Loose/clunky suspension

[JCLW]

Don't drive my wife's 5 very often but used it the other day and noticed that the suspension no longer feels like one integrated system - more like an assortment of parts loosely holding everything together. Steering wanders, things clunk, and wheels hop over bumps.

2013 w/~190k kms (120k mi). Suspension is all original. Vehicle is well maintained, everything else works flawlessly. Newish brakes and tires.

Currently my wife's daily driver, but will probably become the kids car as they obtain their licences in the next few years. Just looking to restore near-OEM ride quality and ensure things don't come apart on the road.

At least some shocks/struts are definitely blown - I'm just going to do them all. KYB Strut-Plus (Excel-G)? Bilsteins are price competitive when comparing struts alone, but not when you factor in mounts, springs, etc. Or am I better off just doing the struts themselves and keeping the other original OEM mounts, springs, etc? Ride height still seems OK.

I don't mind paying a little more for better quality but I'd rather not get into a situation where I'm doing the struts this year, the mounts next year, and the springs the year after that. Plus its much easier to install a complete assembly.

Similar question regarding other suspension parts - better to keep the original OEM stuff and try and identify exactly what is clunking/loose? Or just get something like the Mevotech (Supreme) complete front end kit (whole kit is roughly the same price as a single OEM control arm)?

I'm kind of leaning towards just doing everything now with non-OEM kits but curious to hear what other people's experiences have been.

 

[kpoon]

I just bought an '06 w/ 28k miles & front/rear clunking.

I started w/ replacing swaybar bushings + endlinks since those seemed worn & the most common cause, & other items seemed OK.

I avoided OEM & went w/ Moog. Front clunk is now gone & am in the process of doing the same for the rear.

I'm low mileage, so for me it makes sense to just fix the exact problem.

Loose mounts seem to be another common cause of clunking, but the fix may be to just tighten them.

I usually say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

At high mileage, though, you have no idea how much life is left in the unbroken parts.

At 120 you can't go wrong taking either path. It's just a matter of, "Pay now or pay later."

Good luck!

 

[negusm]

Got KYB front struts about 25k miles ago and it removed the clunking. Replaced the front swaybar bushings at the same time. Replaced the upper strut bearing\bushing thing with all those little ball bearings in it too.

Front clunking is already back after 25k miles. Not too happy with KYB if their struts s*** the bed so fast. Maybe it's something else. I haven't really checked.

Replaced the back sway bar with a beefier one from a Mazda 3 and KYB shocks. No issue there so far. Rear mounts had a little white rust but no cracks or issues.

Right now it's a second car and I only drive it every other week so Imma just gonna live with it until it gets worse and I can zero in to exactly what the issue is.

 

[kpoon]

...exactly what the issue is.

I would bet swaybar endlinks.

 

[Lazy2.5]

Don't drive my wife's 5 very often but used it the other day and noticed that the suspension no longer feels like one integrated system - more like an assortment of parts loosely holding everything together. Steering wanders, things clunk, and wheels hop over bumps.

At least some shocks/struts are definitely blown - I'm just going to do them all. KYB Strut-Plus (Excel-G)? Bilsteins are price competitive when comparing struts alone, but not when you factor in mounts, springs, etc. Or am I better off just doing the struts themselves and keeping the other original OEM mounts, springs, etc? Ride height still seems OK.

The original struts are likely not blown.
Get the car up in the air and inspect components which frequently fail.

end links, sway bar bushings, tie rods, control arm ball joints. It's likely that one or more of these components has worn out and now has play in them. That's where you would want to start, before deducing it to worn struts.

 

[negusm]

I would bet swaybar endlinks.

Could be. They should be easy enough to change and they are original.

 

[JCLW]

Thanks for the replies all,

There is undampened wheel hop after going over bumps which is why I'm looking at struts and shocks.

Rear passenger is definitely blown, and I think rear driver as well. Going over bumps while taking slight turns at highway speeds results in the back end hopping sideways like a mad bunny. More so when turning left (weight on passenger side) but still noticeably present when turning right (weight on drivers side).

Something is up with the front passenger strut as well - it just crashes through potholes instead of the wheel extending down into the pothole and then retracting in a controlled fashion.

Now that it has stopped raining I'll try and jack it up this afternoon and have a better look at things.

 

[JCLW]

Well, I had a chance to look at the rear...

Swaybar bushings seem a little loose, end links seem OK.

Trailing arm bushings look like they are no longer pressed all the way in (both sides similar)?

Is this typical/normal? Hard to find images online. Definitely some movement when I pry on them - I wonder if the traling arm is hitting the side of the unibody and clunking over bumps?

 

[hleboklop]

Well, I had a chance to look at the rear...

Swaybar bushings seem a little loose, end links seem OK.

Trailing arm bushings look like they are no longer pressed all the way in (both sides similar)?

View attachment 336724

Is this typical/normal? Hard to find images online. Definitely some movement when I pry on them - I wonder if the traling arm is hitting the side of the unibody and clunking over bumps?

Yes, trailing arm bushings are known to go out. You can test by opening the hatch door and rocking the rear end left and right. If you hear quacking, it's them.