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Suspension advice - what is dangerous?

M

michael redmon

New member
Hello everyone. I have an 02 GP with 145K on it. It is my work car. I am relatively good with general mechanical stuff on cars but I am clueless on suspension items. My car was loose going down the highway last year so I got a 4-wheel alignment and changed the sway bar. It travels straight now but still makes some loud clunking noises when turning left and right. I took it to the local shop (prior to changing the sway bar/alignment) and I have attached their estimate. On a side note, the sway bar wasn't an OEM item and wasn’t a 100% fit. Any tips for trying to figure out if I have some safety items that need changed.... i.e. my car wheel is going to fall off if I don't fix it? I don't care about the ride that much. The noises really don’t bother me either. I am pretty handy and have a Chilton’s manual...I just need some guidance on what's important.

Thank you in advance!

Mike
 

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your sway bar is fine, they are just thieves.

if the clunking comes form the front, change your lca's. they cost 100 bucks on line shipped to your door. and are easy to change.

the rear bars listed can be a real pita to change cause the bolts tend to rust up solid in the mounts.
 
it's hard to find good help these days. a trustworthy mechanic is like finding gold at the end of the rainbow. changing the engine and transmission mounts would probably be a good idea in addition to the lower control arms. the engine mount is on the passenger side and transmission mount is on the driver side, and changing them isn't too hard, you should be able to do it. there is a good guide on doing it in the "how-to" section.
 


You may want to look underneath first at the ends of the sway bars. The fronts are very prone to cracking and endlinks do rust off/break. I'd look in there and ensure which parts you need. If you have questions, take pictures and we can ID the parts.
 
Changed them out today. Not too bad but I had to buy a 18mm wrench (socket didnt work) and a Torx 55. Other than that, it was a pretty smooth job. Seems better when I drive.

Thanks you guys!
 


I know I am late to the party but I just looked at that estimate, and DAMMMM! Glad you dove in yourself and saved some money.
 
Whats weird is that I can push down on my front end and it doesnt bounce all over the place. They appear to be ok. The car has 148K, I suppose I should do it anyways. I just drove the damn car around a parking lot trying to figure out the clunking noise and if there was any rhyme or reason and I am at a loss. Seems to appear more when turning right. I dont hear it over 15mph. Maybe I should just ignore it.
 


Well, I avoided the Intermediate Steering Shaft because I read it is a PIA to get out. I drove the car around just now with the intent of zeroing on the cause of the knock/creak/noise. It is coming from right side strut....I think. If in a constant left turn and I then turn wheel to the right it makes a clunk with the change of force on the right front tire. It also makes the clunk at the beginning of a right turn. It makes no noises while parked and I turn the wheel. The struts seem to pass the bounce test and it doesn't creak when pushed up and down. I can duplicate the clunk noise. Reminds of when your wheel bearing is going out and you can duplicate the growl as you put pressure on/off the bad bearing side. I can duplicate the clunk/creak noise now. It also will clunk/creak upon hard accelleration and also hard decel. I ordered 4 quick struts from Completestruts.com for $230 for all 4. Free shipping, no tax, $15 off coupon. Struts are probably crap but they have to be better than the original struts on the car that has 148K miles on them. The strut mount on the right looks alright but I am no expert.

Thoughts?

Thanks for listening and I will let you know if the noise goes away after I get and install the struts.
 
Could the clunking be from my CV Axle? Umm.....I changed the front struts and still have the clunk. I also checked cradle bolts, and rechecked sway bar bushings.
 
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