suspension problem?

[trey]

my drivers side front of the car is sagging 3/4 of an inch in the wheel well on my civic. It also pulls to the left. The air pressure is fine and the tires are all the same with little wear.

Is the spring just sagging or something else?

thanks

 

[Papa Bear]

Over the years a spring broke in both our Civic and Accord. have a good look at the spring to see if it's broken. What year Civic is it ??
P.B.

 

[trey]

hmm, interesting, its a 97 civic.

 

[Papa Bear]

Turn your steering wheel hard to the left and have a look at the spring. Both of ours broke at the bottom and you had to look closely to see it. Let us know what you find.
P.B.

 

[trey]

ok, just did a quick visual, looked close and didn't see anything, later tonight i'm gonna jack it up and take a better look.

thanks for your help. I'm thinking something with the spring as well. Could a blown shock make it sag or no?

 

[Papa Bear]

No, not directly. The spring is what dictates the height.
P.B.

 

[trey]

ok, jacked the car up last night and looked closely, no breaks in spring. Did some measuring from both sides, nothing bent or anything. looks ilke a bad/sagging spring from what i gathered.

should i change the strut and spring or just the spring? This car is my winter beater,

thanks guys

 

[thrace]

A gas shock or strut that has lost pressure can sag if the other side still has pressure. Maybe only 1/2 inch or so but you might see it. I know because I installed one right gas front strut one day and the left front the next. Definitely leaned. You might have to inspect the spring by removing the strut. An old spring could sag without breaking. Any collision, rust or other damage? Compare both springs if you decide to remove both. You are brave to fix your car in Chicagoland in the Winter.

 

[trey]

hmm, i didn't know a shock or strut that lost presure can make your car sag. hmm, well i def. don't want to change the spring then put it all back together and have it still sag.

I prolly should just change the strut and spring then?
no damage to the current spring.

 

[Tosh]

>A gas shock or strut that has lost pressure can sag if the other side still has pressure. Maybe only 1/2 inch or so but you might see it. I know because I installed one right gas front strut one day and the left front the next. Definitely leaned.

I don't believe a gas shock can hold a car up unless it has support springs built in. Did you drive the car around between the two? Otherwise the car could take a temporary set until the suspension settles. The same effect is seen when one lets the car down off the jack. It can look lopsided until it's driven (or bounced).
Trey: Not so fast on swapping that shock. You need to be sure you're on level ground before you decide on how much sag you have. Has the car hit anything since its last alignment to cause the pull?

 

[Korean_redneck]

quote:

---

No, not directly. The spring is what dictates the height.
P.B.

---

My car sags about 3/4 inch. My rear gas struts are leaking due to overload of cargo.

 

[trey]

no it hasn't hit anything recently.

 

[Tosh]

>My car sags about 3/4 inch. My rear gas struts are leaking due to overload of cargo.

A strut is an assembly consisting of a coil spring AND a shock absorber. KR, if your car is sagging, then the spring part of your strut is worn. Leaking shocks alone won't cause the car to sag. A heavy load can wear out shocks sooner because the shocks (and springs) are working harder over bumps, but a heavy load alone (sitting still) does not affect shocks. Prove it to yourself by removing the shock: the car still sits at the same height with or without the shock. (You can't easily do this for struts, and it also doesn't hold true for special load assist shocks.)

 

[eljefino]

I would get a strut assembly (strut and spring together) from a junkyard. Cheap, easy, and you don't have to mess with a spring compressor to remove the spring from the strut.

Usually three little nuts at the top and two huge fasteners down at the steering knuckle. Don't touch the big nut on the top of the strut, in the middle- that holds the spring in and you don't need that flying through your face.

 

[theguru]

On many cars after a strut replacement you will need a wheel alignment.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Is your strut covered in oily grime?

 

[tdi-rick]

quote:

---

I don't believe a gas shock can hold a car up unless it has support springs built in.

---

a gas pressurised damper, like a Bilstein will raise the ride height of the car. This 'lifting force' is a function of the nitrogen pressure multiplied by the shaft cross sectional area. eg. a 5/8" shaft damper with a 200psi gas charge will have a 'lifting force' of 61lbs. A conventional, unpressurised hydraulic damper has absolutely no effect on ride height.

It sounds more like Trey has a sagged spring. measure the loaded height of both springs, and if you can remove both front springs easily (unlikely being a Mac Strut front end, you'll probably need spring compressors) measure the free length of both. One will be shorter than the other.

 

[trey]

no the strut isn't oily. thanks for the help guys, i just found some springs on ebay so i'll be changing that one out, actually prolly both fronts i'll change

thanks