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7 Posts
Greetings,
Okay, I'll start from the beginning.....(2008 Dodge Caliber SE, 1.8L, Manual Transmission)
Took the car to Belle Tire for an oil change and to address some grinding noise I was hearing during steering. Their diagnosis was that the ball joints (front and rear, lower and upper) were shot. They also recommended that I get new struts since mine were showing some leakage (car has 208k miles). I decided to do the work myself to save some money.
So, here is what I did....
1. Replaced the front left and right strut assemblies. Note, these are whole quick-strut assemblies with springs, struts, etc ready to mount. They were an off-brand (Prime Choice Auto parts). Here are the exact set that I got and put on the car - 2 Complete Strut Assemblies. It states that these are for the "SE-SXT" (?). I have the SE. Are the strut assemblies for the SE and SXT different? From other parts stores I've searched, they appear to be different and don't use the same part (?). More on this later....
2. Replaced the A-Arms with ball joints, front left and right (Moog brand parts). Also replaced the control arm links on both sides.
I then proceeded to test drive the car. The clunking and grinding noise was gone, so the new A-arms with ball joints took care of that problem. However, there was a very noticeable vibration/shutter during acceleration. It was consistent, especially noticeable going through 20 mph during acceleration. At that time, I thought well, it needs a front-end alignment now. Research also told me that my CV joints could be bad too. Maybe the new strut assemblies were uncovering other problems now?? I do not know for sure if I had vibration shutter problems before any work was done. There were times here and there where I thought I may have felt a shutter/vibration during acceleration, but not sure.
So then I did this....
1. Replaced both CV axles. Exact part numbers from PartsGeek.com: 29037-05232902, and 29037-05337962.
2. Replaced both steering knuckle assemblies. I was hearing what I thought might be a wheel bearing starting to go, plus I thought it may go soon anyway, so if I'm going to have everything apart up front, now would be a good time to replace the wheel bearings. It was easier for me to replace the whole knuckle assembly with hubs, bearings and all than to push out bearings, hubs, then push them back in, etc. So, new knuckle assemblies with hubs and bearings.
3. Replaced both left and right, inner and outer tie-rod ends. Again, everything was going to be apart, might as well replace those too as they are easy enough.
4. Replaced rear strut assemblies. Here are those - 2 Rear Strut Assemblies. Again, website states they fit RT-SE-SXT?? One part is good for all models??
5. Replaced rear, left and right, upper and lower control arms. Moog brand parts.
At this point, all the work that I wanted to do was done. I took the car for another test drive. I was expecting that the vibration/shutter during acceleration would be gone now since I had brand new CV axles. The vibration/shutter was still there. Eh....now what? Front-end alignment???
1. Took the car in for an alignment. Alignment within OEM specs (<= 0.4°) after the alignment work done.
2. Had them check for any damaged/worn engine mounts. Engine mounts good.
Took the car for a test drive. Vibration/shutter during acceleration still there. Very noticeable still. So, at this point I was at a loss, so took it back to the local auto repair shop that did the alignment work. After a look-over of the car, they were stumped too. However....they did notice that the ride height is now about 2.25 inches higher than original OEM. The height difference now is visually noticeable. They were questioning if now that the ride height is a bit higher, is it putting the CV axles too far out of dimensional tolerances to where the CV joints aren't able to turn freely completely??? They couldn't say for sure.
I then took the car back to Belle Tire to have them look at it. They too are at a bit of a loss as to what the exact problem is. They put the car up on the hoist and there were several technicians looking at it and checking things out. They were turning the front tires to apparently check for any CV axle joint issues. Nothing, both tires turned freely no problem. He then got in the car and accelerated while the car was up on the hoist. Again, nothing and no apparent noises or vibration. I would think that in theory, if the CV axles were binding because of excessive ride height, that it would be especially noticeable while the car was up off its wheels and on the hoist, because you're increasing the "ride height" even more by doing that (?). But nothing, seemed fine. Of course, there's no load on it either because the car is up on the hoist. So, it appears now that we are at a process-of-elimination phase. They swapped the left-side CV axle with a known good one. Nope, problem still there. Tomorrow morning they are going to do the same for the right side CV axle. I don't presume that will fix the problem either, but who knows? If not, we're moving on to the front strut assemblies.
Any ideas from anyone here? Is that 2.2 inches of increased ride height causing a problem with the CV joints or are we barking up the wrong tree?
Thanks,
D.
Okay, I'll start from the beginning.....(2008 Dodge Caliber SE, 1.8L, Manual Transmission)
Took the car to Belle Tire for an oil change and to address some grinding noise I was hearing during steering. Their diagnosis was that the ball joints (front and rear, lower and upper) were shot. They also recommended that I get new struts since mine were showing some leakage (car has 208k miles). I decided to do the work myself to save some money.
So, here is what I did....
1. Replaced the front left and right strut assemblies. Note, these are whole quick-strut assemblies with springs, struts, etc ready to mount. They were an off-brand (Prime Choice Auto parts). Here are the exact set that I got and put on the car - 2 Complete Strut Assemblies. It states that these are for the "SE-SXT" (?). I have the SE. Are the strut assemblies for the SE and SXT different? From other parts stores I've searched, they appear to be different and don't use the same part (?). More on this later....
2. Replaced the A-Arms with ball joints, front left and right (Moog brand parts). Also replaced the control arm links on both sides.
I then proceeded to test drive the car. The clunking and grinding noise was gone, so the new A-arms with ball joints took care of that problem. However, there was a very noticeable vibration/shutter during acceleration. It was consistent, especially noticeable going through 20 mph during acceleration. At that time, I thought well, it needs a front-end alignment now. Research also told me that my CV joints could be bad too. Maybe the new strut assemblies were uncovering other problems now?? I do not know for sure if I had vibration shutter problems before any work was done. There were times here and there where I thought I may have felt a shutter/vibration during acceleration, but not sure.
So then I did this....
1. Replaced both CV axles. Exact part numbers from PartsGeek.com: 29037-05232902, and 29037-05337962.
2. Replaced both steering knuckle assemblies. I was hearing what I thought might be a wheel bearing starting to go, plus I thought it may go soon anyway, so if I'm going to have everything apart up front, now would be a good time to replace the wheel bearings. It was easier for me to replace the whole knuckle assembly with hubs, bearings and all than to push out bearings, hubs, then push them back in, etc. So, new knuckle assemblies with hubs and bearings.
3. Replaced both left and right, inner and outer tie-rod ends. Again, everything was going to be apart, might as well replace those too as they are easy enough.
4. Replaced rear strut assemblies. Here are those - 2 Rear Strut Assemblies. Again, website states they fit RT-SE-SXT?? One part is good for all models??
5. Replaced rear, left and right, upper and lower control arms. Moog brand parts.
At this point, all the work that I wanted to do was done. I took the car for another test drive. I was expecting that the vibration/shutter during acceleration would be gone now since I had brand new CV axles. The vibration/shutter was still there. Eh....now what? Front-end alignment???
1. Took the car in for an alignment. Alignment within OEM specs (<= 0.4°) after the alignment work done.
2. Had them check for any damaged/worn engine mounts. Engine mounts good.
Took the car for a test drive. Vibration/shutter during acceleration still there. Very noticeable still. So, at this point I was at a loss, so took it back to the local auto repair shop that did the alignment work. After a look-over of the car, they were stumped too. However....they did notice that the ride height is now about 2.25 inches higher than original OEM. The height difference now is visually noticeable. They were questioning if now that the ride height is a bit higher, is it putting the CV axles too far out of dimensional tolerances to where the CV joints aren't able to turn freely completely??? They couldn't say for sure.
I then took the car back to Belle Tire to have them look at it. They too are at a bit of a loss as to what the exact problem is. They put the car up on the hoist and there were several technicians looking at it and checking things out. They were turning the front tires to apparently check for any CV axle joint issues. Nothing, both tires turned freely no problem. He then got in the car and accelerated while the car was up on the hoist. Again, nothing and no apparent noises or vibration. I would think that in theory, if the CV axles were binding because of excessive ride height, that it would be especially noticeable while the car was up off its wheels and on the hoist, because you're increasing the "ride height" even more by doing that (?). But nothing, seemed fine. Of course, there's no load on it either because the car is up on the hoist. So, it appears now that we are at a process-of-elimination phase. They swapped the left-side CV axle with a known good one. Nope, problem still there. Tomorrow morning they are going to do the same for the right side CV axle. I don't presume that will fix the problem either, but who knows? If not, we're moving on to the front strut assemblies.
Any ideas from anyone here? Is that 2.2 inches of increased ride height causing a problem with the CV joints or are we barking up the wrong tree?
Thanks,
D.