Suspension Problem

[kaneabel]

I got a problem. Whenever I hit bumps, potholes, etc. my car will shake pretty violently and move from left to right and so on when I hit these bumps in the road. I also notice when I park my car that the rear end sits up some.....what could this be? And also, the inside tread of my rear tires are almost bare, could this be a camber problem and what can I do to fix that?

Thanks

[Jonn]

Originally Posted by kaneabel

I got a problem. Whenever I hit bumps, potholes, etc. my car will shake pretty violently and move from left to right and so on when I hit these bumps in the road. I also notice when I park my car that the rear end sits up some.....what could this be? And also, the inside tread of my rear tires are almost bare, could this be a camber problem and what can I do to fix that?

Thanks

Well you didnt say what year as they have different rear suspensions depending on year. If older, could be a broken transverse leaf spring or mounting points bad or rusted off, any year could be a bad strut, bent,jammed, etc. Sounds like some major malfunction if its wearing the inside of the tires. My 91 had bad struts (worn out) and has 170000 miles on it and it wears rear tires even.
I would check things out NOW before you possibly loose a part or cause yourself a wreak, to many things it can be to diagnose over a message board. (dont forget either it could be worn out wheel bearings throwing camber off) But sitting higher sounds like leaf/coil spring malfunction or a jammed broken strut

[kaneabel]

its a 96

[whisperingelk]

had a question,how do you replace the fronts is it simple?

[whisperingelk]

i have question about replacing front struts on a 1995 chevrolet lumina passenger car is it simple is there a exploded view of the strut to remove them?

[jeffcoslacker]

Originally Posted by whisperingelk

i have question about replacing front struts on a 1995 chevrolet lumina passenger car is it simple is there a exploded view of the strut to remove them?

Removing the strut assembly isn't too difficult, usually just a matter of removing two large pinch bolts from the spindle, and taking the nut off the top mount. Getting a new cartridge into the assembly needs a strut spring compressor. You can rent ones that are kinda questionable safety-wise, or just take them to a shop and have them change the cartridge. They have a wall-mount compressor that is easy and safe to use.

If you have a lot of miles, go ahead and change the bearing plates on top too while you're doing it.

[jeffcoslacker]

I forgot about your original post. One thing you need to verify, lots of times when I've thought a car looked high in the rear, it actually turned out to have a spring problem in the front (collapsed, broken) and that too will cause some strange handling problems. Make sure there are no turns of coil broke off, and that the ride height (measure from ground to highest point of wheel opening on fender) on level ground is equal from side to side, and that it is correct for your model (either check a manual for the spec, or just find one that appears to sit correctly and measure it).

Sometime just for reference, I see how many fingers I can put between the top of the tire and the wheel opening.

[jeffcoslacker]

I would be glad to get the measurment from mine for your reference, if you need them. Let me know. Mine is a '97 LS, with 226/60/16 tires, but the ride height measurements should be close enough to the same to give you something to work with.

[kaneabel]

fixed it.............bent control arm

[jeffcoslacker]

That would definitley do that. How'd that happen?

[kaneabel]

it looked like someone had hooked a chain to it to pull someone out or something....

[dwalmop]

I didn't think you needed a spring compressor to replace the front cartridges on a 96. I replaced the fronts on my 90 and all I needed was the GM-10 cartridge socket, and I just left the car sitting on the ground, not jacked up or anything and it was a breeze. Is it different on a 96? I have a 96 and will be replacing them soon.

[whisperingelk]

[quote=dwalmop]I didn't think you needed a spring compressor to replace the front cartridges on a 96. I replaced the fronts on my 90 and all I needed was the GM-10 cartridge socket, and I just left the car sitting on the ground, not jacked up or anything and it was a breeze. Is it different on a 96? I have a 96 and will be replacing them soon.[ /QUOTe i was wondering about the same thing does the lumina need a lspring compressor or not for the front struts when i looked under the 95 lumina front end where the strut is supposed to disassemble i didn't see any bolts to remove the struts so my question is do you really have to remove the whole strut assembly in order to just change out the cartridge i know on some struts there would be two mounting bolts to the spindle and hub assembly, now can the strut be removed from the top where the existing bolts are? i figured since there is alot of weight holding the spring in place i thought the cartridge will come out easily after taking the main bolt off , that is why i need to see a exploded view picture of the front strut and how to remove them,i changed the rear struts on the same car i know a spring compressor is needed for that job.so hope fully we can get some answers well let me know what you find out..