worn struts? loose? tight?

8 years ago

my new too me 06 equinox has a weird front end shimmy?buzz when i hit bumps. it is not a clang or metallic sound. i changed 1 ball joint and control arm bushing for giggles and no difference. the other side seems fine. the nox has 140k miles and original struts. what is the theory on worn struts affecting the ride? does it seem soft? mushy? wallowy? i have jacked up front and struts extend fully. i lower nox and ride height looks normal. i can make front end go up/down with my body weight. so, struts are not locked/frozen which i hear can happen when you lift body by frame and let wheels drop. i would say the whole front end quivers when i hit a road irregularity. no better way to describe it. i even changed the steering column U-joint intermediate shaft to fix the odd steering feel that nox's are known for. it has the odd GM elec boost steering design. the elec motor is under the dash. we own a saturn vue with exact same steering setup and it is rock solid. no noise, quiver/ or buzz

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

stoveguyy
Original Author
8 years ago
had nox on a lift. tech looked at everything and his conclusion is to try new struts and mounts and see if it helps rattle. we checked motor and trans mounts. and subframe bushings. and steering rack bushings. cannot find anything that would explain the LOUD rattle/looseness feeling on road cracks. on a smooth road car is fine
300ft_anin
8 years ago
hi, i checked you tube and found this, might help. good luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTciRkZeh1s
Related Discussions
Loose Tractor Blades??
Q
Comments (9)
Well, something got to be different. I would first mic (using some type of measuring device that's +/- .001) the old blade thickness vs. the new blade thickness. Same I would now suspect that the bolt (you are using the old bolts right?)in not going far enough up into the spindle to sandwish the blades tight up against the spindle. Some new blades require spacers or washers especially if their is a difference in thickness? These small diameter fine threaded bolts used on most craftmans will not take alot of humanly possible torque. you may of had dirty spindle thread holes or damaged threads which should of showed up when you removed them by one having to crank them all the way out or two by shinny roled threads on the bolt shanks? You should of be able to break the mount bolts loose spin them out by hand, cleaned up the spindle theads and hole, star area, and bolt. install the new blades feeling them align with the star pattern on the spindle, hold the blade and install the bolt and run it down by hand till is seats against the blade, now all that is left is the one full turn or so when you torque the bolt to spec# (did I do good lurken). Rarely knew a manager to be mechanic nor did they look like mechanic's, I suspect but will give some the benifit of the dought, that they get their information (about mechanically things) from hear say?? I don't think being engaged (with the belt) would make much difference when trying to hold the blade while torquing it to spec# with the deck on or off. IMO off would be much easier
...See More
Radial arm saw raise and lower (loose?)
Q
Comments (8)
Three areas in which to look. Gear backlash between the two bottom gears. Backlash is the distance between the gear teeth, if that distance is too much, the control handle will be sloppy. Second, turn the handle and watch the play between the threaded rod and the bottom gear. Those two parts should not have any play. The third place is the play in the small gear when you move the handle. Again, should be no play there either. I suppose there could be some play at the top of the threaded rod, but you may need more disassembly to check that area. If there is play anywhere, connecting pins/whatever(fixing the gears to the shafts) may be loose or broken. There should be ab adjustment to remove excess gear backlash, but that could have to be made with shims under/behind a gear..
...See More
strut mount noise?
Q
Comments (2)
Under what conditions does the rattle occur? Does it sound like a metal or plastic part Does it sound like it might be a heavy, load bearing part? Does it sound like a trim piece? Bumper support? Bumper cover? Hood rattle? Which side of the car does it come from? Can you make it happen with the car parked by pushing the car up and down as much as you can? Try one front corner and then the other. Both corners should behave the same. If they don't, suspect the damper action of the struts. With the car parked and engine off and shift lever in park, try rocking the car front to back with the hood raised. Hear any clunking? If so, check out the engine mount that counteracts driving torque. Its a front wheel drive and the engine/transaxle assembly directly supplies torque to drive the wheels. Somewhere on the engine there is a control arm that does this job and limits engine rotation. The elastomer bushings in this torque arm are subject to getting beat up. On most cars, this arm is easily replaced. If a clunk sounds occurs mainly when only one front wheel hits a bump, suspect the bushings supporting the anti-sway bar. From underneath the front of the car, whack the bumper with a rubber mallet. Don't pound on the plastic bumper cover, but hit the metal parts. Make sure that the ignition key has been off for at least two minutes. There are crash detection accelerators up front somewhere and we don't want to blow an airbag. Rattles can be difficult to locate. If you can find a road next to a wall, drive with the front windows down and listen. Sounds that you don't normally hear will bounce off the wall and be more easily heard. I've used this technique to identify noises from wheel covers. I once had a wheel that flexed a small amount and caused the wheel cover to make a scrunching sound with every wheel rotation. In this case, the wheel was normal and the spring clips in the cover were misshapen and weak. The wall does not have to be high to be effective. It is helpful to have an observer in the passenger side to help find noises on his side of the car. You could take the car to a tire shop such as Firestone and have them check out the suspension and steering. They are adept at pushing, pulling, and prying to find worn joints. Its best if the shop have mechanics who are certified to do work other than replacing tires. The shop that I use can replace entire drive line parts including axles and axle housings on 4 wheel drives.
...See More
Need a decent quality tight back leather sofa
Q
Comments (11)
The Hancock and Moore French Curve sofa is my current favorite tight back of all the brands I carry. Sits terrific, the top is too narrow for a doggie perch. This is my floor model shown that I have in the store. I don't personally call them "lifetime" sofas, but it should go 20 to 25 years with reasonable care. Shown in an Italian burnished leather "Hyde Park" that is one of their most durable (to dog scratches) leathers. Price increases on all Hancock and Moore go into effect January 15th 2020 across the line. Just in case you were wondering. Never buy a "leather warranty" from any store, that's a terrible rip-off. Duane Collie
...See More
stoveguyy
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
2nd tech just shrugged. i ordered new struts. going to reuse my springs as they look very nice. zero rust as the struts are very rusted. both are painted steel. hmm, maybe the springs were replaced? i figure new struts of any quality will fix an issue with worn old struts?
stoveguyy
Original Author
8 years ago
1 strut was mush. blown. zero compression/rebound. just like in the car care videos of a blown strut. 2nd was not as bad but it was for sure not good. so, the suv feels quite a bit better. but the caliper pin bushing is pretty worn on 1 caliper and sorta worn on the other. so i think the remaining knock sound is from the caliper. got a bushing kit on order. they do sell a bushing/pin kit but i am hoping the pins are ok. the big kit is $66 at GM. the bushing alone is $6 at NAPA. and the pins are <$10 online from rockauto.
300ft_anin
8 years ago
it ought to be nice to drive without all those annoying clicks and clacks!
stoveguyy
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
looseness seems to be gone. ride is better. but, the light knock remains. it is not hard to hear. i inspected both strut mounts. they look fine. do i have to replace them to fix this issue? 2 different techs had my nox on lift. both said my wheel bearings are fine. i drove sisters 08 nox 100 miles to lake yesterday zero knock sound. yes i can feel the road bumps in her nox so its not like i am expecting perfection. her nox has 105k miles. mine has 145k. she has 6 month old tires. mine are not new. 2yrs old. maybe 80% tread. but they were swapped from another vehicle. so they may have some road wiggles?
stoveguyy
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
replaced the strut mount and noise is gone. thats life. do the strut alone and noise remains. i went cheap route. $40 for 2 struts delivered. and $18 for 1 mount delivered. so i have 58 into it. i think the mount on pass side is ok as i dont hear noise. get a 2nd one? pulling the strut is pretty easy. if you are into that stuff. which it seems i am
stoveguyy
Original Author
7 years ago
the original mount has a rubber layer on the spring seat. but the mount itself is plastic. the new mount does not have the rubber layer. also plastic. the old mount rubber is bonded to the seat and i cannot peel it off. do i need to get a rubber layer "piece" for this setup?
stoveguyy
Original Author
7 years ago
they sent me a 2nd mount for free after i asked if the rubber layer is a big deal. so i took off 2nd old mount and put in new mount and reused the rubber bonded part. now the front end seems quiet

worn struts? loose? tight?

Comments (9)

stoveguyy
Original Author

300ft_anin

Related Discussions

stoveguyy
Original Author

stoveguyy
Original Author

300ft_anin

stoveguyy
Original Author

stoveguyy
Original Author

stoveguyy
Original Author

stoveguyy
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

worn struts? loose? tight?

Comments (9)

stoveguyyOriginal Author

300ft_anin

Related Discussions

stoveguyyOriginal Author

stoveguyyOriginal Author

300ft_anin

stoveguyyOriginal Author

stoveguyyOriginal Author

stoveguyyOriginal Author

stoveguyyOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

stoveguyy
Original Author

stoveguyy
Original Author

stoveguyy
Original Author

stoveguyy
Original Author

stoveguyy
Original Author

stoveguyy
Original Author

stoveguyy
Original Author