurora.

I have brought struts from junk yards before, not saying that they are best, but they run about 30 bucks for the assembly. Not too bad if your on a tight budget.

RvieraRider wrote:

but they run about 30 bucks for the assembly.

Around here they go for ~70-90 per assembly at certain yards. ONE yard charges 20/assembly but they specialize in imports, don't have too many American cars.

I got these struts with the top mount and everything put together for $45 each + tax. They're from a 1998 Aurora.

Sorry to hear that. The going rate down hear is about 25 to 30 bucks. But we have a lot of junk yards here. We have 3 pullaparts and several smaller junk yards. I was seeing Rivieras every time I went when I didn't have one, now that I have one. I can't find one.

If they are from a 98 the mounts will work, but strut are not the same. It be something as minor as the bolt they used. If you really want to use them the only thing that you can do is just try it and see if it works. Good luck, I hope it works out for you.

RvieraRider wrote:

If they are from a 98 the mounts will work, but strut are not the same. It be something as minor as the bolt they used. If you really want to use them the only thing that you can do is just try it and see if it works. Good luck, I hope it works out for you.

I'm not concerned about the strut being different because anything at this point is better than the struts currently on the car. The mount holes look the same and look to be the same distance apart so I think It's worth a shot.

Well, got around to throwing in the "new old" struts and there's a world of difference. I can actually throw the Riv around in the corners and there's no more obnoxious clunking coming from the front right. Braking feels fantastic now that the car doesn't nose dive. Ride height was raised about an inch on both sides, but I'm sure that was just from the old struts being so worn out. I could actually compress the struts with my hands. One of the coils from the spring had actually broken off too.

I was really worried about the "new" struts making it look like a monster truck, but I'll warm up to the slightly heightened look. I'll take all of the other positives from this job over the looks any day. Now It's time for some new tires and an alignment!

Hey guys, going to do the struts for the first time in my 97' riv. It has more than 190k on the original struts and tires started blowing chunks at 185k. What do i need? New struts (of course), new strut mounts and what else? what brand of strut mounts do u guys recommend (delco, kyb, monroe, or moog)? what struts do u recommend (delco or kyb)?

I used the Gabriel ready strut. Others had problems with the car sitting up too much in the front. I did not, at least not with the Gabriels.

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t9615p75-monroe-quick-strut-complete-strut-assembly

Hey guys, just found out something interesting someone can try if they want to be a pioneer. When I was doing the rear shocks in my BMW (2002 325xi Sedan) I tried one of the shocks from my old coilover setup on the Riv, and guess what? They fit almost perfectly! The mounting hole was exactly the same size, the rod was the same diameter, almost the same length, etc. If someone made brackets to mount the bottom of the shock to the control arm (see the coilover thread for examples) pretty much any rear E46 shock should work. Have fun experimenting! I would have no problem shipping a shock or two out to someone who wanted to experiment.

matt270avian wrote:

Hey guys, just found out something interesting someone can try if they want to be a pioneer. When I was doing the rear shocks in my BMW (2002 325xi Sedan) I tried one of the shocks from my old coilover setup on the Riv, and guess what? They fit almost perfectly! The mounting hole was exactly the same size, the rod was the same diameter, almost the same length, etc. If someone made brackets to mount the bottom of the shock to the control arm (see the coilover thread for examples) pretty much any rear E46 shock should work. Have fun experimenting! I would have no problem shipping a shock or two out to someone who wanted to experiment.

Thats interesting.I love stumbling across stuff like that