I need help...strage rear suspension problem!

[3Bar_Mopar]

I go out to leave just a while ago and I hop in the car and drive out onto the main road. The driver's side rear wheel feels like it sitting on the bumpstop. It's not lower than usual, but every small bump is very jarring with a loud bang on every bump in the road....like I'm bottoming out. I thought maybe I didn't notice I had a flat or something, so I pull over and look. Nothing is unusual and the tire is fine.

I get out at the store and look underneath and find nothing...I push down on the rear of the car. The suspension compresses a little and stops on the driver's side like something is not letting the suspension compress fully.
I go back home, jack up the rear, put it on a stand and remove the rear tire. Nothing looks out of place. I use the jack to compress the rear suspension....nothing looks like it's binding.
I replace the wheel and lower the car back down. I push on the back of the car again and everything seems fine. The suspension compresses normally....what the hell is going on?????????
It was normal yesterday, the last time I drove it.
It got real cold here overnight...could it be from ice or something?

[jre97]

Tire hitting a chunk of ice in the wheel well? Bad shocks that got water in them and froze? How's the wheel bearing feel?

[3Bar_Mopar]

Tire hitting a chunk of ice in the wheel well? Bad shocks that got water in them and froze? How's the wheel bearing feel?

There was no ice in the wheel well...the wheel bearing feels fine although I don't know how that could effect suspension travel. The ice in the shocks could be a possibility and the rear shocks are kinda bad.

[jre97]

The wheel could be ----ing sideways and hitting the wheel well if the bearing was really bad. I should hope that you would notice that though.

[3Bar_Mopar]

The wheel could be ----ing sideways and hitting the wheel well if the bearing was really bad. I should hope that you would notice that though.


Yeah....extreme negative camber, lol!
I watched the wheel while driving slowly and nothing unusual was happening.

I'm thinking it is temperature related though, because today and tonight is the coldest it's been since I've had the car running and I have never had this strange problem before.

It's still having the problem too...just not as bad and it lessens the more I drive....I'm leaning toward ice in the shock. The thin plastic boot that protects the upper part of the shock piston is lose and has slid down over the bottom cylinder. I think maybe this allowed moisture to get into the shock cylinder and freeze solid....or somehow the oil in the shock froze.
The rear shocks are pretty shot anyway, and allow the rear end to bounce a few times when I press down on it, so I'm gonna replace them anyway...

[supercrackerbox]

I would think any ice in the area would be shattered and gone after not more than a few travel cycles. Check the mounting bolts on the shocks, make sure they are good and tight. I had a problem a few years back where the RR corner of the Daytona would knock like hell over every bump. Everything seemed fine, but when I put a wrench to the top bolt, I found that it wasn't as tight as I thought. After that it went away.

[Clay]

Ive had shocks freeze up when really cold before. Its like driving with solid suspension until they break free.

clay

[3Bar_Mopar]

Ive had shocks freeze up when really cold before. Its like driving with solid suspension until they break free.

clay


I'm about positive that's what it is now because here it is....10 AM and colder than 29 degrees. Shocks are frozen again...
I think 29 is the magic number for frozen shocks.

[TopDollar69]

I think its a common problem with some GM cars, specificly the Grand Prix-Lumina body style cars.

[lametec]

Ive had shocks freeze up when really cold before. Its like driving with solid suspension until they break free.

clay

Yep. I've had that too. Shock was bad as it was, and I'm sure moisture/water had gotten into it. Once it got cold, it froze solid, only allowing about 1" of travel.

[3Bar_Mopar]

Yep. I've had that too. Shock was bad as it was, and I'm sure moisture/water had gotten into it. Once it got cold, it froze solid, only allowing about 1" of travel.

Well, hello Per!

Yeah...it sucks, every little tiny pebble feels like the car's gonna come crashing down around me. I always wondered what a car would feel like with a Hotwheels suspension.

[lametec]

Hello :)

It's not fun. In my case it was the right front strut.