legacycentral bbs

Hey guys, when driving on the highway i notice that the front end of the car is not very stable.Could it be the front struts that have worn away or is it the balljoints. I heard that when you press down on the corner of the car and if the car still bouncies around the struts are gone.But could the weight of the engine prevent it from bouncing?I just replaced the rears using this method of testing. It can be downright scary driving this car sometimes and i need it fixed fast and cheap.Any suggestions. Thanks

The car should bounce if the struts are gone because they are no longer controlling the springs. I would jack the wheels up and try to move them, though. If you can move the wheel at all, look at where it's moving (maybe the balljoints or tierods). Tires could also be assymetrical as in differing tire pressures or significantly more wear on one, but that's less likely. I'd do the tire check ASAP, though, as you don't want a balljoint breaking or anything like that.

Steve

i would look at your having replaced only 2 struts. seems like thats inviting wierd things to happen, like the front is bouncing along with the rear before, so it was ok, but now its bouncing all by itself, and scary.

Barring that, just jack up the front end and start wiggling stuff. when you find the component that shouldnt be wiggling, replace it.

subject changed for more accuracy.

well this afternoon i jacked up the front end and started wiggling the wheels. They dont seem that bad at all however i noticed that the drivers side balljoint boot has split.Could that part be the culprit? Seems like that small part could not cause the terrible handling.Or maybe i'm wrong.

ball joint isn't going to make your car bounce......

if ball joint goes, it makes an awful screeching noise when turning

hmmm, my car doesn't make any horrendous noise when turning. So it probably is the struts. Can the weight of the engine keep the struts from bouncing when i apply pressure?

just for my clarification, have you replaced or have any of the struts been replaced? How many miles are on the car?

well i just replaced the rear struts about 1 month ago. The front struts have been untouched i believe.I wiped off some dust off the sturt and noticed the words subaru engraved on them. Therefore i think they are stock. The car has about 220km

replace front struts....they're toast. That should fix your bouncies.

Also, you really should replace all four struts at once. Your current setup can produce very unexpected oversteer when pushed hard......I know.....I had crappy monroes in the front and kyb's in the rear.......there were some scary times when I was goin sideways around some corners goin pretty fast......thankfully I never lost it....but you definitely get shook up after that.

Balljoints don't always make noise. I had one go with almost no warning. I was on the highway and hit the brakes. The steering wheel shook like I've never felt and luckily I was nearly home. Jacked up the wheel to find about a 1/4" of play in the joint. There was never any indication anything was wrong until that day (it had felt a little vague, which I thought may have been tire pressure that morning to work).

Steve

Its the front struts alright, they no longer damp (or dont damp enough) therefore you bounce. If theyve been on there from new as well then theyre definately shot, 220k is a LOT of bumps!

sounds like you guys are right.when i had the rears changed the piston just sunk like a rock in water. I suppose to expect the same when the fronts come out. Anyways do you guys think $36 for two front balljoints is a good price? That includes shipping too. Plus I found a shop that will install them for $30-50 each. Sound good?

sounds great. you would typically be looking at nearly $100 a side in a typical shop. and you don't have to fool with it or worry about messing it up.