2004 Buick LeSabre Suspension

[BuickBeignet]

Hi!

I'm researching replacements for front struts and rear shocks for a 2004 LeSabre limited. My car has an air system in the rear which is working fine, but the shocks need replacement. If possible, I'd like to keep the original ride comfort of the OEM setup.

Can anyone recommend a setup? So far I've read mixed experiences on KYB, Gabriel, and the AC Delco units. I've looked into this strutmaster setup which removes the air system, which might be promising.

Thanks for your time!

 

[RobR]

Stay away from the quick struts and im happy with KYB's

 

[BuickBeignet]

Stay away from the quick struts and im happy with KYB's

So you advise buying the strut and installing in the original spring?

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

Hi!

I'm researching replacements for front struts and rear shocks for a 2004 LeSabre limited. My car has an air system in the rear which is working fine, but the shocks need replacement. If possible, I'd like to keep the original ride comfort of the OEM setup.

Can anyone recommend a setup? So far I've read mixed experiences on KYB, Gabriel, and the AC Delco units. I've looked into this strutmaster setup which removes the air system, which might be promising.

Thanks for your time!

You can get the OEM shocks.

Prepare to pay a lot, but they will do you great for years I presume.

You also say your air works but you need shocks, what test have you determiend your shocks are worn with? other things may be appearing that way based on ride but could be from other places. how many miles.

also struts, hows your cars height front to back? Measure your car from the ground straight up to the very back edge of your front fender in the wheel well. Like, right before it stops and is your wheel . measure that up and down. if your mileage aint high and your height isnt bad, you may consider getting a new absorber/mount and reusing a spring. Also, the rear springs can be purchased and after so long often are sagging a bit, but the isolators and the shock absorbers mount itself are things to look at before throwing money 🙂

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

So you advise buying the strut and installing in the original spring?

you can probably source a new spring but youre looking at some serious money to get a spring, strut absorber, and a new mount kit and then of course putting it together./ But how much money you got you probably can damn near re-equip the factory setup. also, FE1 or FE2 on your RPO sticker? Soft ride vs firm ride. my car is a soft ride for example.

 

[BuickBeignet]

You can get the OEM shocks.

Prepare to pay a lot, but they will do you great for years I presume.

You also say your air works but you need shocks, what test have you determiend your shocks are worn with? other things may be appearing that way based on ride but could be from other places. how many miles.

also struts, hows your cars height front to back? Measure your car from the ground straight up to the very back edge of your front fender in the wheel well. Like, right before it stops and is your wheel . measure that up and down. if your mileage aint high and your height isnt bad, you may consider getting a new absorber/mount and reusing a spring. Also, the rear springs can be purchased and after so long often are sagging a bit, but the isolators and the shock absorbers mount itself are things to look at before throwing money 🙂

Thanks for your tips Buick Girl! My only test was that when i pushed down on the rear and front of the car it the car took more time to return to it's original state. The car doesn't sag anywhere.

The car has 86k miles.

I will measure the car and report back with measurements.

 

[BuickBeignet]

you can probably source a new spring but youre looking at some serious money to get a spring, strut absorber, and a new mount kit and then of course putting it together./ But how much money you got you probably can damn near re-equip the factory setup. also, FE1 or FE2 on your RPO sticker? Soft ride vs firm ride. my car is a soft ride for example.

I will double-check the RPO sticker and report back.

 

[BuickBeignet]

One other item I forgot to add. I was driving on the freeway last night - and at some part of the road caused the Buick to bounce for an extended period. Specifically, the long patch of the road caused the Buick to continously bounce as I was driving on the patch of road for 3-5 mins. I hope that makes sense.

You can get the OEM shocks.

Prepare to pay a lot, but they will do you great for years I presume.

You also say your air works but you need shocks, what test have you determiend your shocks are worn with? other things may be appearing that way based on ride but could be from other places. how many miles.

also struts, hows your cars height front to back? Measure your car from the ground straight up to the very back edge of your front fender in the wheel well. Like, right before it stops and is your wheel . measure that up and down. if your mileage aint high and your height isnt bad, you may consider getting a new absorber/mount and reusing a spring. Also, the rear springs can be purchased and after so long often are sagging a bit, but the isolators and the shock absorbers mount itself are things to look at before throwing money 🙂

 

[2007LucerneCXL]

OP If you look at the forum on struts Monroe quick strut seems to have been the one with sitting too high on the front. All will settle but it seems Monroe still lifts the front. Gabriel appears to be a good choice on ride and fitment again in quick strut. KYB is good but not many posts on these on Lesabre or PA usage.

I would use caution on using the old springs on a new strut as all components for the rebuild need to fit and work with each other. This is true when mixing and matching manufacturers on struts.

 

[BuickBeignet]

OP If you look at the forum on struts Monroe quick strut seems to have been the one with sitting too high on the front. All will settle but it seems Monroe still lifts the front. Gabriel appears to be a good choice on ride and fitment again in quick strut. KYB is good but not many posts on these on Lesabre or PA usage.

I would use caution on using the old springs on a new strut as all components for the rebuild need to fit and work with each other. This is true when mixing and matching manufacturers on struts.

Thank you for sharing that information. I will keep those notes in mind while I am browsing suspensions. Thanks!

 

[RobR]

Man you can replace the entire suspension if you want to go nuts but from my reading its not necessary. If the mounts need to be replaced,stick with oe mounts. Aftermarket are hit or miss. And no matter what anyone says,ill never use made in china quick struts again due to possibility of never being able to align the car to factory specs. The made in USA KYBs are alil stiffer than OE but i dont like wallowing down the road. OE struts are softer but will probably need to be replaced sooner than aftermarket. As for the rear shocks, the KYB and Monroe are direct fit,provide a factory ride and are affordable. You can go OE but they are expensive and provide no added benefit. Pass on everything else.

 

[BuickBeignet]

You can get the OEM shocks.

Prepare to pay a lot, but they will do you great for years I presume.

You also say your air works but you need shocks, what test have you determiend your shocks are worn with? other things may be appearing that way based on ride but could be from other places. how many miles.

also struts, hows your cars height front to back? Measure your car from the ground straight up to the very back edge of your front fender in the wheel well. Like, right before it stops and is your wheel . measure that up and down. if your mileage aint high and your height isnt bad, you may consider getting a new absorber/mount and reusing a spring. Also, the rear springs can be purchased and after so long often are sagging a bit, but the isolators and the shock absorbers mount itself are things to look at before throwing money 🙂

Here's my sticker on the spare tire cover.

 

[2004CSOTP]

I installed the Monroe quick struts up front and the air shocks on the back. I did not have a problem with ride height or getting it aligned.

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

OP If you look at the forum on struts Monroe quick strut seems to have been the one with sitting too high on the front. All will settle but it seems Monroe still lifts the front. Gabriel appears to be a good choice on ride and fitment again in quick strut. KYB is good but not many posts on these on Lesabre or PA usage.

I would use caution on using the old springs on a new strut as all components for the rebuild need to fit and work with each other. This is true when mixing and matching manufacturers on struts.

That last part isnt based on anything but just ease. Without any reference to mileage or wear, if someone has a 24k mile lesabre I would most certainly recommend reusing the springs on a new absorber. Thats the factory "way". It all depends on the spring condition. He doesnt appear to be low mileage, so not using the spring is just 1) easy 2) likely the best but its not very good blanket statement.

 

[BuickBeignet]

I installed the Monroe quick struts up front and the air shocks on the back. I did not have a problem with ride height or getting it aligned.

That's good to know, and from your username it sounds like you have an 04 as well?

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

i would confirm you are getting the proper air level in your shocks. if you wanted to do a test id personally put a manual air line kit on first and then see if you can air the shock to an acceptable hegiht and see if its behaving better. Its not necessary but your mileage is lower even tho overtime things get old etc.... i just hate to see you toss a working pair of stock things if it can be avoided

Thanks for your tips Buick Girl! My only test was that when i pushed down on the rear and front of the car it the car took more time to return to it's original state. The car doesn't sag anywhere.

The car has 86k miles.

I will measure the car and report back with measurements.

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

Man you can replace the entire suspension if you want to go nuts but from my reading its not necessary. If the mounts need to be replaced,stick with oe mounts. Aftermarket are hit or miss. And no matter what anyone says,ill never use made in china quick struts again due to possibility of never being able to align the car to factory specs. The made in USA KYBs are alil stiffer than OE but i dont like wallowing down the road. OE struts are softer but will probably need to be replaced sooner than aftermarket. As for the rear shocks, the KYB and Monroe are direct fit,provide a factory ride and are affordable. You can go OE but they are expensive and provide no added benefit. Pass on everything else.

Um./.. what do you mean never align? What about your alignment isnt correctable? I had a fully new suspension up front and mostly in back and was aligned in spec all around. not much gm parts other than bushings.

If you need to adjust camber, they make bolts, if you need to adjust caster there is a procedure in the service data to ream the mount holes on the strut tower.

 

[BuickBeignet]

i would confirm you are getting the proper air level in your shocks. if you wanted to do a test id personally put a manual air line kit on first and then see if you can air the shock to an acceptable hegiht and see if its behaving better. Its not necessary but your mileage is lower even tho overtime things get old etc.... i just hate to see you toss a working pair of stock things if it can be avoided

That's totally fair.

 

[BuickGirlFromMars]

Here's my sticker on the spare tire cover.

Soft ride. I would fix your front suspension first and see if your problem goes away your car has excellent anti-dive and its also factory floaty suspension so the rear may be normal. the length of the car + poor working strut shock absorber I can see your car doing what it is. I would persoanlly, to be honest, try getting a shock only and using your spring. Get a new mount. I say this because the spring may be slightly saged compared to new, sure, but the spring is way way way less miles than realistically expect that to be worn itself. If you can source a decent cost, it doesnt disallow you to use a quick strut. maybe even get a quick strut and then keep your OE and maybe consider trying it in the future.

 

[BuickBeignet]

That sounds like a good route to me, I'll give that a try. Is there a particular branded strut and mount that you'd recommend?

Soft ride. I would fix your front suspension first and see if your problem goes away your car has excellent anti-dive and its also factory floaty suspension so the rear may be normal. the length of the car + poor working strut shock absorber I can see your car doing what it is. I would persoanlly, to be honest, try getting a shock only and using your spring. Get a new mount. I say this because the spring may be slightly saged compared to new, sure, but the spring is way way way less miles than realistically expect that to be worn itself. If you can source a decent cost, it doesnt disallow you to use a quick strut. maybe even get a quick strut and then keep your OE and maybe consider trying it in the future.