1997 Park Avenue Suspension

[Guest]

I just purchased a nice 1997 PA. It's not an Ultra, and it doesn't have the "touring" suspension upgrade (or whatever they called it) for that year. And she floats like a boat sometimes on certain road condtions. What can I do to help tame this?? I can't seem to find any good strut/shock makers who make any adjustables for this thing. Is the strut/shock valving tighter on the Ultra or "touring" suspension option? Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!!! <P>

[96roadmaster]

I'm not too sure about the Park Avenue Series, but the "Gran Touring Suspension" on my 96 Roadmaster is slightly stiffer than the standard Dynaride. However, it still floats around, although a bit less.<BR>Also, the Gran Touring suspension includes a self-leveling rear end, to reduce sagging.

[BUICK3001964]

If your car has 15" wheels the sidewalls on 15" vs 16" wheels are taller (more flote) the touring susp. comes with 16" rims also check into Delco struts to get stiffer valving <P>------------------<BR>Sean Etson

[Guest]

I work at the GM Proving Ground, and did some of the Ride Development on the Park. The shock/strut valving on the ultra certainly a tighter setup, but it will still have float some. The 2001 ride package is more "tied down". See if you can get a Buick dealer to order you a set of strut/shocks for a 2001 Ultra.

[NTX5467]

When I got to work (at the GM parts dept tonight) I started researching the parts interchanges on the struts. First thing is that 97 is by itself on the front struts and upper strut mount. 98-99 and later struts are different numbers and use the 98+ upper strut mount. In 97, the lower control arms were specific to the suspension package, but the later years are "only one", so that means the mounting/pivot bushings are harder on the F41 suspension.<P>On later years, there is only one strut listed for each year. That means, the differences will be in the springs (stiffer), sway bars (larger and stiffer), and the more performance oriented tires.<P>Basically, the front struts are 97, 98-99, 00-01 in their part listings. The rears are, as I recall 97-99, 00-01. The rears are similarly "only one" for both suspensions.<P>On the issue of upgrading to a later year, it first looks like the upper strut mount might need to be upgraded also. The front knuckles are probably all the same (although with some different part numbers which might be the result of other yearly alterations) so a pre-assembly inspection of the 2000+ strut with the existing one might be in order.<P>As an aside, unless if you compare your car to a 99 and earlier LeSabre, you will find out the PA is really quite firm in comparison! On that H-platform, we put Bonneville SSEi struts on to cure that as the Pontiacs were tighter valved.<P>On the aftermarket area, I suspect the only real aftermarket choices will be Gabriel with VST valving or Monroe with their latest inertia-pin valve set up.<P>Currently, ordering struts/shocks (car) from the dealer will get AC-Delco co-branded items with the GM part number and the AC-Delco part number and nomenclature (Reactek).<P>The C-body platform struts you have are also used (same part numbers) on similar Rivieras and Auroras. I wish you luck and would like to know how it turns out and under what conditions you were having the problem and how much the new struts affected it.<P>Thanks<BR>NTX5467@cs.com

[NTX5467]

If you go to a dealer to order the 2001 Ultra struts and you tell the parts person they will be for a 1997, probably the first thing you will be told is that they will not fit as the part number is different. If you persist and they call ParTech to ask if they will interchange, ParTech will (as they have obviously been trained to do) say they will not fit as the part number is different and possibly (as they have told me a few times) that they are not in the business of modifying vehicles. Therefore, if the part number is different there is a reason and it is not a valid replacement without a part number replacement change.<P>If the parts person does some other checking, like I did, they will find some differences, but on the same architecture suspension. Which means there might be some interchange possibilities.<P>If the service manager checks with their Tech Assistance center, they might get a better idea -- an "authorized" idea -- of if it will work or might know if someone has tried it in the field previously. This could take a few days as they do their checking.<P>Either way, it can be a trying experience to deal with the dealership/factory people on such an upgrade. An upgrade which would outwardly seem an easy one just as we used to upgrade to heavy duty shocks from the weaker standard ones.<P>They probably have to take this stance for several reasons. The representatives at ParTech might not have particular knowledge of the vehicle and its architecture so, for liability reasons, they probably have been instructed to respond as I mentioned previously. Plus, engineering designed the vehicle and they would have to approve any changes for the application (which ParTech representatives are not authorized to do or advocate).<P>Hopefully you found a parts person willing to work with you on this issue and research it for you so you are happy and they make some money in the deal too. Hopefully, the newer calibration struts will do what you want. Don't forget that you will need a complete 4-wheel wheel alignment after the struts are changed.<P>Enjoy!