Suspension?

whenever I go over a bump my car bounces more than usual and the front makes a squeeky sound like an old mattress. am I right in assuming that this is the struts? if so do you have any suggestions for new struts? also, when i make a sharp right turn it sometimes makes a clicking noise, would that be the CV joint?
im somewhat confused about suspension and how that all comes together. Im on somewhat of a budget so id like to get this done as cheaply as possible, any insight you could give me would be appreciated, thanks.

Sqeaky noise from the front is likely just the rubber bushings rubbing as the suspension moves through it's range of motion.

Excessive bouncy is typically shock absorbers. Unfortunately for you, stock replacements are not very in-expensive. I've heard the best price can be found at www.shox.com.

struts

I just replaced mine and went with the Ford replacements. Because of the ride control, the front were I think about 180 bucks a piece. The rear were about 115 per shock. Never hurts to replace with original parts. Because your SC is rear drive; you don't have to worry about CV joints anymore. Ever front wheel driver I've had ate those things for lunch...very expensive.

Make sure you use the best bushings you can get when you have the struts and shocks replaced. Makes all the difference. One more thought! Did you check your tire air pressure? With all of the super cold weather here in the East, it can drop a bunch and give you a sloppy ride.
Good Luck!

i also have a squeaky suspension and my noise is attributed be the upper ball joints being worn...since our ball joints are pressed into our control arm, this too is not a cheap fix...TRW offers lifetime warranty upper and lower control arms with the ball joints pressed in them...bout $80 a piece...upper and lower...Monroe makes a strut for our cars designed for the ride control actuator...bout $200 a piece....also lifetime warranty....just food for though...good luck with yours....

Re: struts

crazydave said:

Because your SC is rear drive; you don't have to worry about CV joints anymore. Ever front wheel driver I've had ate those things for lunch...very expensive.

Click to expand...

Our cars have CV joints too, they're just at the back instead of the front !! Have to have flex in the drive axles with independent suspension, doesn't matter which end of the car it's at.


Check the front stab. bar end links, they can get dried out and cause a squeaking noise sometimes.

cheers
Ed Nicholson
SCCoO

i paid about 320 for all four with arc at ford.
joe

thanks guys, it looks like the struts are bad, i had my mechanic friend look at them, that accounts for the bouncyness and possibly the squeeking, i found struts on summit racing for 60 each, is this a bad idea? i can put them on myself in autoshop this semester....

Our car doesn't use what is commonly known as STRUTS.

You need to make sure the replacement shocks you find for the car are those that are designed to work with the the Automatic Ride Control.

If those at Summit don't support the ARC, you will possibly be able to bolt up the shocks, but you will loose the ability to control the ride quality.

erg, sorry, sometimes i get terminology confused, but yeah I know what youre saying, i'll be sure to check that they'll work the ride control, thanks again

No problem. I just wanted to point it out because some terms like that could make a difference between getting the right part and the wrong part.

If i recall it's kind of a U.S. terminoligy issue. Shocks in general can be refered to as "Struts". But in the U.S. "Struts" have come to be associated strictly with MAC-PHERSON Struts. Which are totally different than regular Shocks as they play a role in suspension geometry when installed.

That's a good deal if those Shocks will work for you.