A suspension system, to put it simply, is a bulk of mechanism designed to connect your car’s body to the wheels. It compromises shock absorbers, springs, struts, tires, and roll bars that allow vehicle motion to happen.
Perhaps, the most important use of a suspension system is that it regulates the motion of your car, thus, making your drive seamless, comfortable, and manageable. Its controlled movement also protects the car from low impact damages.
Signs Your Car Needs Suspension System Repair
But no matter how you carefully drive your car, your suspensions are bound to wear out throughout time. So, how do you know when to repair your suspension system? Here are things to watch out for.
1. A bouncy ride. When the system starts to wear out, people can feel every bump on the road that causes the car to bounce. Rides are often rough because of this uncomfortable movement on the car’s drive.
2. Unnecessary nosedives. When you hit the brakes, does the car seem to lurch forward, bounce, and fall downward nose-first? A worn suspension system can affect the ability of the car to stop. In some cases, you can actually bump the road (especially with hills and humps) and damage the front of your car.
3. Worn tire treads. If your tire treads start wearing down with visible bald spots, then it’s a sign that your suspensions aren’t weighing the car evenly. The uneven tire treads can place pressure on your tires, which in turn, will exert more power from the engine – thus, using more fuel than needed.
4. Bad drift or pull responsiveness of vehicle when turning. A “drift” or “pull” feeling when you’re turning means that the shocks are damaged. They poorly keep the vehicle body unstable during the force of a turn. This will increase the risk of a rollover which can result in accidents.
5. Damaged struts. If your shocks or struts look greasy, that means they’re leaking fluids and won’t be working properly.
6. Dipped corner. If one corner of your vehicle looks lower than the rest of its body, but you’ve ruled out tire pressure, then you might have suspension damage. If your car looks lop-sided, that’s one sign you must look at.
How to inspect your suspension system
Most people feel suspension issues when they drive, but often it can be hard to tell real problems without meticulously inspecting the vehicle and its components yourself. Here’s what you need to do when looking out for worn suspension lines.
1. Take a drive to know if your ride feels rough.
Being on the road will help you pay attention to how the mechanism of your vehicle works. If you feel more bumps and shakes than usual, then your suspension system no longer absorbs the shocks and knocks on the road.
2. Do a bounce test.
If you suspect your suspension going bad, try having a bounce test. Press down the hood, nose, or front of your car and see whether it bounces back a couple of times. If the car bounces more than three times, it means the suspension system is starting to wear out.
3. Check if the front of the vehicle is at level.
A well-maintained vehicle sits levelly with the rest of its body. Those cars with suspension issues have a slightly lower rear.
4. Inspect for tire treads. Your tires should be even throughout its tread. Suspension issues can also be a sign of a negative camber. Regular turning of your vehicle can help you determine the angle in relation to the wheel and vehicle body.
5. Take a drive and hit the brakes to see vehicle nose drives.
Braking abruptly will let you see if the nose drips low as you stop. If you do, your struts or shocks might have been damaged and your suspensions will struggle to keep your car under tabs.
6. Pull a turn and see if the car squeaks or drifts.
Feeling as though your car is unstable and noisy when you turn? Then you have suspension issues. These wearing components can affect the vehicle’s steering response, balance, and angle of the tires to make a decent turn. The sound can be a squeak, knock, or a creaking sound.
7. Open the hood to see if everything is in place.
Does your strut or shock extend through the fender with secured bolts? Look at your fasteners and see they’re not loose or covered in rust.
Tips to make inspection easier
Knowing that you have suspension issues can be pretty daunting. What’s more, a visit to your mechanic can be equally unnerving as well. Before you can actually visit your local auto care, try these tips to inspect your car easily for suspension damage.
• Jack up your vehicle. What better way to see every little detail than to go underneath your car and inspect the condition of your suspension system? Put a scissor jack under your car and crank it high enough for you to work.
• Clean each joint. If there are mud and debris on your suspension parts, it can be hard to see what’s damaged and what’s not. Wipe the components so you can able to insect properly.
• Inspect your wheels one at a time. To better your suspension inspection, check your tires one at a time so you can see what damage has been taken. Expect to remove the tire and wheels so you can see the damages carefully.
• Ride if you can. How else you get to know the damages in your car than to have it on the road? You get to experience and feel how your car works this way.
Sooner or later, your suspension systems will wear – in some cases; it can even break the whole car. Keeping on tabs on your components can help prevent bad tires, steering, angles, and carnose dips. You can have an auto maintenance scheduled every month to know the status of your vehicle.
