'91 Bonnie Strut Question

This may sound like a stupid question to some, but I have no knowledge about the suspension system of a car. All I know is that when I turn the steering wheel to the left or right, I hear what I can only describe as bumps coming from the front (obviously). I took at look, and it appears that the Spring stays in it's place, until you turn the wheel so far, then it jumps (bounces) into another position, thus causing the 'bump' or whatever the hell it is that I hear. I was told that my Strut Bearings are in need of replacement, what do all of you think? And, FBR, you be as sarcastic as you want, I actually find it rather amusing now :-P

BTW, in case it helps, the car is a '91 Bonnie SSE with the 3.8L V6...which I have conviently added to my .sig for the future when I will forget to add that part. :)

Reply to
80 Knight
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Strut bearings and/or ball joints are bad. Probably bad tie rod ends, too.

Reply to
« Paul »

Probably worn strut monuts & bearings. I've replaced bearings struts & mounts. Worn mounts may creak when you turn the wheel - it will sound like grannies old rocker.

My ball joints and tie rods are original yet. Haven't heard of to many of these wearing out.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~291,400 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

~~~The Former Fleet ~~~

89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan
Reply to
Harry Face

I had a feeling that the Strut Bearings might be the cause, but I am in Ontario, Canada, and bought the car around 5 months ago, and it passed Certification about 2 months ago, but the car has been doing this since I bought it (as I said, 5 months ago). Could the car pass Ontario safety inspection with bad tie rod ends or ball joints? I was always told that this was part of the safety. Thanks for any more help you can give. :) BTW, the car has around 190,000 KM's on it (not miles). Is it normal to go through strut bearings, ball joints or tie rod ends in that period of time? I assume it is, but I have no information about that. Thanks again.

Reply to
80 Knight

Hmm, well I can say that the sound is nothing like a creak, it is more of a thump, as if you have kicked the tire with a heavy boot on, so I am guessing that the bearings are gone. Does anyone know how difficult it is to replace these things? And, should I go ahead and replace the mounts too, while I have it all apart? Thanks BTW, sorry to steal your .sig layout Harry Face. :)

Reply to
80 Knight

I had a similar-sounding symptom in an 86 6000LE - a loud, heavy banging in the left front. In that car, it was the tie rod. Bearings make a different sort of shrieking banging sound, in my experience - one that is *far* more alarming (the car in question was a '70 Valiant, so that may have had something to do with the alarmingness of the sound).

Reply to
REP

Thanks for the info. Do you know of any way to test the tie rod to see if it is bad?

Reply to
80 Knight

You shouldn't need to guess on suspension noise. Get the car up in the air then grab and shake everything. Bad components usually revel themselves. Bad strut bearings should grind while turning. TBad tie rods have play. Try to wobble the wheels while holding them at the bottom too.

GW

Reply to
Geoff Welsh

Dear Signature Stealer,

If your going through the effort of removing the struts, you mights as well replace the bearings & mounts too. If they haven't been replaced before they are still 14 years old. You'll need a front wheel alignment after replacing the struts.

The bearings look like two yellow frisbee flying disc's with ball bearings between them. The mounts are steel with a rubber block - kind of like a motor mount.

========= Harryface =========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE 3800 V6 ( C ), Black/Slate Grey _~_~_~291,900 miles_~_~_

~_~_~_~_U.S.A._~_~_~_~_~_

~~~The Former Fleet ~~~

89 Cavalier Z 24 convertible 78 Holiday 88 coupe 68 LeSabre convertible 73 Impala sedan
Reply to
Harry Face

LOL sorry bout that :-P

That is one thing that worries me, that i just found out. I took another look at the strut stuff (sorry, not much for words these days, but i mean everything from the top (in the engine compartment) down to the wheel) and I can tell that they have been replaced, and they are scrap-yard parts. One of the give-a-way's, is that there is a big "R" on the driver's side one, which I assumed meant "Right", as in side, but the driver's side is left, so could it cause a problem with a passenger side strut/equipment being on the driver's side?

Thanks again for the info, and all your help!! :)

Reply to
80 Knight

Thanks for the info.

Reply to
80 Knight

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