suspension

[0nly]

I have a 94 caprice that sits lower on the passenger side. When parked, it looks uneven. When driving, sometimes I hear a noise under the front end when I hit bumps and turn sharp corners. I thought it might be a busted shock but I read it could be the bushings or spring. What would make a car sit lower on one side?

[Blue Bowtie]

Shock absorbers do only that - Dampen wheel movement. Springs hold the vehicle up against gravity. I suspect all the springs on an older vehicle, especially a 4,500 pound one.

[GreyGoose006]

Originally Posted by bluebowtie

Shock absorbers do only that - Dampen wheel movement.

you may be supprised. gas charged shocks support a suprising amount of weight.
my car rode about 3" higher after i put gas charged shocks on vs the old nongas charged ones.
of one was busted, it would sit lower on that corner.

[Blue Bowtie]

I know that gas charged shocks and struts do offer a minor spring effect, but that's not their primary purpose. Even teh "high pressure" monotubes only have about 100-140 PSI of nitrogen, and can offer maybe 100 pouns of spring force.

You may be correct that some sag is due to a lost shock charge, but I presumed that it was more noticable than 3/4" or so that might result from a blown shock charge. Maybe I was mistaken.

[bobss396]

The older Caprice/Impalas were notorious for a passenger front spring sag. I had 3 of them that had it. As far as your noise goes, you might have a broken shock, but it should be obvious if the outer cover is loose or the rod itself is broken. Look at your sway bar links, those break often enough.

Bob

[GreyGoose006]

i guess it is just more noticable on the old cars that were not designed with gas shocks in mind.
i'm positive my car rides about 3" higher now that i put KYB gas-a-just shocks on.
before, the bottom of the fender was lined up with the top of the White line on my tires. now, with new shocks, there is 2-3 inches between the top of the tire and the bottom of the fender.
the pic in my sig is after the change.

[bobss396]

Gas shocks will lift a car a little. They tend to be harder to install than normal shocks as their initial static compression is higher.

Bob

[PeteA216]

the bottom of the fender was lined up with the top of the White line on my tires

Wow, your suspension must have been shot. Did you bottom out a lot, especially over things like speed bumps?