Struts???

[NP SHO]

I just bought my SHO a couple of weeks ago, and I'm noticing that whenever I go over a bump (speedbump, *** hole, etc.) I hear a clunk/thud-type noise. I was originally thinking that I was just going to have to replace the struts, but after reading some posts on here I see some people talking about the strut mounts. Is there an easy way to isolate exactly what the problem is? Money is a little tight (isn't it for all of us? lol) and I don't want to sink money into replacing struts right now if I don't have to.

 

[deercrusher]

Get under the car and check all of the bushings for cracks. Look at your tires for more wear on the inner or the outer edges. Jack the car up and grab each wheel by the SIDES and pull and push back and forth to check for play (thats wheel bearings). That'll get those items out of the way.

As far as the struts themselves go. Stand in front of the hood and push down really ******* the front of the car and watch how many times the car bounces up and down - it should only come up once and not bounce up and down on its own. If it does bounce again - your struts are shot and the car is riding on the springs. Same with the back of the car.

As for the strut mounts - I can't remember on the sho if you can see the condition from the top or not (under the hood) with the black strut covers removed. If you can -- look for cracking around the rubber. If you can't see them from the top - look up under the car on each side and look for the strut mount there - check for cracking.

 

[zach44102]

more then likely its the strut mounts. mine are shot too and when i go down a gravel road sounds like something heavy bouncing in the trunk.

 

[rubydist]

You can check the front ones from under the hood w/ the strut covers removed - if they are bad, you will likely see some cracks around the rubber parts. Jack the car up and see how much the top of the strut moves down as the weight comes off the strut mount - more than a little means its bad.

You can do the same check on the back, its just that you will need to be laying in the trunk while someone jacks up the car, and you may need a mirror to really see in there.

 

[NP SHO]

I guess I know what I'll be doing this morning when I finally get out of work. lol. :thankyou: