Suspension feels loose - 135K acura TL

[spidey07]

2004 acura TL, 6 MT, 135K miles. Most all are highway miles which means it is subjected to high speed bumps, pot holes, etc all the time...most of the time.

It seems to "float" or "bounce" a little bit now on the highway. Any ideas? Tire pressure is good as are the tires as I monitor them once a week. There has been no suspension work other than brakes/tires.

So what I assume I'm due to replace some some shocks/struts/whatever.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'd start with struts/shocks. That will make a world of difference in a car with that many miles. Have it aligned and have them look over the bushings as well but I don't think they'd be all that worn yet. You could always go with poly bushings if you want though. That will certainly tighten things up.

 

[alpineranger]

Second that. Most people don't replace their struts/shocks and they are usually worn out before 100k miles. The degradation is gradual so a lot of people don't notice, and then they don't want to spend any money on an "old" car.

 

[The Stigenator]

i got 157K on my focus and dang i know my shocks and struts need replacing. But I cant figure out if i should or not?

Mine does that same bounce.. and handling has gone to the shitter! It would run me at least 500 to get the cars suspension up and running with ford SVT suspension in it. I am debating if i should or not. If i do then i got to keep the car for a few more years, if not i can dump and gat a new car, but she is running fine so far!

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: TheGoodGuy
i got 157K on my focus and dang i know my shocks and struts need replacing. But I cant figure out if i should or not?

Mine does that same bounce.. and handling has gone to the shitter! It would run me at least 500 to get the cars suspension up and running with ford SVT suspension in it. I am debating if i should or not. If i do then i got to keep the car for a few more years, if not i can dump and gat a new car, but she is running fine so far!

As I understand it, shocks/struts are a pretty essential bit of stopping safely in a straight line, in a heavy braking scenario.

 

[spidey07]

Thanks,

I think a lot of TL owners were replacing their shocks/struts with the acura a-spec kit. Might just go that route. I think it's around 1500 parts and labor, not too bad. I think the kit includes bushings as well.

 

[T2urtle]

i dont think its that at all...

its more about bushings, ball joints. tie rods. sway bar end links.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: T2urtle
i dont think its that at all...

its more about bushings, ball joints. tie rods. sway bar end links.

9 times out of 10 it's struts / shocks.

sway bar end links would not be so noticeable if at all.

At 100k though everything should be looked at to determine what is bad.

 

[fstime]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Thanks,

I think a lot of TL owners were replacing their shocks/struts with the acura a-spec kit. Might just go that route. I think it's around 1500 parts and labor, not too bad. I think the kit includes bushings as well.

Thats not bad at all considering your ride will improve and you'll get a bit of an upgrade.

Worth it imo.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: T2urtle
i dont think its that at all...

its more about bushings, ball joints. tie rods. sway bar end links.

None of those things would give you a bouncy feel on the road if they were worn out. They might give you creaking sounds and you may have trouble with alignment if they are really bad but it won't affect rebound. That is controlled by your shocks/struts.

 

[exdeath]

Depends how severe the bouncing is and how far the travel associated with that bouncing is. Long travel (ie: feels like you are going to bottom out and the car takes forever to stabalize) and prolonged periods of oscillation after say, going over a speed bump, is shocks/struts not doing their job dampening.

The car feeling loose, sloppy, "squishy", and creaking in response to small but sudden shifts in weight even at low speeds, but otherwise damped and sturdy and not riding like a trampoline, would be bushings (strut, control arm, and sub frame bushings).

 

[T2urtle]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: T2urtle
i dont think its that at all...

its more about bushings, ball joints. tie rods. sway bar end links.

None of those things would give you a bouncy feel on the road if they were worn out. They might give you creaking sounds and you may have trouble with alignment if they are really bad but it won't affect rebound. That is controlled by your shocks/struts.

sorry i read the title... steering feels LOOSE.. and listed the common things i would look at for a LOOSE feeling car.

still highly doubt the struts are blown at 100k unless its a common issue with these cars. most spring/ struts last life time.

 

[spidey07]

Well bouce or an inability for the suspension to recover quickly would best be describe it. Say going over a dip at highway speeds and you can feel the car "unweight" somewhat for a lot longer than it used to and move up and down 3-4 times before it's settled. Or what seems like 3+ seconds.

Good news is the a-spec kit (which is just 4 full dampeners) is pretty easy to do yourself. So if I have to replace them might as well get some performance parts or something to stiffen it up even more.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: T2urtle

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: T2urtle
i dont think its that at all...

its more about bushings, ball joints. tie rods. sway bar end links.

None of those things would give you a bouncy feel on the road if they were worn out. They might give you creaking sounds and you may have trouble with alignment if they are really bad but it won't affect rebound. That is controlled by your shocks/struts.

sorry i read the title... steering feels LOOSE.. and listed the common things i would look at for a LOOSE feeling car.

still highly doubt the struts are blown at 100k unless its a common issue with these cars. most spring/ struts last life time.

huh...springs yes, struts and shocks no.

I have no idea where you pulled that out of or why you are lumping springs and struts together.

 

[bruceb]

If your steering feels loose eg light or too much play
then check or change the Ball Joints and also the
Tie Rod Ends (inner and outer) ... it will be much better

 

[GoatMonkey]

Springs should last the lifetime of the car. But that a-spec kit includes springs also. I think its a hair under 1 inch of lowering with those new springs. You probably already know that though.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: GoatMonkey
Springs should last the lifetime of the car. But that a-spec kit includes springs also. I think its a hair under 1 inch of lowering with those new springs. You probably already know that though.

I didn't so thank you very much.

But at 135K I need some suspension work and I appreciate the feedback. I've got maybe 3K in maintenance that I need to do.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: T2urtle

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: T2urtle
i dont think its that at all...

its more about bushings, ball joints. tie rods. sway bar end links.

None of those things would give you a bouncy feel on the road if they were worn out. They might give you creaking sounds and you may have trouble with alignment if they are really bad but it won't affect rebound. That is controlled by your shocks/struts.

sorry i read the title... steering feels LOOSE.. and listed the common things i would look at for a LOOSE feeling car.

still highly doubt the struts are blown at 100k unless its a common issue with these cars. most spring/ struts last life time.

That is complete and utter bullshit. Struts/shocks don't have to be blown to be less than effective...especially if you're comparing them to the way the car drove when new. If you can rebuild them then do so but usually it's better to just replace them. There are many strut/shock manufacturers that give a lifetime warranty but that's because they're gambling on you not owning the car past 100k miles...a pretty good bet actually, which is why people suck up the Hyundai 100k mile warranty like Hoovers.

Just because a company warranties a shock/strut for lifetime doesn't mean that's how long the typical shock/strut lasts...or remains effective. Especially when we're talking about OEM stuff. I'm not saying the OEM stuff is bad, just that it might not provide a firm enough ride for someone expecting good handling on say a sporty sedan with 100k miles on the clock.

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Well bouce or an inability for the suspension to recover quickly would best be describe it. Say going over a dip at highway speeds and you can feel the car "unweight" somewhat for a lot longer than it used to and move up and down 3-4 times before it's settled. Or what seems like 3+ seconds.

Good news is the a-spec kit (which is just 4 full dampeners) is pretty easy to do yourself. So if I have to replace them might as well get some performance parts or something to stiffen it up even more.

That's classic worn shock/strut behaviour.

 

[exdeath]

Adding what wasn't mentioned to loose steering:

rack bushings and rag joint (or shaft/rack bushing)