I asked this before in the other forum but i didnt get a good explaination.

I have a 94 Civic DX.

Im sure I need to change my suspension since I can feel ALL the tiniest bumps on the road.

BUT>>> How can I tell if I need to change struts, bushings, shock absorbers, or springs, mounts. Im a noob and I cant distinguish which to change or how to tell when to change them or even how to change them.

I have a small wallet so if you can point me to a good website to purchase what I need. I dont need the best! I just want something that will work.

All comments are welcomed...even the belittling ones......

Thanks in advance.

 

Well, what kind of suspension is on there now, and how old is it?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by actionfigure &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">struts, bushings, shock absorbers, or springs, mounts. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm guessing that your shocks and bushings are probably shot for the age of the car. You have shocks on all four corners of your car, the 2001+ cars have struts in the front. Your springs are probably okay.

To check the bushings and mounts, just look for cracked or broken rubber. Poly is much cheaper than OEM, but it will make the suspension stiffer. If you're going to stick with stock springs, I'd pick up a set of koni reds, and see how that helps. While Installing, I'd check all the other components to see what else is worn and needs replacement.

 

Thanks for the reply.

How can you tell if the springs are ok?

Also, you didnt mention anything about struts. Is there a reason why?


Do you know of any websites thats reliable to buy from?

Thanks again

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by actionfigure &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Also, you didnt mention anything about struts. Is there a reason why?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Because you don't have struts, you have shocks. 2001+ civics have struts on the front, all others have shocks. They're basically the same thing, both are types of dampers, but they're slightly different in their application. Coil over shock suspensions are multilink (you have a top A arm), while struts have a single pivit point with no upper A arm.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by actionfigure &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do you know of any websites thats reliable to buy from?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'd check the sponsor section and RedShift Motorsports.

 

Thank you!

 

If you are interested in the "new car" feel, I would buy new OEM parts. They tend to cost a bit more than aftermarket stock parts (from Checker or Pep Boys), but the quality is really top notch. Especially if your talking about bushings.

Bushings:
These are usually the cause of noisy uncomfortable suspension. They must be visually inpsected for cracks & tears. To replace these sometimes it's cheaper to buy the individual bushings & have them pressed out/in at a shop. Other times it's cheaper to buy a whole new suspension arm with all new bushings (a good example of this is the rear LCA, they have 3 bushings in them).

Springs:
You know when these fail because the car falls to the ground & becomes undrivable. They really don't wear out (unless their cheap aftermarket), they just break.

Shocks:
Easy to tell if they are bad because you will have a bouncy feeling even when driving on smooth road. A good way to check them is by bouncing each corner of your car with your hands. If the car stops moving as soon as you let go, the shock at that corner is still good. If the car is still going up & down a few times after you let go, then it's time to get new ones...

Struts:
Diagnosed the same as shocks, but don't apply to you unless you have a 2001+ civic or RSX...

 

WOW!

Now thats what I wanted to know

You guys have been great and very informative.

I love the way you laid it out with titles

Anyways. I have my friend look at it and we tested it like you guys said. So far its not the springs or shocks. The car doesnt bounce.

He thinks its a CV Joint or Axle. He said he can hear something loose.

What are you thoughts in this matter?

Thanks again guys

 

Another source of noisy & clunky suspension can be your balljoints. There are quite a few of them up front on civics & tegs. They can be very difficult to diagnose & I'm no professional. The best thing to do is jack up the car, grap one tire & wiggle it left to right & up and down. If you have a loose balljoint it should make some clunking noise. If you hear it, get underneath while your friend continues to wiggle. You should be able to find it no problem

Sometimes you have to have the suspension loaded for a worn balljoint to make noise. The trick here is to put your car on jack stands & then lift one of the LCAs up with your jack. Basically you jack up the LCA until the car just barely lifts off the nearest jack stand. Now you repeat the left-right / up-down wiggling.

I've personally found several problems with this method. Worn tie rod balljoints (inner & outer), and a worn rack end bushing. The rack end bushing is a plastic bushing inside the passengers side of a NON power steering gearbox. It can easily wear out if your steering gearbox boots are torn (click here for a wirteup on fixing it)...

 

Thanks again

I will check the problem Saturday for sure and will post the problem.


Thanks