95 concorde 3.5

Front end problems. 100,000 miles on car.

Rattle noise over every bump.(sway bar bushings were replaced on warranty at
26000 miles.)
Steering wheel shimmy around 60 miles per hr.
also pulls to the right.
(Am getting ready to relace all shocks and struts.)
any ideas?

Thanks Chris.

 

Rattle noise over every bump.(sway bar bushings were replaced on warranty at

Have steering rack checked.
It may be loose on car.
Happened on our 97 Intrepid.

Pete Geurds
Douglassville, PA

 

1. Internal tie rod bushings (between tie rods and steering rack). I changed
them somewhere at 80k. Cost me $80 (bought at AdvancedAuto), plus 2 hours of
my job, plus alignment. By the way, I've changed the rods, while somebody
had mentioned that just the bushings are available...

2. Tie rod ball joints - external, near wheels. Die easily if last alignment
was done by a not knowlegable mechanic, who did not know how to do it on the
chrysler (He must put top end of tie rod horizontally at the end of
procedure). I did it at 35k.

3. Sway bar bushing (it's 100k now, could be it). In my case 35k and 110k.

The best way to check everything is to put the car on a ramp, start
engine(!) and ask somebody to turn slightly the steering wheel right and
left while watching the three mentioned above elements with flash light or
touching by hand. Just be careful (engine is hot and working, car is
heavy...)

Only then I would think about struts.

Good luck,
Alex

 

If it is more of a bang than a rattle I would consider rear
transmission mount.

 

Steve ,, thanks for all the ideas. This gives me things to look for and
check out.
I was going to replace the struts because i know worn shocks ware out front
end and steering parts fast.
So before i start replacing front end or steering parts thought it would be
a good place to start.
I assumed 100,000 miles on any car is too much for the original struts.
However i dont know for sure they are bad , but the car corners soft and
just doesnt feel right.
THEY ARE REAL EXPENSIVE TO.
Chris

 

I have 171k miles on original struts. No problems yet.

Alex

Intrepid 3.5, 95

 

FYI, I don't think 100k is necessarily excessive for struts. We ran the
original struts on my wife's 93 Vision TSI (same car as your Intrepid)
to 200k miles. Yes, they were noticeably bad by then and should have
been replaced by about 180k, but I was amazed how long they lasted. I
also think shock absorbers are, in general, the most over-replaced
suspension item on cars.

Bushings, sway bar links, tie-rod ends, and even tires are more likely
to be responsible for pulls rattles and shimmys than are shocks/struts.
As long as a shock isn't leaking fluid, it will probably work well
enough. Shimmys and so forth aren't really a symptom of bad shocks
anyway- excessive bouncing over undulating roads is the symptom of bad
shocks or struts.