I have a 97 SE with 134K miles. It has the OEM struts/shocks and springs. The suspension is feeling stiff, very stiff actually. I thought the suspension got softer over time but it feels like it is getting stiffer. Almost feel like there is no dampening at all. The dust boots are gone. When I replaced the axles last year I noticed the dust boots had separated and pretty much fallen off. Could there be a piece of dust boot stuck in the shaft giving it a stiffer ride?

Aside from the axles and the sway bar end links that were replaced last spring, the underside of the car is OEM.

 

Chances are it's no good anymore, especially if the car has spent most/all of it's life in MI (the roads aren't as smooth as let's say florida).

 

my rear end is pretty much gone, lots of thunking.

 

How stiff is stiff?
Unless your floating down the road slowly bouncing, your struts are fine. Unless its hurting your back and rattling your teeth, your probably imagining its worse than it is.
As far as clunks and the like, inspect it and replace strut mounts, bushings, and joints as needed.

 

It's only been in MI about 5 years or 30k miles.

It's not so much bone jarring but it is loud. Not like a clunk of anything but just a loud "bam" when the suspension compresses. I'm probably going to change out the suspension anyway.

I also have a very slight wobble at 5-10mph. Wheels are on tight, so I'm not sure why it wobbles. I wonder if something underneath is bent. Could a bent axle cause you to wobble? I put new axles on last year and the wobble started immediately after that.

 

did you get an alignment? checked for loose Tie rod ends? well.. wheels balanced? umm... make sure the tires aren't unevenly worn? i dunno, i can possible guess and safely say the lower control arms? I'm just naming everything i know that might contribute to it.. if i am missing anything please add on to my list. o_O hope this helps?

 

do the standard suspension test.

rock the bumpers, front and back, once with tour weight on your foot and see what happens.

If the bumps occilates more than 1 1/2 to 2 times, may be worn out shocks.

 

I got an alignment last year. Wheels are balanced. Tires wear evenly.

One other thing I notice is at low speed coasting(about 5-10mph) I can feel a slight side to side wobble like a tire is loose or something but I made sure the lug nuts were tight. Even had the tire shop that put the tires on rotate and balance the tires again. Still same thing. Would a bent axle cause this? Worn wheel bearings? At highway speed I feel a light vibration like a wheel is out of balance but like I said, I had that checked. There is no noise at all with this issue, it's just feel.

 

im not sure...but i was plannin on replacing the entire steering system: control arms, tie rods, rack and pinon, everythin. There is alot of stresses put on the steeriing from those hard takeoffs hehe

 

Someone mentioned the bounce test. Go to each corner of the car and push down. If it goes up and down more than once, more than likely the strut is blown. My car has the same mileage as yours and I noticed shaky behavior when cornering sometimes. I did the bounce test and the rear went up and down.

I replaced all 4 struts. Only the rears were blown, I could move the piston in and out with my fingertips. It made a huge difference replacing just the rears. When I did the fronts there really wasn't much of a noticeable difference in ride and handling. Replacing the blown ones though made a huge improvement.

 

"I can feel a slight side to side wobble like a tire is loose or something"
Have a buddy follow you and watch to see if you have a bent rim.


"just a loud "bam" when the suspension compresses"
Sounds like a bad bushing. Does it sound like front or rear? Determine what corner its eminating from and inspect. Pay close attention to your LCA, strut/shock mounts, and rear axle pivots. Could also be your sway bar bushings, end links, or rear axle link.

 

this is how you know if your suspension is worn out:

 

OEM suspension at that mileage? Sounds like you do need new struts/shocks. You should feel a huge improvement.

As far as the "wobble", have you considered your tires? You said the wobble started after you replaced your axles. Did you get new tires around that time? Could be a bad one, but sounds like something more mechanical... Not sure what a bent axle would feel like.

 

Have 97 Max with 176K. Just had to replace front strut mounts. Car was riding rough with banging feel in front previously. I had replaced the front struts at 108K with Monroe sensa tracs. Maybe the Monroes are tough on strut mounts. I also replaced back struts at 130K with Gabriels.

 

End links are new, replaced this last spring.

 

i have a 96 max, w/ 161k miles. I bought the car w/ 145k miles and it has had a phantom vibration since i got the car. the rear struts were blown, so they got replaced first. shortly after it developed a squeak, which turned into a broken front strut mount...so new front struts just got installed. (monroe quik struts on all 4)

found that both my ball joint boots torn. i got some moog ball joints, but now i've been reading...should i be replacing the LCA assembly? I fixed an oil leak at the OP sending unit, but I still have a PS leak; which, i've reak can cause damage to the LCA bushing. I've done a shake down of the tie rods, they are tight. What should i look at on the LCA to determine wear?

i drove this car 16k miles in 6 months and it's very well maintenanced. tires are regularly rotated and balanced.

 

The wobble is his rear trailing arms bushings or control arms... Or bad bushings all around the car. Maybe MAYBE a strut bearing or Wheel bearings.

If you have bad shocks you will notice a wobble around bumps as well.

Do you ever bottom out? Or does the ride just feel jarring? If you bumper stops are gone its gonna be nasty when you bottom out. Did you look for any shock gas leaks? It will be wet or a dry residue will be around the shock.

 

No, never bottoms out and I cant see any fluid leaking from the struts.

 

The back shocks on mine were completely shot around 180K. When ever I would go over a bump, it was like the Bam you described. Take them loose and see if there is any life in them. I replaced the front struts at the same time, but they still had some life in them.
I think I am chasing a bad wheel bearing or two now, get vibration like you mentioned but I get a womp womp noise with it.