Driving my ‘05 mcs lately I’ve been noticing a shutter over bumps even the smallest bumps and can feel it in the seat of my pants. Car has 135 k miles. I don’t know if the motor mounts can do this or if this is a tale tell sign the struts are going bad or what it could be but it just started it. The upper engine mount still has the space that’s required.

 

Check your rear shock mounts (yellow pads at the top of your shock). They harden over time and shrink causing space between your rear shock and frame and allowing up/down movement of the entire unit.

 

Ok what’s the life expectancy on those?

 

As with most rubber and plastic parts, that really depends on the environment they live in. However, if they are original it is probably safe to assume they are nearing the end of their service life. They are made of a yellow material and are visible from underneath by looking at the top of the rear shock/strut where it attaches to the body. Mine are still good, but not for long and my car has lived in Florida all it's life and has only done 83,000 miles. I would also look at the front bump stops. Mine were bad and I just changed them. The rear has them too, and if you decide to change them I believe Bilstein includes them with the purchase of new shocks.I would also jack the car up and check all of the suspension components. Give them a good shake or pry with a pry bar , grab the wheels and try to move them, etc. Again, even if a car has 0 miles on it, after 15-20 years the bushings, brake hoses, cooling and fuel hoses, etc. can dry out and fail just due to the ravages of time. I always check these things on vehicles over 10 years of age. I can show you some true horror stories I have removed from neglected vehicles!

 

Ok thank you. Recently I replaced the LCA bushings with poly and the lower ball joints along with the upper tower bushings. A friend of mine said it's probably time to replace the struts but they don't have the bounciness yet like when a shock is going bad and they are not leaking. That's the only reason I didn't replace them. I drive this car everyday to and from work which is a 60 miles round trip and 7 miles each way on a section of road is extremely bad and the car bounces me to death from the horrible road conditions. But when I get on the highway just the slightest bump the car ever so slightly shutters and can feel it under my feet and feels like it's in the chassis. It still feels like maybe a motor mount but haven't checked it. I will be putting the car in the air to replace the crank pulley Tuesday so I will check everything again. My car is also equipped with the auxiliary lights on the bumper and when they are on you can see the light bounce. Very annoying for me.

 

These cars are sprung so stiffly that you could drill a hole in the struts, drain all the oil and they would probably not bounce with the normal bounce test! When you did the front strut mounts, did you also do the bump stops? These cars have very little suspension travel and may be bottoming the strut body into the upper spring perch. If the bump stops are missing this bottoming will destroy the struts. Doing the struts means also ensuring the upper and lower spring perch rubbers are there and in good order as well as the boot, the bump stop and the upper strut mount. If they have not been done recently then consider the strut mount and bump stop as part of the job. You may be able to order loaded struts at a price competitive with assembling them yourself. (loaded struts are complete bolt in assembles) With a loaded strut you would also get a new spring as part of the package. Just don't order them from a low quality brand because the parts will not last.

For the record, my original struts didn't leak either. They still had good resistance, but not enough pressure to push the rod back up when compressed. This is why I replaced them with Bilstein stock replacement struts.

 

Well after driving to work and coming home last night I decided to buy the Bilstein set. Where are the bumpstops located? When I had the struts out I didn’t see a bump stop, is it built into the strut or is it on the body? I’m hoping this will take care of the shuttering.

 

The word is 'shudder' not 'shutter.'

 

Thank you pronunciation police.

 

They are bright yellow when new and slide right onto the strut shaft. Usually they are hidden by the black boot that protects the shaft. It is not unusual for them to be completely missing on an older car because the material they are made of disintegrates over time. I think I paid around $10 a piece for them using Rock Auto. I think they come with the rears (I haven't bought them yet, but they seem to be in the picture), but not the fronts. Make certain you look for yourself before ordering.

 

Just off topic comment, but if you have the run flat tires and they are old they will make your car feel like a covered wagon on a gravel road. My vehicle felt like the suspension was completely worn out till I got new tires today. Now it rides smooth as silk and no noises. Ditch the run flats.

 

Lol I just bought new run flats. They ride out very nice and quiet though.