So I bought my second '91 hatch from the classifieds in H-T. I won't go into the problems with the car that I specifically asked about. Let's just say I owned the car less than 10 hours and I'm throwing another $600 into it despite asking specifically about the part in question.

Regardless, my question is about suspensions. When we hit the highway, if the road gets pretty rough, or we hit a pothole, the car is all over the road for a few seconds, and it lurches around. Is that a shock/strut issue, or do we need to look at tie-rods as well? I know a full suspension will run me about $500, but any idea what replacing the tie-rods would be and how difficult of a job it is?

 

Possibly struts. But when they go, usually on a regular road, your steering wheel should start to vibrate a bit also...

Now given it is a 91, your problem may be compounded by a slack front end. I am aware of the costs involved in replacing all components but, you should really get in there and check everything for slack...

fs

 

Excellent. Thank you for the info!