Front suspension confusion
 

Hello all,

I have read through every thread that I can find about suspension refresh, struts, drop links, control arms, alignment, etc etc and I just can't seem to figure out what is going on with my suspension.

Symptoms:

-Bad wheel wobble sporadically between 50-75, most common between 65-75 on imperfect roads. Lightens after.

-Over bumps, clicking sound from front and rear

-High speed not a lot of confidence in steering - partly because of wobble, but occasionally after a road imperfection it doesn't feel stable

Solutions tried:

-Road force balance. Helped a bit seemingly.

-Alignment. Helped a bit seemingly.

-Bounce test for shocks - also had a mechanic look at them, but wasn't super in depth. Rears were replaced ~60k ago and feel like they have some life in them, not that easy to push down. Front have not been replaced and seems to go down more easily, but doesn't bounce much and stabilizes after 1 rebound. I can hear mild creaking from front and rear when doing this, but nothing crazy.

-Visual inspection - no leaks or cracks in any of the rubber that I can see, but haven't been able to get on a lift yet or under the car to take a close look. Mostly have looked through phone video.

At first I was certain it was control arms, then drop links. Then I thought it may be the struts. To be frank, I'm an OK wrench but not great at diagnosing issues.

Can someone give me some definitive direction here? Feeling like a mouse in a maze, just need to find the cheese. Eventually, I want to do a full suspension refresh, but I need to start with what needs to be done first...

Cheers.

Ps - 98 5 speed with 105k

It could be a lot of things. The vibration could be from your tires, how old are your tires? Wheels, have you hit any curbs lately?, it could be drive shaft vibration, etc. Creaking is worn out struts or mounts. If your tires are fairly new and wheels are straight, from what you are describing with your high speed wobbling your struts are most likely your problem. It looks like you need a suspension refresh but your looking for a simple solution, Good luck :cheers:

Thanks for the reply.

Tires are about 1 year old, 10k miles.

Wheels - not really, and the issues have stemmed from awhile to be honest.

I would guess mounts in the back but struts being fine, and needing both in front. I am confused that the tech that I had do the bounce test didn't say immediately that I need new ones. They don't seem to be leaking either.

Appreciate the response, I'll see if I can diagnose a bit further...

Thoughts on the clunking?

Clucking could be your CV joints or the struts, are your boots OK? It`s hard to guess, you should go to a qualified mechanic and get an expert opinion. You have to many things going on, I`m pretty sure you need new struts and mounts, your car is wobbling/bouncing at high speed and that is due to worn struts, anything else you would have to look at it to see if they are worn out or bent, like a bent control arm or a torn boot which the CV joint is probably damaged, etc. GL.

Chromecars, not an expert but I believe that worn front shocks could cause this vibration (assuming the wheels are properly balanced)
.

Clunking or Clicking? Your original post said clicking, which would most likely mean bad track arms. The "wish bones." Especially if you hear the click at low speeds going over small bumps. The ball-pivots on those things have plastic bushings in them. Unfortunately they are not servicable, so you have replace the entire arms. But on mine those haven't really effected driveability and handling, even over bumps. The noise is more of a nuissance than anything.

Clunks could be a lot of things, including your strut mounts, stabilizer bushings or links, coffin arms, etc.

I think this is what I'll end up doing if I don't get any actionable Intel on how to diagnose... But it just feels like struts would be the answer

Yes, I feel this especially as they tend to be noticable worse on imperfect roads.

I've never felt anything quite like this excerpt when my steering dampeners went out on my 69' super beetle kit car... But that was perhaps a bit worse, yet easier fix

[QUOTE=piper6909;642522]Clunking or Clicking? Your original post said clicking, which would most likely mean bad track arms. The "wish bones." Especially if you hear the click at low speeds going over small bumps. The ball-pivots on those things have plastic bushings in them. Unfortunately they are not servicable, so you have replace the entire arms. But on mine those haven't really effected driveability and handling, even over bumps. The noise is more of a nuissance than anything.

Clunks could be a lot of things, including your strut mounts, stabilizer bushings or links, coffin arms, etc.[/QUOTE

It's definitely at slower speeds over bumps, but I'd qualify it more as a clunk than a click.

Leaning towards getting it diagnosed once and for all

I chased that same problem changing everything suspension related over a long period of time. Finally found 2 bent wheels and that fixed the problem.

What is the wheel/tire size?


As for possible causes:
Rebounce is a very bad measure as many things come into play - 30% efficient, assuming 100% new one, shock absorber will bounce only once, but you will feel it on the road. You need a machince that will shake the car. If the shock rebounces more than once - it is completely worn... and car sways like crazy already.

except worn shocks...
rotors
axles/CV joints (if rear)

I would replace the shocks and inspect rest while doing it. Rotors - could be removed and checked for balance just like wheels are done. Maybe some brake shop could do it.

Also, seldomly, but possible, is tire separation, yet it should be visible while balancing.