Hi there, I’m Saul Reisman here at Saul’s AutoTEK, and today we’re going to talk a little bit about suspension problems with your motor vehicle, and why they’re important.
Now, one of the most common suspension issues in a motor vehicle is the strut that physically holds the vehicle up and down will eventually wear out. Most modern vehicles use a hydraulic filled strut, will eventually have a seal that fails and allow that hydraulic fuel to come out of the shock absorber or the strut body itself. When that happens, the vehicle might feel like it’s bouncing or floating down the road. A lot of owners don’t see this as a major concern because the vehicle still runs and drives, why should it make a big difference?
However, the reality is those struts keep the vehicle in line, keep it tracking straight, and keep other components in the suspension from wearing out, whether it be the control arms, the sway bar links, the ball joints, or the bushings in the front end. All of those are affected by that strut not doing its proper job dampening. In the case of this Chevrolet that’s behind me, this car’s a textbook example of a vehicle that’s being driven well beyond the point of failure of the factory struts. Now, the owners know that it will still run, drive and perform. However, they’ve opted out of doing the repair, even though it’s been recommended before. This time around, the struts are so bad that we can physically bounce this car in the air, and it’s not safe to drive as a result.
When the vehicle’s bouncing and the suspension extends down, the tires are losing how much weight is on them that’s actually contacting the surface. As a result, the vehicle doesn’t make safe traction and means that if you’re braking and hit a bump while braking, the tires might physically skip off the road enough that it can’t brake as effectively as it would otherwise. We wanted to show you how poor these are because on most vehicles, we can’t do a good demonstration. However, on this vehicle, there’s no fluid left in the struts whatsoever, so the vehicle’s essentially just riding on the coil spring itself that’s holding it. I, myself, weigh a whopping 150 pounds. This car weighs almost 4000. The struts and shocks that hold it up should be able to take that 4000-pound weight all day. However, in the case of how they are right now, let’s take a look.
The vehicle itself can move in a complete range of motion, top to bottom, with very little effort because these struts have been on here so long that there’s literally no fluid left. Denver’s roads aren’t helping the cause for this vehicle. We’ve got potholes, cracks, bumps, expansion joints all over, and that takes a toll on the front end of your vehicle. Driving it to this condition means that other suspension components are going to get damaged. If you’ve got concerns about your vehicle, and you want to get your suspension back in check before it gets to this standpoint, come and see us here at Saul’s AutoTEK. If you want it to bounce like a low rider going down the street, don’t change a thing and we’ll love to see it on the road because it’ll make great videos like this.
However, we want to keep you safe, so help let us take care of you and keep your vehicle on the road. (303) 919-7769. We’ll keep you riding smooth.
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