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2001 GP Handling worse over time. What is wrong?

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dbarnett30

New member
Hello all,

Sorry in advance for my noobness. I've had my 2001 grand prix for about 5 years. The handling on the vehicle has gotten worse overtime, I've been noticing when I turn corners the car feels like I'm driving a boat and the car does not grip the road like it used to. What can I do to fix this issue or at least improve it? Thanks in advance.
 


if the front wheels are screeching around turns, plows like a boat, good chance the sway bar up front has snapped. or the end links failed.

take the front wheels off and have a look.

pic of end link and sway bar end link. the end cracks or breaks off. or the bolt in the end link snaps. what happened to mine, this is a dorman solid replacement bar in the pic.

endlinksfailing_zpsca98c718.jpg
 
dbarnett30 said:
Hello all,

Sorry in advance for my noobness. I've had my 2001 grand prix for about 5 years. The handling on the vehicle has gotten worse overtime, I've been noticing when I turn corners the car feels like I'm driving a boat and the car does not grip the road like it used to. What can I do to fix this issue or at least improve it? Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I'll volunteer some more possibilities:

The struts/springs degrade over time. Even installing new stock replacements can be like night and day if the old struts are worn out.

Tires can also make a night and day difference. After a couple years tires lose a lot of their stickiness, even if they still have decent tread. The best suspension in the world wouldn't matter a whit if the tires were crap.

You put some weight on? Could be slowing the car down too :D
 
Very little info to go on... Sure a 2001 but how many miles? Daily driver? How many miles over the 5 years you got it? What type of driving, ie., city, highway?

But anyways, you are aware that things do wear out right? Not being an ass, but struts wearing can cause simple ride degradation over time that barely noticed. Except of course in its handling. Struts, yeah, control arm bushings, sway bars ends tend to crack on these things, sway bar bushings... Etc.

for a little investment, Quick Struts (KYB), control arms, heavier sways (front & REAR) and poly bushings (energy suspension) and maybe even strut tower braces, you'll notice a crazy difference in ride. Couple it with a decent set (aggressive) of tires to grab the road and you'll even enjoy the ride too.

do some searching, there's a ton of info., on these cars and the understeering they have and how to upgrade your suspension to counter the effects somewhat to get the ride at least acceptable, lol.
 
Thanks everyone, I appreciate your feedback. Yes, I am aware things wear out overtime, which is why I posted here for help. I am not a mechanic or very knowledgeable with cars. 150,000 miles, daily driver, a 30 min commute 2x day. Tires are newish, replaced all 4 about 6 months ago. It isn't really that bad but I have recently moved and my path to work is significantly more curvy and I notice it a lot more. Would you recommend taking it to a tire/alignment shop and have them take a look at it? What kind of costs am I looking at here? Thanks again!
 


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