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At long last I had the struts and shocks replaced on my vehicle. The problem is now the car feels like it is driving over short small bumps constantly. It’s not smooth at all. The ride is extremely stiff. I had monroe sensa trac’s installed. It really doesn’t feel right. Could I have received a defective strut or shock? Is it possible they were installed incorrectly?
Onto the second issue. After having this work done I have noticed that the steering is out of whack. Whether or not this is related, I have no idea. The feeling is hard to describe but it’s almost as if the drivers front tire is not turning at the same rate as the passengers or there is tremendous weight being applied to that side. It is very noticeable at all speeds and makes cornering to the right very difficult. Supposedly an alignment was done and from what I can tell the car does track straight.
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Sounds like you struts are to stiff. Sometimes with aftermarket struts they need to be compressed be for installation. However after driving some miles they will become better. Second sounds like you need an alignment. Your tires are “feathering”.
If the ride is stiff.That would be your struts.
For the turning. where the strut upper bearings
replaced? The steering could also be hard to turn
if the front end alignment is out of spec.Did you
get a print out from the wheel alignment.The struts where just replaced. Maybe I got a defective unit.
The strut bearings were not changed as far as I know.
An alignment was done but I did not receive a print out.
the upper strut bearing’s on both sides need to be replaced ! what’s causing the stiff steering is the bearing is froze/worn and it’s causing the wheels to camber in and out whenever you steer. the upper strut bearing does a couple of job’s one important job is steering, second absorption from shimmy and most important of all is caster. the inclination of the axial point from the center of the tire to forward and rear ward pivot of the strut under load. (I.E) reverse , drive). the bumps you feel are knot’s in the belt’s of the tire’s from the old strut’s. replace the front tire’s and the front wheel bearing’s and the lower ball joint’s and tie rod’s all four of them. as the alignment can’t be done correctly with worn wheel bearing and ball joint’s and loose tie rod’s. no print out mean’s no alignment was ever done !
This is good advice. I am beginning to believe that it is in fact the upper strut bearing. The tie rod ends have been looked at and no issues were found. I just had an alignment done yesterday and it has solved a few issues but the hard steering is still there.
When driving it today it feels almost as if the suspension on the drivers side doesn’t have enough free movement up and down and something is seized. I was thinking about what could be wrong today and lower control arm bushings came to mind. I will follow your suggestions to replace the parts you mentioned. The car is over 20 years old so it possible that all sorts of bushing need replacing.
Thanks for your advice. I really appreciate it.
“BOTCHED” was the word I was trying to find last-night ! most likely some shop with their so called strut special ! what alot of shops over look is the fact that the front end is serviced as a whole meaning struts , wheelbearing , ball-joints, tie-rod, springs,stabilizer bushing’s. main point being is that when the strut goes out the force on not only the tire but also, the wheel bearing and ball joints is that of a impact gun on a tight bolt ! extreme vibration = faster wear on suspension components! and thus, foams the the brake fluid in the front caliper and introducing air inside the brake system thus, causing pitting inside of the brake caliper. the other side of this coin is that what ever shop did the work had no pride in their work at all ! if they did the owner of said car would of been inform by the shop that the struts were only part of the problem and not the sole problem ! now the owner has to pull out even more money to have the job done right ! provided that the next shop has pride in their work and are public safety orientated like I am !
where the struts primed before going in ? what it also could be is air is trying to compress fluid ! and fluid doesn’t compress ! thus, feels like something is seized !
just let me know if you need any more help on this car as I am quite versed in working on these corsica’s ! by the way I would highly recommend replacing the entire control arm Advance auto has the after market one’s by Doorman they have the new ball joint all ready riveted on and new control arm bushing’s as well. their $115.99 part # 520-153 and 520-154. as this would solve alot of your suspension problems ! on top of the strut bearing. also, the way to test the wheel bearing is lift car till the wheel just comes off the ground bout 1 – inch off the ground then see if their is “play” in the wheel if their is “any” “play” replace the wheel bearing caused it should have none !
you should not be able to “move” the tire side to side and up and down ! since it a wheel hub Assembly ! F.Y.I ! fun fact the inner race is plastic! good luck in getting you front end correctly fixed !Maybe there’s nothing wrong with the ride and what you’re noticing is increased stiffness because you were acclimated to a mushy, poor ride on the old shocks and struts. That’s not uncommon.
As to the steering maybe there’s a problem with the strut mounts or strut bearings if those were not replaced when the struts were done.
[quote=”Bluesnut” post=62871]Maybe there’s nothing wrong with the ride and what you’re noticing is increased stiffness because you were acclimated to a mushy, poor ride on the old shocks and struts. That’s not uncommon.[/quote]
I have had three people tell me this and I am 100% positive that is not the case. Even on smooth road the car is bumping up and down.
I think the next course of action is to have the ball joints, lower control arms and strut bearings replaced on both sides and see what happens after that.
When you took your car for alignment did they write a list of broken suspension components. Or quote you a price? I’m not an alignment guy, but I know they will not do an alignment if you car has broken ball joints, tie rod ends, ect. In some cases it is not even possible to get the alignment correct with broken parts. Don’t take you car back to that place if that’s the case.
[quote=”exceptionalchris” post=63016]When you took your car for alignment did they write a list of broken suspension components. Or quote you a price? I’m not an alignment guy, but I know they will not do an alignment if you car has broken ball joints, tie rod ends, ect. In some cases it is not even possible to get the alignment correct with broken parts. Don’t take you car back to that place if that’s the case.[/quote]
The car has been to two different shops. The first one told me that everything looked okay. The second one told me an alignment was needed. Apparently they went over the car and only found the alignment being out. After having the car properly aligned, the problem is still there. They gave me a print out. Yesterday it was pulling to the right hard only three days after having the alignment done. I was not told about any worn out or broken components. I even went for a road test with the mechanic and pointed out the problems that I am having. I will not bring my car back there of course. It seems that they really didn’t do a proper diagnostic.
Almost a year later since I posted this topic. The car has been to 3 different places and none on them can figure out whats going on. To date I have had the tires replaced, all new KYB shocks and struts and an alignment done. It drives way better than it used to but it still feel like the car is leaning on the driver’s side. I am told that the springs are fine but I’m skeptical. The steering issue remains as well but maybe that’s related to the leaning issue I just mentioned.
The front coil springs have been replaced this week. The ride is a bit tighter however the leaning issue is still there and is noticeable when going over uneven road or turning corners. If the road is uneven, I have the steer the opposite way of the lean in the road. Also over bumps, the car tends to teeter from side to side and it is like there is no absorption of bumps from the shocks and the car does not want to try and level itself out.
I am really at at loss here. To date both front shocks and springs have been replaced as well as both tires. Not sure what else it could be that is causing this. Perhaps control arms/ball joint?
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