I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
This past weekend I replaced my two broken CV Joints.
I have a 1993 Accord w/ Manual Tranny and ABS. The car was sitting for about a month while I was away on business. I tackled the repair job (didn't drive the car until after joints were replaced) and now have a problem with suspension. The car bounces up and down about 4 or 5 times over small bumps, and over large bumps there is a painful THUD! I don't know if my car is bottoming-out here or not. I heard that one should tighten the ball joints while the wheels are on the ground and I intend to try that, but generally I don't know what could cause this problem. I don't know to suspect my shocks, bushings, or ball joints. The bushing on my steering arm looked bad (what does bad look like anyway?) but I don't have a problem with steering. If my bushings are suspect, how can I tell if they look bad? Thanks for any advice!! |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
"scube" <sowell_s@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1142362872.280925.259160@i40g2000cwc.googlegr oups.com... > This past weekend I replaced my two broken CV Joints. > I have a 1993 Accord w/ Manual Tranny and ABS. > > The car was sitting for about a month while I was away on business. I > tackled the repair job (didn't drive the car until after joints were > replaced) and now have a problem with suspension. The car bounces up > and down about 4 or 5 times over small bumps, and over large bumps > there is a painful THUD! I don't know if my car is bottoming-out here > or not. Think back when you replaced - what items had you disconnected to remove the CV joints - Perhaps loosened the struts!!!! |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
Backbone wrote:
> > Think back when you replaced - what items had you disconnected to remove the > CV joints - Perhaps loosened the struts!!!! Dissasembly: 1) I loosened the lugs and the large 36mm nut (spindle?) and jacked the tire off the ground. 2) I removed the tire, the caliper+brake pads and the caliper mount. 3) I loosened the bolt for the wishbone (I actually removed the bolt, but put it back in to get the LCA ball joint off) 4) I removed the castle nut of the Lower Cotrol Arm off and popped off the ball joint associated with the LCA. 5) I pulled out the loosened bolt for the wishbone. This allowed me to move the hub out of the way and pull the CV Axle from it. Reassembly:( After I got the old shaft out and put the new shaft in) 1) Put weight on the LCA and lifted up on the wheel hub to get the ball joint bolt back into the hole it came from. 2) Applied pressure to the wheel hub (now loosely attached to the LCA ball joint) and re-inserted the bolt for the wishbone. 3) tightened down both wishbone bolt/nut and LCA castle nut and re-inserted cotter pin. 4) put tire back on, finger tightened the lugs 5) lowered car and torqued down the 36mm nut and lug nuts. Maybe I did loosen the struts (those spring/shock things?), but how could I tighten them back? Thanks! |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
"scube" wrote > This past weekend I replaced my two broken CV Joints. > I have a 1993 Accord w/ Manual Tranny and ABS. > > The car was sitting for about a month while I was away on business. I > tackled the repair job (didn't drive the car until after joints were > replaced) and now have a problem with suspension. The car bounces up > and down about 4 or 5 times over small bumps, and over large bumps > there is a painful THUD! I don't know if my car is bottoming-out here > or not. Springs hold the car up, and allow it to "bounce" over bumps. Struts (just big shock absorbers), control and dampen the bounces. Worn out struts/shocks = bouncebouncebouncebouncebouncebounce. Probably just a coincidence that they went bad at the same time you were working on the joints. Maybe they were marginal to start with, and being fully extended while off the ground finally killed them? |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
In article <1142362872.280925.259160@i40g2000cwc.googlegroups .com>,
sowell_s@yahoo.com says... >This past weekend I replaced my two broken CV Joints. > I have a 1993 Accord w/ Manual Tranny and ABS. >The car was sitting for about a month while I was away on business. I >tackled the repair job (didn't drive the car until after joints were >replaced) and now have a problem with suspension. The car bounces up >and down about 4 or 5 times over small bumps, and over large bumps >there is a painful THUD! I don't know if my car is bottoming-out here >or not. > I heard that one should tighten the ball joints while the wheels are >on the ground and I intend to try that, but generally I don't know what >could cause this problem. > I don't know to suspect my shocks, bushings, or ball joints. > The bushing on my steering arm looked bad (what does bad look like >anyway?) but I don't have a problem with steering. If my bushings >are suspect, how can I tell if they look bad? >Thanks for any advice!! From your description it sounds like your shocks are shot. Did you notice either one of them leaking fluid? -------------- Alex |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
Well,
I removed the tire on the passenger side first and did a visual inspection of the CV Boots. None were torn, so I proceeded to change out the driverside CV Joint. Both boots were ripped to hell and completly off the axle exposing the bearings. Axle was EVERYWHERE, so it's hard to tell if there is a leak in my strut/shock. I drove the car after this axle change to see how it sounded/handled and that is when I noticed the 'bounce'. I have some questions for anyone who can help which could clear up some misconceptions/misunderstandings I have. 1) When replacing the LCA ball joint I needed to tug up and down on the knuckle and the LCA, could I have dislodged the strut assembly somehow? 2) where would I want to look to see if I can see oil leaking from the shock? Top or bottom? 3) I've read that one should tighten the LCA joint while the vehicle is on the ground, which I did not. Could I have seated the ball joint improperly when I put the hub assembly back together which would cause these problems? How would I tell if my shocks were just 'loose'? 4) It is my understanding that the shock and strut is a combo deal, meaning they are replaced together as a single part that's purchased, correct? 5) After I replaced the driver side CV Joint I noticed the passenger side was popping, so I replaced that as well. I did not notice any difference w/ the shock-absorption after I disassembled the passenger side hub assembly. Could only my driver side shock be bad? Should I replace both? Thank you all for your comments!! |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
On 14 Mar 2006 11:01:12 -0800, scube <sowell_s@yahoo.com> wrote:
>This past weekend I replaced my two broken CV Joints. > I have a 1993 Accord w/ Manual Tranny and ABS. >The car was sitting for about a month while I was away on business. I >tackled the repair job (didn't drive the car until after joints were >replaced) and now have a problem with suspension. The car bounces up >and down about 4 or 5 times over small bumps, and over large bumps >there is a painful THUD! I don't know if my car is bottoming-out here >or not. If you know so little about the working of a car's suspension, you really shouldn't be working on it yourself. Hint: shocks. Nothing else does vertical dampening. How the you came to the conclusion that bushings have anything to do with vertical dampening is a mystery to me. |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
touche'..
though my reasoning is that if the LCA didn't join correctly to the knuckle, the fork attached to it maybe lower than normal which could mean an extended shock (now this may be complete nonsense, I am no mechanic...). I know quite well what suspensions do, but from a mechanical point of view there are quite a few variations. I am far from an expert (obviously), but as long as you can get to a part, why fear replacing it? Plus, the terms shock and strut seem to be so interchangeable it is causing confusion in my mind. Thanks for the reply... |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
On 15 Mar 2006 09:32:43 -0800, "scube" <sowell_s@yahoo.com> wrote:
>touche'.. > though my reasoning is that if the LCA didn't join correctly to the >knuckle, the fork attached to it maybe lower than normal which could >mean an extended shock (now this may be complete nonsense, I am no >mechanic...). I know quite well what suspensions do, but from a >mechanical point of view there are quite a few variations. I am far >from an expert (obviously), but as long as you can get to a part, why >fear replacing it? Plus, the terms shock and strut seem to be so >interchangeable it is causing confusion in my mind. Thanks for the >reply... from my decades of working on machinery...I used to have a saying: If you don't know what you're doing, then don't do it. Mostly my customers would attempt a repair before they would call me to tell me their machines were broken. So I would have to undo their damage before I could even begin to work on the original problem. In this way, I learned about the machines in a hurry. There was no going home until they were repaired correctly. I would ask them, what did you do? Some would say the guy on the other shift did something and they didn't know. Anyhow, you see the point: unintended consequences. Keep in mind, there is little that can't be fixed if you have enough money to throw at it. Then again, there comes a time to wipe the slate clean and start over, with a different machine. What is this going to cost to get repaired by a pro, vs. how much for a *new/used vehicle. Were I in your situation, I would have only done one side of the car, and waited a while to be sure it was done correctly, using the other side of the car as a mirror reflection of the way things should be. I could go back and forth between what I was doing and the *good side* to make sure I was doing things right. You've got 2 options now: bring it in to have a pro fix it. buy another car. I think if you're still asking questions at this point, confused between a strut and a shock ( a strut is the combo spring/shock in one unit ), then having another go at it is a waste of time and money. Everyone can't do everything. Bring it in and let someone with the proper tools and experience give you an estimate on the repair price. Lg |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
scube wrote:
> 3) I've read that one should tighten the LCA joint while the vehicle > is on the ground, which I did not. Could I have seated the ball joint > improperly when I put the hub assembly back together which would cause > these problems? The ball joint is usually tightened after using a floor jack underneath the lower control arm to compress the suspension to its normal ride height. Eric |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
AZ Nomad wrote:
> On 14 Mar 2006 11:01:12 -0800, scube <sowell_s@yahoo.com> wrote: > > >> This past weekend I replaced my two broken CV Joints. >> I have a 1993 Accord w/ Manual Tranny and ABS. > >> The car was sitting for about a month while I was away on business. I >> tackled the repair job (didn't drive the car until after joints were >> replaced) and now have a problem with suspension. The car bounces up >> and down about 4 or 5 times over small bumps, and over large bumps >> there is a painful THUD! I don't know if my car is bottoming-out here >> or not. > > If you know so little about the working of a car's suspension, you > really shouldn't be working on it yourself. > > Hint: shocks. Nothing else does vertical dampening. How the you came > to the conclusion that bushings have anything to do with vertical > dampening is a mystery to me. > Well, bad bushings can certainly cause the "thud" |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
MasterBlaster wrote:
> "scube" wrote > > >>This past weekend I replaced my two broken CV Joints. >> I have a 1993 Accord w/ Manual Tranny and ABS. >> >>The car was sitting for about a month while I was away on business. I >>tackled the repair job (didn't drive the car until after joints were >>replaced) and now have a problem with suspension. The car bounces up >>and down about 4 or 5 times over small bumps, and over large bumps >>there is a painful THUD! I don't know if my car is bottoming-out here >>or not. > > > Springs hold the car up, and allow it to "bounce" over bumps. > Struts (just big shock absorbers), control and dampen the bounces. > Worn out struts/shocks = bouncebouncebouncebouncebouncebounce. > > Probably just a coincidence that they went bad at the same time you were > working on the joints. Maybe they were marginal to start with, and being fully > extended while off the ground finally killed them? > Having old struts fail after the wheel assembly was left hanging free does not sound implausible to me. Possibly the piston traveled to a portion of the cylinder that was dirty, rough & corroded that damaged the old rubber seals. I suspect a similar event happened to my 1993 Accords master cylinder last year. I was having work done on it & asked that the brake fluid be changed per the owner's manual. It had been years since I had it done. The next day I get into the car & the brake pedal goes to the floor. I limped back to the mechanic who said the master cylinder went bad. He hypothesized that the new moisture-free fluid had leeched the moisture out of the swelled seals effectively drying them out & shrinking them. He replaced the master cylinder for the price of the part only. I suspect that his helper let the pedal fall to the floor when bleeding the brakes causing the piston seals to be damaged in the unused portion of the cylinder. Disclaimer: I am not a mechanic. Rich |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
On 15 Mar 2006 09:32:43 -0800, "scube" <sowell_s@yahoo.com> wrote:
>touche'.. > though my reasoning is that if the LCA didn't join correctly to the >knuckle, the fork attached to it maybe lower than normal which could >mean an extended shock (now this may be complete nonsense, I am no >mechanic...). I know quite well what suspensions do, but from a >mechanical point of view there are quite a few variations. I am far >from an expert (obviously), but as long as you can get to a part, why >fear replacing it? Plus, the terms shock and strut seem to be so >interchangeable it is causing confusion in my mind. Thanks for the >reply... My experience is that it pays to spend $20 on a repair manual. A mechanic charges up to $100 an hour....do the math. I looked in my Hilton's and '93 Accords have struts, that means that the shock absorbers are an integral part of the sustention. The half shafts and CV joints are in DRIVE TRAIN section 7 and the SUSPENSION AND STEERING is in Section 8. There is a Cookbook directions on how to remove and repair the CV joints on page 7-7. I see nothing that should have effected the Struts. |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
On Wed, 15 Mar 2006 23:29:35 -0800, Charlie S <chasa@rcn.com> wrote:
>On 15 Mar 2006 09:32:43 -0800, "scube" <sowell_s@yahoo.com> wrote: >>touche'.. >> though my reasoning is that if the LCA didn't join correctly to the >>knuckle, the fork attached to it maybe lower than normal which could >>mean an extended shock (now this may be complete nonsense, I am no >>mechanic...). I know quite well what suspensions do, but from a >>mechanical point of view there are quite a few variations. I am far >>from an expert (obviously), but as long as you can get to a part, why >>fear replacing it? Plus, the terms shock and strut seem to be so >>interchangeable it is causing confusion in my mind. Thanks for the >>reply... >My experience is that it pays to spend $20 on a repair manual. A >mechanic charges up to $100 an hour....do the math. More like $100 for the shop manual. That $20 chilton's is generally a complete waste of money. How much is your own time worth? Have you ever replaced bushings? It takes about 4 hours for an experienced home mechanic. Add $120 for the bushing kit and if your time is worth ten bucks an hour, you just pissed away $160 for no real benefit. |
Re: I replaced my CVjoints, now my car bounces
Yeah,
a good shop manual is a bit pricey. This would be a weekend venture, so my time in a sense is "free". I've got 18 hours or so to spend on this, and worse case my car is still not driveable. I have not replaced bushings before (not these bushings), though as I said, if I can get to it why fear replacing it? It's just a car...a machine for transportation from point A to point B, and it drives on the ground=It doesn't fly in the air! If anything, I figure I should be able to tow it to a shop and it would be less in labor costs since they won't have to remove it ;-) (okay, no comments are necessary on this statement...) Thanks for the suggestion Eric. I took your info and raised up on the LCA and then tightened the castle nut for the ball joint. When I lowered the control arm(s) the shocks made an interesting hiss. This helped out generally and I have determined that the front driver side is bad. The shock(s) has been making noise for a while though. Usually when it was cold out they would make a slight creaking noise when going over slight bumps. I will look into a manual and further inspection of the strut and bushings this weekend. I can borrow a spring compressor if I get that far, we'll see. I'll keep this thread posted on my trials and tribulations, as well as look for more advice :-) Thanks all for the suggestions, comments and understanding that not everyone can be a mechanics apprentice. Somewhere, sometime, someone has to learn it w/out a master by their side. |
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