Suspension Tech: How good are you guys?? ;-)

[ls2poweredgoat]

Created a thread a few weeks ago about how something was wrong with my suspension, well it ended up being 3 BAD tires, belts had shifted in them...So...I bought new tires, had them mounted and balanced...but now I have a NEW problem...gahhhh

Between 55-65 mph I have a nasty shake/shudder in the dash/steering wheel, it feels as if a wheel is bent...

So I took the car back to the shop, had them check the wheels to see if they were bent or if anything was wrong with the tires....nope.

So me and a buddy looked over the ENTIRE suspension of the car, the vibration comes from the front right wheel, or so it feels like it. We checked ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearing, etc. All are FINE.

Took the car back to the shop and had a mechanic look it over, he said there wasn't anything obvious.

Before most of you say it, it's not a warped rotor.

So my step-dad suggested a bad strut possibly, and the front right of the vehicle does squeek like hell when you rock the car up and down by standing on the radiator support and rocking it with your weight...very loud squeeking, only does it on the passenger side (again, front right), not the driver's side...hmmm

Any clues guys? I'm leaning towards bad strut(s), but just wanted to see what others thought. I plan on taking the car to a front end specialist this week to see what they think, before I drop any $$ in parts.

Thanks guys.

 

[finch13]

I can't think of why a bad strut would cause a shudder. A horrible, bouncy ride maybe. Worn bushings could do it

 

[HondaLuver83]

I can't think of why a bad strut would cause a shudder. A horrible, bouncy ride maybe. Worn bushings could do it

Agreed. Y dont u make sure those people check the balance in ur rims, maybe a weight has fell off. It could be a lot of things, if it was my car I would not let it leave that shop until they found something. I had a bad alignment done once and it cause the same symptoms.

 

[RickyG]

my car does the same thing. only i have 3 bent wheels :/

 

[ls2poweredgoat]

Had the tire shop check to make sure all the tires/wheels were balanced correctly, and checked to see if any rims were bent...Nothing wrong....

Hmmmmmm

 

[DrocCa89]

if everything else is good then yeah your shocks are probably worn or damaged. im pretty sure their your shocks i just took a steering and suspension class last month so im still fresh haha

 

[nyknick1015]

if u want to check if its a bad strut, go to each corner of the vehicle and push up and down on it... if it is easy to push then its a bad strut... if its stiff then ur fine, there might be a problem somewhere else... also have u changed any suspension items lately, it could be a loose bolt uptop on the suspension mount, or a loose bolt down low...

 

[Sketch o5]

^^ haha, he did do that.

anyway, a blown shock shouldnt do that. what youre describing that happens, really sounds like an unbalanced wheel.

 

[DrocCa89]

what if your wheels AREN'T balanced and the shop is saying they are just so they can jack your money.

 

[DrocCa89]

how did you check your ball joints and tie rods? Tie rods should be checked when the car is jacked up and you grab the tire at 3 and 9 and rock it...you would check your ball joints by jacking up the car and prying on the tire check to see if both of you ball joints arent loose they should move as a pair. After you check the tie rods and ball joints check you rack and pinion. have the car jacked up and have someone steer the wheels slowly, feel the inner tie rods they might be lose. CV joints can also cause vibration at high speeds