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Question about GTP suspension stock.

elhomero

elhomero

New member
On my 2001 GTP when I drive over small crack on the road/hole no matter the size, I seriously feel the bumps and it scares the living crap out of me. The only other car that's worse when it comes to the bumps is my friend's 02 RSX.

The previous car I've driven is a 1999 Chrysler Concorde and I barely feel a thing when it comes to bumps on the road.

Are GTP's not that smooth of a ride? My dad thinks the suspension is fine and I'm too used to the Concorde's smoothness.
 


milage. go under the car and see whats up. check for play in the wheel. im guessing blown struts/strut mount if higher milage, or the lca's taking a dump.
 
Actually, the Grand Prixs have a pretty nice ride, since their so fat(heavy)

Im willing to bet the cars got 100k+ miles and has entirely stock suspension components.

Replace the struts and strut mounts, and check all the bushings to see if any are torn or rotted, then enjoy the ride.
 
How many miles on your Prix? How are the roads in your area?

These two things can factor into the suspension greatly. Another thing is to pull the wheels and look at the struts. If they have oily residue on them, they leaked and are shot. That's one 100% way to know if they are shot. They can also get bad w/o leaking. But if it's as bad as you say.. it kinda sounds like they will probably have leaked.
 
Take it to a shop and have them look at it if ur not 100%. Their feedback will point u in the right direction...........most of the time. Lol
 
Definitely sounds like worn strut mounts. I had a car that hit rough spots in the road HARD. I thought I could get by with replacing the struts. It rode almost exactly the same. I then replaced the strut mounts and it rode like a normal car.

Suspension components are wear items and need replaced every once in a while.
 


QUICKSILVER462 said:
Dont forget that the tire design and construction plays a large part in the NVH department.
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This is true, but stiff sidewalls wont make a car ride harsh if the suspension components are fresh and now blown.

I have had stiff sidewall tires with coilovers (on my Stealth) that didn't ride near as harsh as a car with blown strut mounts.
 
My car has about 86K miles in it, and according to the carfax I'd be the 5th owner so I'm gonna have it checked out. I'm in NJ so roads can be either really smooth or can be riddled with potholes. Also what does LCA stand for?
 
Thanks for responding so quick.

My dad dragged me outside and said nothing is wrong with the struts: "If there was something wrong we'd be seeing the leakage already."

For the bushings and the LCA apparently I have to go under the car to check it out. He still thinks nothing is wrong with it. But when he hits a bump even he makes a comment on how harsh it is. I still need to pay back my dad on the ignition switch he replaced, I guess I have to hold off on getting the suspension examined.
 


Easy way to tell the struts, push down on the fender and see how it 'springs back' and how mushy it feels.

well, try and make it a habit to not hit bumps, last thing you need to do is destroy the car due to improper care. Try and avoid the bumps until you get it straightened out, dont need more damage than there already is.


Also, dont have a shop do suspension work, its so ridiculously easy, its not worth the labor charges.
 
machinegunsquid said:
Easy way to tell the struts, push down on the fender and see how it 'springs back' and how mushy it feels.

well, try and make it a habit to not hit bumps, last thing you need to do is destroy the car due to improper care. Try and avoid the bumps until you get it straightened out, dont need more damage than there already is.


Also, dont have a shop do suspension work, its so ridiculously easy, its not worth the labor charges.
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Some people don't have the proper tools and/or experience to do suspension work. This could result in serious injury. If one is not confident in themselves, or their ability then I highly recommend letting a shop do the work. All we need is to have someone get injured because that rented set of spring compressors were not on the spring correctly.
 
stealthee said:
Some people don't have the proper tools and/or experience to do suspension work. This could result in serious injury. If one is not confident in themselves, or their ability then I highly recommend letting a shop do the work. All we need is to have someone get injured because that rented set of spring compressors were not on the spring correctly.
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I disagree. Tools are cheaper than the cost of the work.
Spring compressors are not hard at all to use.
If compressing the spring is the thing you're most worried about, you can take the old assembly off, bring that and new parts to pepboys or similar and have them rebuild it for $20.
 
codyAK said:
I disagree. Tools are cheaper than the cost of the work.
Spring compressors are not hard at all to use.
If compressing the spring is the thing you're most worried about, you can take the old assembly off, bring that and new parts to pepboys or similar and have them rebuild it for $20.
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You don't understand.

Not everybody has mechanical abilities. Having a shop do the work is less expensive than a hospital bill if you don't use the tools properly. I have seen where people have had broken ribs and cracked sternums from the spring compressor slipping off and the spring rocketing into their chest.
 


stealthee said:
You don't understand.

Not everybody has mechanical abilities. Having a shop do the work is less expensive than a hospital bill if you don't use the tools properly. I have seen where people have had broken ribs and cracked sternums from the spring compressor slipping off and the spring rocketing into their chest.
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Thats why I stated this:
If compressing the spring is the thing you're most worried about, you can take the old assembly off, bring that and new parts to pepboys or similar and have them rebuild it for $20.

Its 5 total bolts to remove a strut.
 
codyAK said:
Thats why I stated this:
If compressing the spring is the thing you're most worried about, you can take the old assembly off, bring that and new parts to pepboys or similar and have them rebuild it for $20.

Its 5 total bolts to remove a strut.
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And thats why I stated not everyone has the ability to work on a car. It may be easy to you and I, but seem like deciphering a Chinese novel to someone else. I've seen people fvck up a brake pad change before. I was astounded at the ability to mess up something so simple.

Also not everyone has a second car to take the strut assemblies somewhere to be disassembled. If one does not know what they are doing they could end up costing themselves even more money in the end.
 
What do you mean "you feel it"? Do you feel it in the steering wheel(jerk one way or the other)? Or is it that the cars suspension seems wrong? is it accompanied by any bangs or clunks? A GTP will have a stiffer ride then a concord, it after all is a performance car, and the concord is made for old people to drive to church. =) If you are worried about the struts bounce each corner than stand back. If the car continues to bonce more than or two times your struts are worn. If you hear them clunk when you bounce then the upper mounts could be bad.

Just sayin....
 
99PontiacGTP said:
What do you mean "you feel it"? Do you feel it in the steering wheel(jerk one way or the other)? Or is it that the cars suspension seems wrong? is it accompanied by any bangs or clunks? A GTP will have a stiffer ride then a concord, it after all is a performance car, and the concord is made for old people to drive to church. =) If you are worried about the struts bounce each corner than stand back. If the car continues to bonce more than or two times your struts are worn. If you hear them clunk when you bounce then the upper mounts could be bad.

Just sayin....
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The GTP is a "performance car" yes. It does not have a performance suspension though.
 
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