A car’s suspension is built to take care of road isolation, handling and cornering. These principles ensure your car maintains contact with the road at all times, handles well, and provides a comfortable ride. As your vehicle suspension wears out gradually, you may not notice any problems until the system fails. Worn components may reduce the stability of your vehicle, reduce driver control and contribute to accelerated wear on other suspension components and tyres. It’s important to have your suspension system checked periodically to ensure your driving comfort and safety.

Steering System

Your steering system consists of a series of components such as links and gears, that connect the driver from the steering wheel to the wheels. There are two types of steering systems your vehicle may use - parallelogram and rack-and-pinion. Today most vehicles also have power assistance steering to help with parking and steering at low speeds.

The parallelogram steering system consists a steering gearbox, pitman arm, relay arm and inner and outer tie rod-ends. This type of system is used on most rear wheel drive cars. The rack-and-pinion system eliminates the pitman arm, relay rod and idler arm and is therefore lighter. This system is ideally suited to front wheel drive vehicles.

If your notice your vehicle is harder to steer, or if there is excessive steering wheel free-play, or if you feel a vibration or jerking sensation in the steering wheel, any one of these signs could be a result from an issue in your steering system. By bring your car to Bexley Auto Centre steering specialist will help diagnose any steering or suspension problem then repair it and have you back on the road quickly and affordably.

Shock Absorbers

Shock absorbers reduce movement of the vehicle’s springs as they compress and rebound during the drive. Without shocks, your vehicle would continually bounce, making driving your car very difficult and will result in steering and suspension repairs.

Struts

Struts combine numerous suspension parts into one compact assembly. These parts include the shock absorber, strut bearing, coil spring, spring seats, and steering knuckle common on many front wheel drive vehicles. The shock absorber portion of the strut is the most serviced of the strut assembly.

Signs your vehicle’s shocks and / or struts may have worn out include:

• Rocking back and forth
• Excessive bouncing
• Bottoming out
• Drifting during braking
• Swaying
• Cupping wear on the tyres

The shocks or struts on your vehicle should be checked at the same time as a wheel alignment service or if you notice any of these signs. Visit Bexley Auto Centre and talk to our trained professionals if you have any questions or concerns about your suspension or steering system.