(In order to keep the Piston Slap series running at full tilt, I am making another request for questions from my readers. Have a question about your car or the ecosystem surrounding it? Email me at pistonslap@hagerty.com.)
I generally try to follow up with readers after their submission(s) to Piston Slap, and the ongoing communications I’ve had with Adam and his now-famous Buick LeSabre are no different. Turns out he’s in the same place I was about three months ago. So I’m now obligated to publish another follow-up, this time involving the parts cannon method of automotive repair.
Before we fire the cannon, here’s what Adam said:
It’s summertime, so the heated seat isn’t a big deal right now, but I will take your advice and try to hunt for a lower cushion at the junkyard. It’s easy to swap out, which is one of the nice things about this Buick. Speaking of which, here’s an update: My job has required a few road trips lately, and after a rash of bad rental-car experiences, I have started relying on the Buick as my road warrior.
It’s been clocking off 500 miles in 100-degree days without missing a beat, all while achieving 31 mpg. I just got back from a trip to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. Being 20 years old, it still amazes me that I can trust it like I do.
Granted, it has incurred $9216 in service and repairs over the past five years, but that’s still better than a current new-car payment on, say, a Nissan Versa. Now a knock has appeared in the front end, and usually I hear it from accelerating from a dead stop. It’s a brief noise, so I feel like it’s part of the suspension “loading up,” and then it won’t do it again until I come to a stop. So that’s the next thing to look into.
Sajeev answers:
You are likely right in your diagnosis, but consider eliminating every worn-out variable at this moment. When you grab every new part you can for a subsystem and replace them at the same time, you’re using an approach commonly referred to as “firing the parts cannon.” While firing the parts cannon is generally a bad idea, your Buick is the exception to the rule. Because it is a 19-year-old vehicle with 113,000 miles, many suspension and steering components are significantly degraded. So let’s dig in.
For those who cannot DIY everything on a vehicle, firing the parts cannon will involve more labor costs, but doing the work concurrently is cheaper than doing repairs over time, piecemeal. While some suspension maintenance has been performed (air shocks, tie-rod ends) on your Buick, I think the car has proven itself worthy of more extensive subsystem refurbishments.
Having recently completed this work on my 1995 Lincoln Mark VIII, let me tell you how delightful it is to drive a vehicle with a tight suspension, firm steering, grippier brakes, and wheel hubs that don’t chirp like a bird. My car didn’t feel unsafe after 201,000 miles of modest refurbishment (scarred by pockets of absolute neglect!), but I had no idea how wonderful it would perform after an extensive refurbishment.
My wallet is roughly $8000 lighter, after tallying up my actions with the parts cannon. That includes third-party labor costs, as I have a shop that I am extremely loyal to. The figure would be 60 percent lower had I done everything in my own garage, but Ford’s complicated MN-12 platform sports long labor/repair times for ample reason. (Another reason to choose the parts cannon over piecemeal repairs.)
But this isn’t about my experience, as we need to see what happens when the parts cannon is aimed at Adam’s Buick LeSabre. I use Rock Auto as my cannon (both here and in real life), focusing on steering and suspension wear items that, in my experience, are neglected on vehicles in the 15-to-30-year-old range.
There’s a case for also doing a brake job alongside $40 worth of replacement brake hoses, but maybe the Buick’s rubber lines still have another decade of life in them. So let’s stick to your specific needs.
This is an illegible screenshot, and I do apologize for that. But my intent isn’t for you to take this image as gospel, as I am only considering items that secretly wear out over time, focusing on rubber/bearing/ball joint degradation. Nor have I seen Adam’s car in person, so it could have other needs. (CV axles, anyone?)
Or perhaps a host of replacement bits were installed during the first owner’s tenure. So, again, this photo isn’t gospel. Taking an educated guess with items fresh on my own rebuilding list netted a parts bill of just under $800. That’s before shipping, taxes, and the all-important installation charge, but it’s still a good value for safe, secure, and entertaining highway motoring.
Both the inner tie-rod ends and the rear suspension were areas of unexpected decay in the case of my Mark VIII. I was blown away at how bad the rubber bushings were in the upper control arms—one wheel flopped up and down when the car was raised on a lift! After I removed them, the wheel bearings sounded like they were packed with gravel. So it all had to go, and I thanked the parts for their 30 years of service as I dumped them into my somewhat-famous pile of scrap.
I am dumbfounded at how well Lincoln’s wanna-be European touring coupe performs with a fresh set of everything under its sleek body. Many parts are visible behind the five-spoke wheels, and let me tell you how big my smile is when I look back at them in the parking lot, shining back at me. I especially like the (supposedly) coated brake calipers, the shiny attachment points of the brake lines, and the iconic blue/yellow bodies of Bilstein’s dampers. In my book, all this money was well spent.
So, please consider firing the parts cannon when dealing with vehicles this old, especially when driven this regularly. Odds are you will not regret it!
Have a question you’d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to pistonslap@hagerty.com—give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.
I will disagree here.
On a Buick with these miles odds are it will not really need much if it was service normally.
I would look at the bushings and ball joints. Also strut mounts. I would not be surprised if they were fine.
This actually is more likely an engine mount or torque rod as the normally go bad.
Sanjeev the parts cannon is great in a restoration like yours. It is the tight thinking. But if your goal is to save money only fix what is broken or worn.
You can shoot a ton of money and parts here and lose a trans axle in 6 months the goal in saving money with a car like this is to not put in more money than it is worth.
Gus with H body and crown Vic saving cars is use it up and if something expensive goes get another old car. There a ton of them out there and you can repeat. Also if you stay with the same car take the best of the two and merge it.