When is it time for struts?

[auroralover]

My 97 with 79,000 miles has been making what seems like a grinding noise from the left front of the car when going over small dips or bumps in the road. I only notice it at lower speeds, like 5-35 mph. Could the struts be going? I sure hate to put money for this out so close to Christmas, not even sure how much this would be. Any insight would be appreciated.

John

[stevensolds]

you know...mine is doing the same thing when going slow....mostly when you are pushing the brakes a little bit. its like a badump-badump-badump-badump. i have 79,000 miles on my 1995...... i am going to get my mom or girlfriend to take a video of my car doing this so everyone can hear, cause i stil cant get it figured out.

[Isnibs]

stevensolds
Sounds like you got what they call warped rotors

[Marc]

Push down on the front end as hard as you can. If it bounces back more than once, the struts are bad.
With good struts, the front end should hardly move when you push down on it.


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GM!!! BRING BACK OLDS!!!

[Letitroll98]

Does it make the noise when you first start out in the morning, then you don't hear it after the suspension "warms up"? I might think CV joint or tie rod bushing, possibly wheel bearing. The struts won't generally make a noise when shot, other than the thump of hitting the jounce bumpers.

[auroralover]

Thanks for the replies. I know it's not the rotors, I had brakes done a month ago. Letitroll, now that you mention it, it does seem that it does it first thing in the morning more than any other time. Hopefully not the wheel bearing, heard that is an expensive fix. Anybody have any expereience with that?

[stevensolds]

mine does it all the time. it is sooo embarassing too. have a nice car and it makes noises like that, and they are VERY audible from the outside.l

[JimW]

The reason the bearing is an expensive fix is because everything is packed into the hub, sensors and bearings.

I've changed it on my way with help of a friend and it was..well...fun..lol.

I would do some diagnosing before repairing to make sure its one thing and not another. I think we covered what it could be, time to find out what it really is and we can take it from there.

[dred98]

auroralover said:

Thanks for the replies. Letitroll, now that you mention it, it does seem that it does it first thing in the morning more than any other time. Hopefully not the wheel bearing, heard that is an expensive fix. Anybody have any expereience with that?

Jim's fun and games with wheel bearings - check out my website and look "under the hood".

[Custom88]

my riviera does the same thing. I can feel mine in the steering wheel too though. It's only when turning slowly and hitting a bump you'll get the clunking in the front end/through the steering wheel. I have new struts and mounts too..