Hey guys, picked up a light project car to restore it to daily drivability (invented word?) and here's the deal. It's engine and tranny APPEAR to be running strong, only mods ENGINE-wise are typical fruitcake rice ghetto rigged air filter and catback exhaust. So basically here is my problem. Aforementioned fruitcake decided that 17" rims on stock ride height would look "WICKED" especially with the charcoal inner spokes that tie into the "custom" black hood. This is OBVIOUSLY not healthy on the car, and it has the rub marks to show it. I'll be the first to admit this car is my learner car and I plan to use it to familiarize with mechanical work. The front passenger side is beating the HADES out of itself if I roll across a piece of gravel, and acts as if there isn't even a shock there. However the shock IS responsive. Personally I'm guessing it's either a bad CV joint, a bad strut, or both. It rides rough ALL the time, not just when accelerating so does that somewhat negate the theory of the cv joint? Are there any possibilities outside of those two things that could be causing such a rough ride and hideous sound? Any advice on possible issues I'm too dull to think of, or procedures to take in examining the problem areas are much obliged. Task one is just to get it reliable, then task two is de-ricing the poor thing.

Thanks from a proud new owner of a 95 ex.

 

are the wheels bent?

 

is there a knocking sound from the wheels when you turn?

 

Thankfully the wheels are straight, but I'll have to listen a little more closely next time I can drive it. I'm sorry for the lack of information, however with the extreme amount of noise, it's hard to determine whether the noise is due to turning since it happens on any bump at any time and it doesn't help that roads are pretty rough around here... I'll actually go take it for a test drive and listen more closely this time (it's not even legal yet) and get back with a better answer. Thanks for the response.

 

No difference in turning than driving straight, and decided to do a little shove testing on it and it sounds ATROCIOUS when I push down on it. It seems as if the CV joint theory is dwindling away and leaning more to shock/strut but I'm still going to go ahead and peel back the boot HOPEFULLY tomorrow and get a good look inside there and possibly take a few pictures if I can fit a camera through there and still get a good shot.

 

did you take it for an alignment yet?
check the strut tower for cracks or rust?
check the spring on that side?

 

No, unfortunately I haven't had time to jack it up and take a look. The oversized rims are in the way of getting a look at anything without lifting. I only bought it yesterday so HOPEFULLY tomorrow I can get a little garage time and get some better information. Like I said earlier, this is my learner car. I apologize for a premature posting without enough relevant information. I'm just the kind of guy to do 10000 tons of research before I turn a wrench, and was hoping to gather all the possible problem areas so I could price out all the possible necessary repair costs and establish a time frame on when I can make them happen. I'm off work at about 4-ish central time so hopefully I'll be able to do it as soon as I get home. However alignment will be a little while before I can do anything as it isn't even legal yet. =/

 

Just a little update, I was able to jack up the car. However... one of the lugs is stripped and I have to drill it out and replace it. I'll probably wind up just replacing them all. The CV boot was torn so I will be replacing that (for a whopping 67 dollars) and PROBABLY going with Tokico blues and still looking for springs to replace the front suspension. This will make the car more reliable and will be halfway done with upgrading the suspension setup. As my job is on the line I have to fix and replace the essentials before I can work on everything else so the rears are stuck as is for now. Anyone here using the Tokico HP series that would mind giving a review? Also, what springs did you pair them with? I don't know what springs are currently on mine and I'm sure they're not stock (probably ebay...) so this is why it's so urgent for me to replace them. No clue on the spring rate or how it would fit with the blues. Thanks guys, for putting up with yet another clueless noob like myself.