Going over Bumps

[Grnarowana]

I have been having this problem since the day i got my 1999 Solara used. Every time i drive on uneven pavement there would be this annoying sound. And every time I go over a bump, the car isn't smooth and it seems like the shocks and struts are shot. How would I know for sure I need new shocks and struts?

Going over big bumps gives a loud "boink" sound. And this is all in the front of the car.

[thestevo44]

Not to be sarcastic about it, but I think you answered your own question dude. Have the suspension checked by a reputable place. 9 year old car.... sounds like it is time to get some of the high performance shocks struts and coils that these young kids talk about these days. lol.

[Grnarowana]

LOL. I just needed confirmation. Thanks! Any recommendations? I'm not into anything fancy since its a 9 year old car with 127K miles. I'm not looking to drop $1K on this. Whats the avg. price?

[thestevo44]

Well, you might be able to do the shocks yourself. Shocks are fairly easy. Struts are a little more difficult. If you do anything yourself though, make sure you take care of any alignment requirements.

Honestly though, beyond that, I have not had to change shocks and struts on a car for a while. So, someone else on this site will have better help for you on the shop recommendations and so forth. I'm pretty sure you should stay away from places like Brakes plus, and those in and out fast places. There are only two good types of in and out, and one of them is a burger.

S

[Mole]

strut mounts might be worn down.

[Grnarowana]

Mole - yea, a mechanic in the pass was showing me. he pushed the car down and the passenger mounts popped up.

[Mr_Chunkz]

Our cars have both shock and strut?
Im pretty sure the last time I checked it was strut only.

[Dawgz]

im a newb in the suspension department =|


im gettn tokicos and Eibach's next week though =)

[thestevo44]

:o
Our cars have both shock and strut?
Im pretty sure the last time I checked it was strut only.

Yes, you are right. I am so used to cars having struts in the front and shocks in the back due to the weight of the engine, plus, the repair manual even calls them "shock absorbers", so I said shocks. But yeah, looks like 4 struts on our cars.

http://cns-design.ru/files/solara/pdf/Suspension.pdf

Thanks for the correction. I will not send you to detention. (See BlackBob's post about the kid that got detention for correcting a teacher).