1st Gen Neon wobbly rear struts/shocks.

Hi folks,

Don't know much about the rear suspension setup on Neons, but I do know that 4 out of 5 used ones I I look at has something loose in the back, (Wobble the wheel, it goes clunk clunk clunk) Now my Sister in Law's is doing it, and the top of the strut/shock seems to be flapping around... So what's up there that's supposed to be holding it? looks like a chunk of rubber from the top of the tower. How bad does it have to get before it's a "Replace ASAP!!!!" thing?

Seems odd because I have felt the give on cars that are meant to have had a recent/current "safety" inspection. Is it one of those "Oh it's a neon thing" things? Or is there a problem developing?

Thanks,

RW222

the neons have a two piece strut mount. You can get the mount and bearing as separate pieces. Perhaps the bearing is shot, causing the noise and looseness.

There are alot of bushings in the rear end of the neon. I'd check out the tension rods for play. That one big bushing could be causing the whole assembly to move around.

The only problem I had with my neon was the blown struts. When I went to konis and MP springs, both my mounts and bearings were fine.

I had the strut top break on mine. It was clunking around for a while, and when I was taking a corner I felt the back end shift and the back wheel was tilted completely out.