I think some front end parts need replaced on my 1999 cavi. 135,000 miles. No front end work has ever been done to the car as far as i know(I purchased the car from a friend who purchased it with 30,000 miles on it,i know the history very well) The front tires are worn unevenly,replacing them with new ones tomorrow,but need to find out why the tires aren't wearing evenly. There is a clunk from the front end every now and then when I hit bumps. What are some checks i can do the check for worn parts? How hard is front end work to do? I have used strut compressors before if it comes to that. How can I check to see if tie rods are worn? what other parts in the front suspension could need replacing? I am trying to do all of the work I can so all I have to pay a shop to do is an alignment. Thanks for all the help!!
shake it
jack the front end up and try to gently turn the wheel back and forth by hand, if something it loose you will feel it, do the same thing side to side and up and down. just shake and wiggle stuff, everythign should feel snug and tight, if its not track down what is moving.
put it up on a jack/hoist
get a firm grip on the wheel on each side, give it a hard shake, see if there's any play.
the clunk's most likely the strut tower bearing, which can be pretty cheap (I got mine at Napa Autoparts for about $60 each)
They tend to wear fast.
Check: ball joings, stabalizer (anti-rollbar) links, tie rod ends and links as well.
if u can't see due to dirt, blow some brake cleaner over the parts and just blow it off w/ a air hose, take a look.
These are not expensive parts to get, either.
Chances are u also need an alignment for the tyre wear.
Also, just ask my own question, when I jack mine up, and shake it, the wheels spring up and down, like my spring's WAY too short
I have koni yellow and GCs, so I'm assuming that when it's up (the springs don't touch the toWer AT ALL) it's just rebounding off of the shocks?
Rockauto.com has the monroe front strut mounts for $24-25. I just installed mine a few minutes ago, and the driver side bearing fell apart as I was removing the old strut mount. They sell the rear mounts for sub $15 if IIRC.
