changing suspension?

[subzero]

ok need to change my rear struts cause the pasenger one makes noise andthe other one hasnt gone that far yet. but the question is do i need an alignment in the rear if i change them?

[Vinny]

Yes you should get an alignment afterword. The noise you hear may be the upper strut mount and not the strut itself.

[subzero]

Yes you should get an alignment afterword. The noise you hear may be the upper strut mount and not the strut itself.

how do i tell if its bad? or fix it?

[metal_gear_jon]

You can test the struts by pushing down on each corner. If the car rebounds once and stops, the struts are fine. When it bounces a little after the initial rebound, the strut is bad at that corner.

You can also look at them and see if they are leaking. You may have to move the boot to see around where the shaft goes into the body of the strut is see if it's leaking. Otherwise you will see the oil running down the side of the body.

The upper mounts can be checked by removing those little covers (if any) in the trunk, after moving the carpet, then pushing down on the car. If you see the top of the strut ( the middle where the nut is) move more than an 1/4 inch or so, the mounts are torn.


As for an alignment, I did mine on the old sport and only screwed up the camber. Ended up loosening the two bolts that attach the strut to the knuckle, then pulled on the tire to adjust with the weight of the car on the wheels. The struts were slotted, which permitted adjustment. Eyeballed FTW!

[subzero]

so i just pull the wheel while the strut isnt bolted to it and make it straight and should be fine?

[metal_gear_jon]

Sort of, with the car in the air, install the strut like normal, but have the two bolts and nuts that attach the strut to the knuckle just barely snug. Lower the car down, then pull on the wheel to get it near vertical ( use a level to help), then tighten the nuts down.

Done this "ghetto" method several times and it worked.

Best done with one person pulling on the wheel, while the other works the wrenches.

[sparkyftw]

I would still suggest an actual alignment.

Costs 70 bucks at tires plus, 90 for lifetime (go back anytime)

Cheaper than having to replace a tire prematurely because they wore wrong.

[DOHCRT]

If the new struts are slotted, its best to have it aligned. If you cant afford the alignment, just position the slot where it would be if there was no slot (usually in the middle). As long as you get the camber close to where it was, toe will not be affected much. Most cheap alignments don't include a camber adjustment anyway.

If the new struts are not slotted, there is no need to align the suspension.

[subzero]

If the new struts are slotted, its best to have it aligned. If you cant afford the alignment, just position the slot where it would be if there was no slot (usually in the middle). As long as you get the camber close to where it was, toe will not be affected much. Most cheap alignments don't include a camber adjustment anyway.

If the new struts are not slotted, there is no need to align the suspension.

ok so im going to sound noobish here but what do you guys mean slotted or unslotted? i was just going to pull a rear suspension off a car in the junkyard. so basically how do i tell if its slotted or not?

[sparkyftw]

unslotted will just have a bolt hole

Slotted will have a slot... elongated hole, that will allow you to position the bolt

[subzero]

thanks guys got it done now the rear of my car doesnt bounce like a fat kid on a trampoline

this is what happened when i removed the bad strut making the noise

[robert 'bob' paulson]

wow, i've never seen that before, nice job

[metal_gear_jon]

Seen that before, the old 95 had one that fell apart like that.

Just depends on how many winters they've been thru.