[cjmatlock]

HI all! New here. My gf just bought a 2000 corolla LE with 88,000 miles on it. Overall it seems to be a very good car. There are a few things that i have noticed that i am trying to figure out. Maybe you all can shed some light for me.

the front suspension seem to be pretty stiff and you can feel every bump in the road. I thought this car would have pretty soft suspension. It is kinda jittery over larger bumps(potholes, manhole covers). Is this normal or is something worn out?

Also when you accelerate hard it sounds like it has a hole in the muffler or something. Kinda sounds like an outboard motor on a boat. It's not that loud but you can hear the burble of the engine. It sounds like it is coming from the engine compartment and not the muffler. Also this sound was a lot worse the other day when it was raining and there was water on the roads.

What do you guys think? Is this anything to be concerned about?

 

[cheesep]

Welcome . . .

If it's jittery over potholes and manhole covers that means your struts likely need replacing. The tires aren't being held to the road and they just bounce, causing loss of grip. Does it ever thump when you go over railroad tracks or something? The rear will usually do that when the struts are bad.

The sound like a hole in the muffler is the donut where the front exhaust pipe connects to the manifold needs to be replaced. Mine made exactly the same noises you describe, and yes, it was a lot louder when it was raining. I replaced the donut and it's been fine ever since.

 

[gaj1967]

My '98 made a weird sound on initial acceleration (kinda like a gurgle) and it went away when I replaced the belt tensioner. But that was with light AND hard acceleration. I tried getting just the pulley but both RockAuto.com and O'reilly (probably Autozone also but they were out of stock) had the wrong thing so I ended up having to pay a good bit (over $100 easily) for the whole thing at NAPA since I had the car apart and the rubber bushing was going bad anyway.

I'd agree about the struts being bad. Struts start at about $60 each. If you don't want to fool with changing out the springs you can get the complete assembly for about a hundred extra.


Gil

 

[zuper8]

The sound like a hole in the muffler is the donut where the front exhaust pipe connects to the manifold needs to be replaced. Mine made exactly the same noises you describe, and yes, it was a lot louder when it was raining. I replaced the donut and it's been fine ever since.

My car has this problem exactly.... is it expensive/ difficult to fix? And is it bad for the car in any way other than being noisy?