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2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps


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mugwump77
Novice

Mar 14, 2008, 3:48 PM

Post #1 of 16 (3328 views)
2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

2001 Buick Lesabre Limited, 65,000 miles, driven by old lady (really!), air shocks, no damage, nothing Loose. Problem: When hitting a bump or pothole, rear and pitches sharply sideways. Had it up on hoist, nothing loose or damaged. Wheel bearings tight. Front end seems to be aligned OK, steering wheel is centered, car does not pull to the side. When rear end bounced manually, both sides seem to bounce equally and level but when hitting a pothole or bump, rear end pitches sideways...enough to be dangerous, especially on slick roads. Kelly tires. Any ideas? Thanks, Muggs


huxley
User

Mar 14, 2008, 9:47 PM

Post #2 of 16 (3320 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

Hey Muggs,

Not sure if this will be helpful at all...but I have noticed this to a degree with the exact same model that my girlfriend has which I drive somewhat often. It doesn't seem as sharp as you're pointing out here, but it definitely happens. Something with the design perhaps? I'd be interested to know what the issue is if you figure it out.

-Nate


Guest
Anonymous Poster

Mar 16, 2008, 4:58 PM

Post #3 of 16 (3309 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

Thanks, Nate, that's what I think too......its a design problem. Nothing to do but put up with it. Our main car is a Toyota. Its as as sure-footed as a mountain goat so this Buick is an annoyance. Thanks again, Muggs


huxley
User

Mar 16, 2008, 7:27 PM

Post #4 of 16 (3302 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

Haha yeah...it's a smooth ride but when you're driving a car that felt like it was meant to be a boat, this will happen I suppose. I often feel like it should have a rudder instead of a steering wheel.

-Nate


mugwump77
Novice

Mar 22, 2008, 11:52 AM

Post #5 of 16 (3283 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

The problem is solved. The rear shocks seemed to be OK but I replaced them anyway. That seemed to have solved the problem of pitching sidewise on bumps. M


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Mar 22, 2008, 2:04 PM

Post #6 of 16 (3280 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In


Nate! The one up close is a boat. A 2001 LeSabre is an economy car! I owned a couple of those suckers and three people could stand thru the sun roof! You could move a twin bed made up in the back seat and close the trunk lid on a small car as a spare. Never mind a rudder you needed tug boats to park those suckers but boy were they fun!Cool

T



Double J
Veteran / Moderator
Double J profile image

Mar 22, 2008, 2:12 PM

Post #7 of 16 (3278 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

Hey Tom

Driven many of those...
MAN..those were nice riding cars...especially that "Monster" in the front..
It appeared to just float down the street...
Remember the rubber insulation on all the coil springs...
A buddy of mine had the exact one pictured....used to let me drive it for weeks at a time..
He had several cars...What a great car!!!!
They don't make 'em like that anymore...
Probably one of the few Ford/Lincoln products I liked working on...."Remember the test drive made it all worth it"..When the job itself was rough....
Thanks for the trip down memory lane...

JIm


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Mar 22, 2008, 2:40 PM

Post #8 of 16 (3275 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In


Jim - had a couple 73 Caddy Land Yachts too. Not the Eldo but two of the one on the left. Dang hood alone weighed more than some wicked small cars of today by itself! Of course you needed to friends with an OPEC country to drive those tooCrazy

Just fun,

T



Double J
Veteran / Moderator
Double J profile image

Mar 22, 2008, 2:45 PM

Post #9 of 16 (3273 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

With all due respect Tom/Lincoln guys...

NOW YOUR TALKING....CADILLAC...BABY....

Yea ..MAN, those hoods were heavy...remember when you had to take one off to do engine work...
Definitely needed some helpers..
Owned quite a few land yachts myself..
Remember under the hood of those Eldos...more room than some studio apartments...LOL
Those were the days...and Gm/Ford wonders why they cant sell cars today


dave284
Enthusiast / Moderator
dave284 profile image

Mar 22, 2008, 2:54 PM

Post #10 of 16 (3272 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

Sorry to but in guys....just wondering if these cars can be converted to fuel injection....I owned a few bigems myself, back then gas was .40 a gal.........Frown


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Mar 22, 2008, 3:20 PM

Post #11 of 16 (3271 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

Dave: The Caddies used a lot of monster 472 aka "the 501" engines with quadrajets. Fuel injection was in some rare models - they didn't do any better on gas just took out the hassle or the shamless indignity of having to pump the gas pedal once it they would never start.

The 60s had the same monsters that were as big but didn't look so big in the crowd. They also got tons better fuel mileage in the 60 than the 73 (detuned for emissions) cars. Had a 67 and a 68 Caddy that would do close to 20 + without trouble on trips - nothing around town. Those engines had so much power you barely touched the gas to maintain hwy speeds. Some used VR (variable rate) torque converters which was and felt like limitless ratios for power and close to lock up without load!

Today: The best anti-theft control ever is let a theif try to steal a car with a carb - will screw them up every time if they never drove one and don't recall the daysCool

T



Double J
Veteran / Moderator
Double J profile image

Mar 22, 2008, 5:54 PM

Post #12 of 16 (3264 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

.40 cents a gallon...MAN your young....
I remember it much cheaper than that.
I remember the gas price wars between local gas stations vying for business, gas in the teens,YES teens and they even had give aways like S & H green stamps, dishes,glasses,mugs...etc...
Those were the days....the oil companies have forgotten what made them and what customer service once was..

How 'bout it old timers.....


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Mar 22, 2008, 8:07 PM

Post #13 of 16 (3261 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In


I recall the "gas wars" in town (1960s) one station against the other - 17.9cents (they always wanted that .9 cent) - always something free with a fill up too. Was working at Mobil when gas first crossed the one dollar line and we had to post the real price on a card but didn't have the spot for a whole dollar and the pumps couldn't be adjusted so we had to just set them for half and double the charge till new pumps were installed.

Regualar gas was 93 octane and high test was 98 or better! Sunoco used to sell 105 octane. Now we think 92 is the "super" gasoline! "Unleaded was called "white gas" or "marine" gas that only Amoco sold here for Winter storage or gasoline heaters. Lead (tetraethyl) in gas would congeal pretty quickly and make a jelly at the top of a gas can if left too long!

Also - "self serve" WHAT WAS THAT?? ------- And find where the gas cap was on all those cars - some hidden behind tail lights on the fins!

T



Double J
Veteran / Moderator
Double J profile image

Mar 22, 2008, 8:32 PM

Post #14 of 16 (3260 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

Yes..I remember it being as low as 15.9 cents per gallon in the sixties as well...."Fill 'er up with ethyl"
And for that price,you got the windows (all) cleaned,including h/lights,fluids checked,tires checked,(air was free) everything under the hood checked,and and and you got to use the "clean" washroom....try even finding a washroon at a gas station today...
Standard Oil slogan.."As you travel ,ask us".......I dare you,ask them today...LOL....
Remember working at the stations during the supposed "gas shortage" in the early seventies...
Gas shot up to .40.9 cents a gal.....we had to allocate what people could purchase..some days 10 gallons,some days $5.00...
People were livid with us..$4.10 for 10 gallons...highway robbery...
We had lines more than a mile waiting...problem was...when we met the quota for the day,we had to cut them off....(were allowed only so many gallons for the month)had to cut off to stretch it to stay open all month...
Poor people had waited hours and got cut off....if the tires didn't make it onto the driveway...last car on...next one ..cut off.
We had guns pulled on us,threatened with physical violence...actual fist fights..got to the point ,we had to have the police there at cut off time...
I was the only one who had a full tank thru all that...LOL...locking gas caps became a big thing then..folks were stealing gas big time..
Yea Tom..at $1.00..remember people said thats it,they were going to stop driving...LOL
Remember before SElf serve...the "mini serve attempt...we pumped the gas but nothing else...little cheaper...
Those were the days...


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Mar 23, 2008, 2:51 AM

Post #15 of 16 (3258 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

Let's start a new thread - I'll call it "Gas Station Memories" in the "open posting" spot. Let's see if we can dig up some neat old pics - the cars, gas wars, gasoline brand name changes, marketing - fun stuff.....

T



Guest
Anonymous Poster

Mar 24, 2008, 1:09 AM

Post #16 of 16 (3253 views)
Re: 2001 Lesabre Limited piching sideways on bumps Sign In

WOW Tom...I can't believe the size of those cars...I thought crown vics were big. I wish I lived in a different climate, I'd just stick to my damn motorcycles (no offense to you fine car folks) and just have a beater pick up truck to haul crap around in.

And maybe I'd buy a kayak/corolla too : )






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