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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
After months of searching no luck on finding a reasonably priced set of struts that will firm up my 97 lesabre. The only set i found was 1600$ doesn't seem right for 800$ zzp has fully ajustable shocks for the w-body. Any body ever tried to run the zzp wbody stuff like lowering springs,suspension,sway bars on a H-body? I did find a post about a guy who swapped over the shocks, sway bars,etc from a Pontiac Bonneville SSEI into his lesabre said it stiffened it up quite a bit any thoughts are the suspensions in them really that different? Iv had them.both apart to the bone(my 97 leabre and 97 SSEI) they are 100% the same through and through. are the spring rates and sway bars different? Looked identical to me.
 

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Hey, glad to see a fellow LeSabre guy. LeSabre don't have rear sway bar unless they have the f41 suspension package.
I have a 2000 LeSabre so I don't know if it will work with a 97 not sure but if you check out my build page on the newbie zone I have a full link of suspension components.
I know one thing that everyone seems to agree on is polyurethane sway bar bushings and you can get energy suspension polyurethane bushings to fit the size of your sway bar and potentially even the end links with little modification.
sabers came with an fe1 suspension package stock. Some came with the upgraded f41 suspension package which replace some components with fe2 and fe3 components.
You can find out yours by the RPO codes my RPO codes were located on the plastic piece that went over the spare tire in the trunk.
Look for fe1 for f41 on the RPO code list
 

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Discussion Starter · #4 ·
Do you have a link with the coil over sleeves you bought? Do you think I could use them in a 97 LeSabre? Also I was under there doing fuel pump stuff and it has a rear sway bar thin tiny little thing but it's there. Got tiered of looking for parts that don't exist. I ended up buying all new SSEI front end control arms, bushings,shocks,sway bar links,sway bar,ball joints etc and the rear air shock to spring and shock conversion kit for the lesabre. Main up grade was the magnasteer rack and pinion the SSIE has it from factory. I remember driving it home when I bought it thinking it felt way tighter and responsive than any LeSabre iv ever owned or any H-body for that matter that iv drivin(that awful floating feeling on the high way and excessive play in the wheel). All the holes line up on the sub frame for mounting up there are the same length nearly identical. The only difference the magnasteer rack has a electric plug coming off of it luckily I have the SSIE harness so it plugged right in (the non mangasteer H-bodys they don't have a plug on the rack) and the part on the rack that mounts to your steering column is a little different but is easily made to fit. Going with some 18in American racing rims and planning on running a 245/45/18 tire (have that on my GS) might be able to go a little wider in the lesabre at least I hope I can the regal breaks em loose on 1 and 2nd gear making 330whp the lesabre is guna run a few extra horses 🤏 😂.
 

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Been driving Deltas and lesabres since 1988.Recently bought a LSS Olds with the F41(1995 model) What an entirely different car.I am buying a 1996 Bonneville from a distant family member this week.I hope it is equipped with the F41 also.It has a whopping 49K on the clock.If it isnt equipped with the f41,it will be shortly.
 

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Do you have a link with the coil over sleeves you bought? Do you think I could use them in a 97 LeSabre? Also I was under there doing fuel pump stuff and it has a rear sway bar thin tiny little thing but it's there. Got tiered of looking for parts that don't exist. I ended up buying all new SSEI front end control arms, bushings,shocks,sway bar links,sway bar,ball joints etc and the rear air shock to spring and shock conversion kit for the lesabre. Main up grade was the magnasteer rack and pinion the SSIE has it from factory. I remember driving it home when I bought it thinking it felt way tighter and responsive than any LeSabre iv ever owned or any H-body for that matter that iv drivin(that awful floating feeling on the high way and excessive play in the wheel). All the holes line up on the sub frame for mounting up there are the same length nearly identical. The only difference the magnasteer rack has a electric plug coming off of it luckily I have the SSIE harness so it plugged right in (the non mangasteer H-bodys they don't have a plug on the rack) and the part on the rack that mounts to your steering column is a little different but is easily made to fit. Going with some 18in American racing rims and planning on running a 245/45/18 tire (have that on my GS) might be able to go a little wider in the lesabre at least I hope I can the regal breaks em loose on 1 and 2nd gear making 330whp the lesabre is guna run a few extra horses 🤏 😂.
lol been away for awhile sorry i missed your post. i am currently unrecommending the coil over springs although i suppose you could fabricate something. they only lasted me a few hundred miles before a pothole destroyed my setup as well as my new continental tires 😭😭 other than that you can stick some FAT tires on these cars with stock suspension. 10" wide rims fit no problem despite what you might read online. hope the build is going well
 

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Discussion Starter · #7 ·
Thanks for the reply. I ended up buying lowering springs for the Wbody off Zzp. They fit my 97 lesabre no problem. The way the shocks/knuckle are set up .you can't fit 18's on a 97 lesabre unless you run a super skinny side wall .found some 245/45/17 barley fit, any bigger and they rub. Got the car tuned on 17psi of boost and E85. Was doing pulls/data logging. I punched it from a 30mph roll and the motor came flying back into the rack and pinion. It broke a line on the rack .fixed the line but now i need to make a custom motor mount to keep the motor from doing that again. Every bolt,mount, sensor etc is brand new on the car. Guess Buick engineers didn't expect triple the horse power running through the mounts.
 

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Thanks for the reply. I ended up buying lowering springs for the Wbody off Zzp. They fit my 97 lesabre no problem. The way the shocks/knuckle are set up .you can't fit 18's on a 97 lesabre unless you run a super skinny side wall .found some 245/45/17 barley fit, any bigger and they rub. Got the car tuned on 17psi of boost and E85. Was doing pulls/data logging. I punched it from a 30mph roll and the motor came flying back into the rack and pinion. It broke a line on the rack .fixed the line but now i need to make a custom motor mount to keep the motor from doing that again. Every bolt,mount, sensor etc is brand new on the car. Guess Buick engineers didn't expect triple the horse power running through the mounts.
That's a beautiful thing there.
 
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