[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Next time try Monroe shock absorbers. They are better than OEM for Honda and Hyundai. Better quality and last longer

Oh I am done with these cars. Not spending another rupee on them. This is something I have learnt the hard way: to make sure the car I buy has a modicum of quality. Which means even if I have to shop in the 20L+ range, I’ll go the pre loved way if needed. But I am done with frequent part replacements, annoying rattles and an overall ‘give two hoots about quality’ attitude which is standard equipment on just about every mass market car in the market today.

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by starke

Thanks for the FAQ list as most of the concerns with its aftermath are mentioned here.

Coming to my Terrano, I could feel a squeaky sound when I slowly go over a large speed breaker (usually a taller one) recently.

It's a 2015 model with 80k odo without any suspension works done yet. I want to be specific when I goto svc or an FNG so that they won't over-charge me.

How was your sideways swaying sorted? I remember you asked for suggestions a while ago for that problem. Am I right?


The squeak needs a little more investigation. Is it only the front? If it is a metal to metal squeak, it could be from loose or missing anti-roll bar bushes will be accompanied by rattling on rough roads. The spring seats could also be a suspect if they have lost their plastic wrap from the upper most and lower most end. They can be from non-lubricated ball-joints ones which have lost the lubrication due to cracked seals. Sometimes also due to the shock absorber housing rubbing against its inner tube.

If it is a rubber like squishy creak / groan then you should get the bushes checked.

[Indian2003]

Originally Posted by starke

Thanks for the FAQ list as most of the concerns with its aftermath are mentioned here.

Coming to my Terrano, I could feel a squeaky sound when I slowly go over a large speed breaker (usually a taller one) recently.

Squeaks can come from several places. A good place to look would be the rubber bushes. They could also come from worn shock absorbers, broken coil springs or even loose shock absorber mounts.

A good place to start would be the shock absorber mounts and the cheapest. When you go to the shop, never suggest any repairs. It is up to them to find out what is wrong and fix it.

[starke]

Originally Posted by Tgo

How was your sideways swaying sorted? I remember you asked for suggestions a while ago for that problem. Am I right?

I think it is someone else as I never had a sideways sway with my car.

Originally Posted by Tgo

The squeak needs a little more investigation. Is it only the front? If it is a metal to metal squeak, it could be from loose or missing anti-roll bar bushes will be accompanied by rattling on rough roads. The spring seats could also be a suspect if they have lost their plastic wrap from the upper most and lower most end. They can be from non-lubricated ball-joints ones which have lost the lubrication due to cracked seals. Sometimes also due to the shock absorber housing rubbing against its inner tube.

If it is a rubber like squishy creak / groan then you should get the bushes checked

The sound is coming from front, something like a plastic or rubber squeaking with metal, and mostly when my car is fully loaded and if I slowly go over a tall bump (dead slow) I could hear the squeak of suspension travel up and down. Need to check with some mechanic to understand the actual issue. anyway, no rattling if I go over some rough patches at any speed.

Originally Posted by Indian2003

Squeaks can come from several places. A good place to look would be the rubber bushes. They could also come from worn shock absorbers, broken coil springs or even loose shock absorber mounts.

A good place to start would be the shock absorber mounts and the cheapest. When you go to the shop, never suggest any repairs. It is up to them to find out what is wrong and fix it.

Yes, Im trying to find out some good FNG in Chennai area to at least understand the actual issue

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by starke

Coming to my Terrano, I could feel a squeaky sound when I slowly go over a large speed breaker (usually a taller one) recently.

Open the anti-roll bar bush clamp, check the condition of the bush and change if required. IMHO that squeak is coming from that anti-roll bar bush.

[carthick1000]

Originally Posted by jasjotbains

Can someone suggest what all signs I need to look our for my suspension assembly/shock absorbers/rubber mounts having given up on me? And whether 8 years is a good enough and acceptable time for the rubber mounts to become bad?

From your usage of ~50000kms in 8 years (more kms in the 2 recent years), my wild guess is you would have done 5000-6000kms in the first year. That is when you replaced your one (first) shock absorber. I think this is possibly a premature failure of the part and hence covered under warranty.

By now your whole suspension setup along with bushes and balljoints have endured enough of shocks, undulations, bumps, potholes, weather variations, rain, mud etc. In Indian conditions I would suggest this is a good time to spend that 10-15k to get the whole suspension an overhaul.

By the way, I owned a used BMW E90 here in the Netherlands and I replaced it's suspension when I bought it used (around 220k km) and drove it for 43000kms. The previous suspension setup replacement of struts (except spring), shock-absorbers, bushes and ball joints was done at about 120k kms. This means the life of the setup is about 100k kms. BMW uses very high quality parts and my car has been used predominantly in NL roads (which I think are the second best after Singapore). It changed the whole driving experience a lot better. So you can imagine 50000kms is quite a long mileage to be on Indian roads and it is wise to replace the suspension setup as a whole. When you do that, if you dont mind, replace also the tires completely (you can use the old ones for spare) when you do the suspension overhaul. Your future self will appreciate you.

[Indian2003]

Originally Posted by carthick1000

This means the life of the setup is about 100k kms. BMW uses very high quality parts and my car has been used predominantly in NL roads (which I think are the second best after Singapore). It changed the whole driving experience a lot better. So you can imagine 50000kms is quite a long mileage to be on Indian roads and it is wise to replace the suspension setup as a whole. When you do that, if you dont mind, replace also the tires completely (you can use the old ones for spare) when you do the suspension overhaul. Your future self will appreciate you.

I must disagree. My old suspension lasted about 150,000 km. In those 150,000 km I replaced 1 bottom ball joint, 2 steering knuckles and 1 tie rod.

I replaced all ball joints and and shock absorbers a 100,000 km ago and both tie rods last year. They are still good. I think it all comes down to driving style.

I drive my car mostly in Norway and about 15,000 km every year to Romania and back.

Roads in Norway are about the worst in Europe even beaten by poor Albania. Highways are 2 lane roads with a yellow line in the middle. There are only 253 km of motorways. Roads in the Netherlands are way better than Norway.
In 2014, Albania built 900 km of motorways while Norway built 11 km!
The roads have the same standards as Indian roads.

Only before elections can we dream of the best roads in Europe. They win elections with this promise.

[Mango]

There is no correct way to determine without looking at the suspension to determine if the suspension needs changing or not but I have observed that Hyundai's generally have soft suspension which gives in a little earlier than most cars. While you mostly have driven on flat roads, it's possible that due to the age of the car the rubber components have cracked up due to hardening(which is a fairly common sight on a car this age).

This was my Ecosport's Bushing at the 99000 kms mark. The suspension became unbearably stiff at 85k but the struts were fine and we paused overhauling it thinking that we'll be parting with the car anyway but then we decided to keep it and overhauled it at the next service. Apparent by the photos there are cracks which developed in the bushings due to age and the rough use the car sees and the rubber was extremely brittle.


Some things you can try on your own:

1) Remove the wheels and look at the struts if they are leaking, maybe clean the wheel wells as well, maybe you can spot the condition of the bushings.

2) Try putting something heavy in the boot or just climb in yourself and look for any unnatural sag.

3) Just take it out for a good drive on some beaten roads and observe uncanny sounds or thuds coming from the suspension.

[snr]

In September last year I got my Hyundai i20 serviced at a workshop called Carsmith Motors near HSR layout, Bangalore. I was facing very loud sounds when going over potholes and speed breakers. I discovered them on my way to work so I thought I'll give them a try. I was quite happy with the suggestions they gave me. I decided to get it repaired and they showed me the difference between the old and new suspension parts. They used all genuine Hyundai parts. They gave a good suggestion, pressure washing the car regularly (especially underneath the car) removes all the dust and grime which can settle on the rubber and plastic parts leading to premature wear. Since their workshop is close to my office, I get it pressure washed once a month.

This is the second time I got the suspension changed in all these years and Hyundai service guys never advised me this at all.

The owner/manager Mr. Vishwas suggested 3 things that I do regularly which will be good in the long run:

-Use correct tyre pressure at all times.
-Pressure wash the car to remove all dust and grime under the car.
-Pressure wash the front wheels to remove all brake dust.

[Indian2003]

Originally Posted by Mango

There is no correct way to determine without looking at the suspension to determine if the suspension needs changing or not. While you mostly have driven on flat roads, it's possible that due to the age of the car the rubber components have cracked up due to hardening(which is a fairly common sight on a car this age).

It is impossible to see worn bushes if the rubber has not badly deteriorated. Best way is to jack up each wheel and use a crowbar and check for damaged or worn bushes. I use the same method to look for worn upper and lower balljoints.

I do it once in a while when I jack up my car. My car is 19 years old and the bushes just as old.

[Jeep]

I face a strange problem. When the car goes through a dip or pothole one front wheel at a time, there is a creaky noise. If both wheels go in together, there is no noise. It happens when I take a turn and simultaneously go over a pothole or lowered drain cover. The FNG made me replace both anti roll bar links and it still didn't solve the problem.

Also changed one of the ( lower arm) ball joints and that didn't solve it either. I checked the tie rod ends. Both sides have got cracks in the outer tie rod boots so I will be changing those. However I do not think it will solve the problem. Worried if this needschanging anti roll bar itself, as this happens only when turning or only when one wheel goes over an undulation.

Tried lubricating the tie rod ends with silicon spray, the noise hasn't gone down a bit. Really embarrassing it is.

The struts seem to be ok, no leakage whatsoever

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by Jeep

I face a strange problem. When the car goes through a dip or pothole one front wheel at a time, there is a creaky noise. If both wheels go in together, there is no noise. It happens when I take a turn and simultaneously go over a pothole or lowered drain cover. The FNG made me replace both anti roll bar links and it still didn't solve the problem.

Also changed one of the ( lower arm) ball joints and that didn't solve it either. I checked the tie rod ends. Both sides have got cracks in the outer tie rod boots so I will be changing those. However I do not think it will solve the problem. Worried if this needschanging anti roll bar itself, as this happens only when turning or only when one wheel goes over an undulation.

Tried lubricating the tie rod ends with silicon spray, the noise hasn't gone down a bit. Really embarrassing it is.

The struts seem to be ok, no leakage whatsoever

I suspect your anti roll bar bushes. Either they are dry or have been tightened too much. Or they have had some dirt ingress.

[Jeep]

Had replaced the anti roll bar links so those bushes are new. Are there other bushes related to the bar?

Edit: just looked up. Saw the sway bar Bush on YouTube. Thank you

Originally Posted by Tgo

I suspect your anti roll bar bushes. Either they are dry or have been tightened too much. Or they have had some dirt ingress.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

My Hexa is another well built car with good quality components. Car has done 980000km and the stock suspensions are as good as new.

980000km ? or 98000 km.
My current Safari needed fresh set of front and back suspension components. But they didn't change the shock absorbers. Steering vibrations led to the front suspension work.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by Prowler

980000km ? or 98000 km.
My current Safari needed fresh set of front and back suspension components. But they didn't change the shock absorbers. Steering vibrations led to the front suspension work.

Oops. It’s 98000. Sorry for the typo.

Note to mods: pls make the correction. Thanks.

Yours is the Safari or the Safari Storme? Storme, Aria and Hexa have pretty much the same underpinnings. Personally, I’d either change just the rubber bushes, or insist on having the entire suspension changed. Shockers, ends, ball joints, link rods, tie rods.... everything. I don’t see the point of changing individual components one by one. Once they start wearing out, it’s only a matter of time when they all will need replacement. Better get everything changed in one go. Why pay labour and keep the car in the shop again and again?