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Suspension Stuff
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For those floaty types of cars, a set of Bilstein shocks would give a remarkable improvement for under $500 in overall handling, but it may feel a bit harsh over hard bumps for some drivers. It'll cure carsickness in many cases, too!
I have a 91 Subaru LS legacy Wgn with the air suspension shocks.
They are now on the *blink*, it appears the front pair are bottomming and the rear appears to be OK.
When I attempted to get it repair and a local mechanic shop, they could not find any 3rd party replacements...?
Not gonna to keep the car that much longer, has 102K. Are there non air supension shocks that will fit....?
thanks in advance for any advise...
=al
Talk to your mechanic and find out if you can replace the air shocks with regular gas shocks from a base model Legacy wagon. I know that it works for the rear suspension on a Lincoln Town Car so it may work for you. Good luck, Wes.
Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks and Velvet Ride "rubberized" rear shackles on our 96 Dodge pick-up. When not towing a fifth-wheel the "3" setting on the front, and "1" on the rear makes the ride a little more gentle. Biggest gain seemed to be from the shackles, though. The ride height with a load didn't change, and setting the rears to 3-4 feels better.
shocks should last, on say a minivan driven on decent city roads most of the time? Would it
be similar for a sedan, etc driven under similar conditions?
Rule of thumb for worn out shocks/struts--you and someone get one end of your van bouncing lots and then stop pushing. The bounces (oscillations) should stop after 1 complete cycle (= 1 up and then it settles at the nuetral point). If it oscillates beyound 2 half-cycles, the struts/shocks are worthy of replacing (FOR ME).
Let us know what you did.
I recently was listening for a noise / vibration in my '95 Civic and at one point turned off the ignition on a slight downhill in a parking lot to listen. I found that I could steer just about as easily as with the engine running and power steering working.
The question is: Can you disconnect power steering just by removing the belt or the pump or something that simple? Can you adjust the amount of boost up and down?
The problem with mine is not that it's overboosted, obviously, but it sure inserts a buffer between me and the steering. I'd love to get a more direct-feeling steering, especially if the power assist isn't really helping anything. Maybe it's made to help very weak people parallel park.
I always thought it seemed like a goofy device for such a tiny car.
One, make sure your power steering fluid is at the correct level, and that you have no leaks. It seems odd that you should have the same sensation with assist as without.
Two, if you're really, really serious about trying this, try coasting down a hill from a stop, with the engine off, rather than shutting the engine off midway down the hill (maybe you already did this). I wonder if the assist isn't active for a brief time after the motor is shut off, the same way a brake power booster still has enough vacuum to operate the power brakes once or twice, even when the motor is off.
I'd also try to find out as much as you can about the system before you try this. Find out how the steering rack and other relevant components will wear without the oil being pumped through them.
My little test involved what we in the aeronautic field call a 'shallow dive'. The decline in elevation was barely noticeable; just enough to keep the car rolling.
I'm not really in either of those fields on a professional level. Mostly I'm just out in left field.
I agree that $300/ea. for OEM units is excessive. Good luck.
I have a spring compressor. The strut was very easy to remove from the car. I am concerned about the top piece, the manual says a special tool is needed to hold the top piece while the nut is removed. Can this be done with some other tool, or do I need to buy a special tool to do it.
Also, what is the name of the top piece, is this the 'bearing plate'??
It's very important to use the spring compressor per manufacturer's instructions. Improper attachment can result in a very dangerous decompression of the spring. When the spring is properly compressed with the compressor, you can remove the top nut. For most applications you will need another tool to hold the strut's shaft from turning as you loosen the nut. The necessary tool depends on the application but a common arrangement requires the use of a hex (allen) wrench inserted in the end of the shaft.
If one spring is broken, you can better learn how to do the job by first replacing the spring on the "good" unit. When this spring is compressed sufficiently to permit disassembly, note the dimensions of the compressor because this is the amount you will need to compress the new spring before reassembly.
By the way, if you may be in need of new struts soon, now is the time to replace them at no additional labor.
Sugardog.
I tried the same strategy years later on a 1980 Corolla. I got premium tires (actually the same 165/80 Mich XAS's), KYB shocks and slightly shorter springs. Handling was hardly affected at all. The ride was slightly stiffer.
So the question is, what kind of suspension geometry is worth modifying (that is, what kind is CAPABLE of being improved) and what kind is there no point in bothering with? How can you tell beforehand if a given car will benefit from firmer shocks, firmer and/or lower springs, etc?
I now have a '95 Civic EX. As we know, lots of kids like to lower them and install expensive parts thatthey make great claims about, but I wonder if any real improvement could come from a mild upgrade of the replaceable components (shocks, tires, springs, etc), or is it a pointless exercise?
Actually my first resort would be bracing: strut tower braces, front and rear, and the lower rear brace (whose value I don't quite understand yet, but they make one, so maybe it's got a purpose).
Then I'd consider stiffer anti-roll bars, then shocks, tires, bushings, in pretty much that order. I'd look into springs (VERY slight height decrease, like less than an inch) only after replacing all that other stuff first.
Another question is about the steering rack. The power-assisted one, like on my car, has a quick-ish ratio, but a dead feel. The unpowered one might have a better feel but it has a much slower ratio. Can I get the best of both worlds by de-powering my present rack? The car is so smal and light that it's easy to steer even when coasting with the ignition off at very low speed.
but I cant seem to be able to see the top bolt for the front shocks in my 1996 Blazer. The back shocks are easy. The front shock are inside of a spring. The top of the shock is covered by the wall that surrounds the tire. I was just wondering if i can Install them my self or will I have to go to a mechanic.I thought I could install them myself because the edelbrock add says if you can change a tire you can change shocks and that if the vehicle is high enough you won't have to jack it up at all.
Suspension nuances, especially when it comes to performance suspension stuff, are not really something I'm familiar with, but I do know that you can open a can of worms with this stuff!! The kids who spend money on this suspension stuff aren't just spending money to say they spend X amount--they want a certain feel (maybe I'm giving them more credit than they're due)!!