Hi everyone...this is my first post and it is out of frustration because I really need help and ideas on what could be causing the poor ride quality with my vehicle. I actually have a 2000 Chevy Prizm...which is actually a thinly disguised Corolla. Ever since I got it, the ride has been pretty harsh. I'll explain it the best I can...feel free to ask questions for clarification if I don't make sense. When I am driving at slower speeds from 0 to around 25 the ride feels almost bouncy. Then as I get going faster it just resembles tires that need balancing. There are vibrations and the ride is just not smooth at all. Sometimes it feels a bit like the tires have bubbles in them or as if I am driving down a slightly bumpy road or even a good quality dirt road (sounds dumb but I am trying my best to describe it). Overall, the ride is just not smooth. I really like the car and the engine is AWESOME...I drive almost 100 miles per day for my commute and the gas mileage is amazing. I really want to get to the bottom of this issue.
I replaced the tires and rims first...this offered some improvement to the ride. Then I replaced the front struts/mounts/springs (with quick struts) along with the front and rear sway bar links. I've had the front suspension looked at 3 times while having my oil changed (3 different shops) and they all said it looks fine. I also checked it out myself. I'm no mechanic but I watched some youtube videos on how to check your wheel hubs, ball joints, and tie rod ends and I can't find anything wrong either. I know my rear struts are old and the boots are torn but they return well when I press on the trunk and don't bounce over bumps so they seem okay for now. I even had my friend drive my car and I followed him in another car so I could see if any of the wheels had a bounce to them or looked like something was wrong but everything appeared fine. I definitely need to replace the rear sway bar bushings...but other than that everything appears fine. I'm wondering if the wheel hubs are out of round...could that be a potential cause? I just have no clue at this point. I would think that repair shops would be eager to find any and all problems but alas they have not...
Any suggestions or questions for me? I would really appreciate any input that you guys have. Thanks so much!
Is there any unusual tire wear showing up yet on those new tires? If you haven't had a wheel alignment done after you replaced the struts, you should have one done. This may help. Having said that, you don't want to get an alignment and then need to disturb it to replace any other suspension or steering component, and end up needing another.
The wheel hubs can be checked with a dial indicator for run-out, ie not being straight and true. Does applying the brakes change anything or make it worse? Dragging brake caliper and warped brake rotor come to mind. Or throttle to coast? It could be a CV joint that's worn out as well. Having a look at the motor mounts wouldn't hurt either. Also, did you check for looseness of the inner tie rod end (inside the rubber boot) when you were inspecting?
Those tires and rims you installed, were they ever run and proven good on another vehicle? Or installed new? The last time I bought new tires I had to go back 3 times before they finally got them ballanced correctly, being within 1/2 ounce doesn't cut it on smaller wheels and light cars.
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"The thing about quotes on the Internet is you can't confirm their validity"
Hi everyone...this is my first post and it is out of frustration because I really need help and ideas on what could be causing the poor ride quality with my vehicle. I actually have a 2000 Chevy Prizm...which is actually a thinly disguised Corolla. Ever since I got it, the ride has been pretty harsh. I'll explain it the best I can...feel free to ask questions for clarification if I don't make sense. When I am driving at slower speeds from 0 to around 25 the ride feels almost bouncy. Then as I get going faster it just resembles tires that need balancing. There are vibrations and the ride is just not smooth at all. Sometimes it feels a bit like the tires have bubbles in them or as if I am driving down a slightly bumpy road or even a good quality dirt road (sounds dumb but I am trying my best to describe it). Overall, the ride is just not smooth. I really like the car and the engine is AWESOME...I drive almost 100 miles per day for my commute and the gas mileage is amazing. I really want to get to the bottom of this issue.
I replaced the tires and rims first...this offered some improvement to the ride. Then I replaced the front struts/mounts/springs (with quick struts) along with the front and rear sway bar links. I've had the front suspension looked at 3 times while having my oil changed (3 different shops) and they all said it looks fine. I also checked it out myself. I'm no mechanic but I watched some youtube videos on how to check your wheel hubs, ball joints, and tie rod ends and I can't find anything wrong either. I know my rear struts are old and the boots are torn but they return well when I press on the trunk and don't bounce over bumps so they seem okay for now. I even had my friend drive my car and I followed him in another car so I could see if any of the wheels had a bounce to them or looked like something was wrong but everything appeared fine. I definitely need to replace the rear sway bar bushings...but other than that everything appears fine. I'm wondering if the wheel hubs are out of round...could that be a potential cause? I just have no clue at this point. I would think that repair shops would be eager to find any and all problems but alas they have not...
Any suggestions or questions for me? I would really appreciate any input that you guys have. Thanks so much!
Robert
hi robert are you sure you did'nt steel my car ? sounds just like it mine does pretty much the same thing. My right rear hums at highway speeds and makes some other strange noises once and awile. Ive checked the struts wheel hub ass. and everthing else I can think of , had both rear wheels ballenced and replaced the tire right rear.No real change!Ive just decided to drive it till something breaks. all along getting 35 mpg p.s. I have even tire wear as well.
What brand are the tires, shocks, etc that you replaced related to the rolling chassis. And where I come from bouncy = soft. Harsh= firm. And you're not gonna get that without mild suspension tweaks.
I don't have any unusual tire wear at all. I don't have any unusual noises coming from the vehicle except for a clanking noise that I know for sure is from the rear sway bar (I just ordered new bushings for both the front and rear). The front struts are cheapos from Rock Auto (Leacree). I know some people are going to try to blame them for my issues but the fact is that the problem existed before I got them and after as well so I don't think they are the culprit. They have good return when I go over speed bumps and seem fine.
The rims are actually factory steel wheels that my friend gave me off of his 2011 Hyundai Accent so they are new and in perfect condition. He upgraded his rims and tires and was nice enough to just give me his rims. The tires are Cooper Lifeliners which are pretty good based on all of the reviews I read online (got them about a year ago and tread is still awesome). They weren't cheap...around $80 each if I remember correctly. I'm replacing the brake rotors when I do the bushings because the tire place that just did my tire rotation over tightened the lugs and warped my rotors so now I do have that "warped rotor" feeling when I brake. (It was perfectly fine when I brought the car there but of course I can't prove it so they won't admit they did anything wrong.)
I honestly feel like the motor could run forever...it is amazing. This is a commuter car and I spend lots of time in it so smoothing out the ride would be really awesome. I am getting around 40 mpg right now so that's hard to beat. Thanks for everyone's input!
Here are my thoughts. I don't know of a good place to look up this info but I'd check and see if the Hyundai rims have the same center bore (hub size). If not than you will definitely be getting some out of ballance vibes. I've done that.
Second, my rear struts have gone out first on both my Prizms. Some times it's hard to tell because in some cases only one will be completely shot so jumping on the bumper really won't tell you the whole story. I have experienced some pretty scary handling characteristics when the rear shocks/struts are bad. It's almost worse when you have new struts in the front and maybe one bad one in the back.
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'98 Prizm 4spd 272K bought @ 221K for $300 Oil consumption fixed @ 265K for $247
Bennie...thanks for the info on the struts. I am going to replace the rear struts really soon. I want a pair of Sensen complete struts (quick strut assemblies or whatever you want to call them) but they have been out of stock for a while. I might end up going with Gabriels instead.
I would never buy Monroe Quickstruts again...I initially got them from Amazon for the front of my Prizm and when I tightened the upper strut mount nuts the bolts snapped right off...I freaked after the first one sheared right off so I went out and bought another brand new torque wrench from another place and proceeded to tighten another one...SNAP...I triple checked the torque specs in my Haynes manual and online and I had it set perfectly. Needless to say I returned them to Amazon and got my money back (thankfully). Then I got the cheapo Leacree's from RockAuto and the upper bolts were twice the thickness and the struts seemed to be really good quality (plus have a lifetime warranty). I'm really considering those Sensen complete struts for the rear...they are also an off-brand but are very popular with BMW owners and you know how they are...haha (my dad was one) so I really want to try them out but they just can't seem to get them in stock.
I've been able to quiet the engine and transmission down, but the ride is still kind of rough. almost like a roar, then a vibration...I think its the tiny little tires and rims or a bearing letting go.. have not been able to iron it out. Going to try changing rims and tires, borrow a neighbors. See what happens
I've been able to quiet the engine and transmission down, but the ride is still kind of rough. almost like a roar, then a vibration...I think its the tiny little tires and rims or a bearing letting go.. have not been able to iron it out. Going to try changing rims and tires, borrow a neighbors. See what happens
Cool, let me know if you have any luck...funny thing is that I don't have any real noises except for that rear sway bar. For all I know my tires are crap...I did have one replaced about 2 months after I got them because apparently it wouldn't seat properly on the rim. They said it was defective.
I was actually sincere in the good luck comment. Maybe I should have said good luck solving your issue. I cleaned that up so as not to derail your thread.
Since I am already placing an order with Rock Auto I might pick up a couple of hub assemblies since that will cover any potential problems with hubs and bearings. They are pretty cheap and i can probably get some help doing it all. The cost of a dial indicator to check them is almost as much as just buying the hubs so getting the hubs just makes sense.
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I cleaned that up so as not to derail your thread.
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