Finding the cause of your car’s noisy front suspension is crucial to maintaining driving safety and comfort.
Your car making strange noises and (often) shaking may indicate serious problems.
By understanding where these sounds come from, drivers can take the preventive or corrective measures necessary, ensuring a smoother, more stable and, above all, safer driving experience.
Keep reading to find out about noises your front suspension may be making, from clicking to creaking, and get detailed guidance on how to identify and solve these problems.
What is a Suspension?
The suspension is a system that connects a vehicle’s wheels to its body and is responsible for providing comfort to a vehicle’s occupants, ensuring vehicle stability and control.
In addition, car suspension is responsible for absorbing any bumps and irregularities in the road surface.
What’s The Difference Between a Shock Absorber and a Suspension?
A car’s suspension and shock absorbers are connected to each other. However, they perform different functions:
- Suspension: The main function is to keep the wheels in contact with the ground, absorb shocks and road irregularities, provide passenger comfort and ensure vehicle stability;
- Shock absorber: works to decrease and control spring oscillations and vibrations, ensuring the tyres stay in full contact with the ground. They help prevent the vehicle from bouncing excessively when going over a bump or irregularity in the road, contributing to a smooth, safe ride.
What Types of Suspension are There?
Several types of front suspension are used in vehicles, each of which has its own characteristics and specific purposes. Find out the main models of this component below.
Non-independent Suspension (rigid axle)
This type of suspension is used on the rear axle, connecting the wheels of one axle. That is, the component makes it so that the movement of one wheel affects the other.
Although this type of suspension is simpler and more robust, it can offer a less smooth ride and compromise vehicle control on uneven surfaces.
Independent Suspension
In this type of suspension, each wheel moves independently without directly affecting the movement of the opposite wheel.
Air Suspension
Air suspension is a vehicle suspension kit that uses air to absorb road imperfections.
This type of suspension is generally used in lorries or luxury cars, providing the vehicle with comfort and increased stability.
MacPherson Strut Suspension
This is a simple suspension system that consists of a spring, a shock absorber, and a low control arm, which is widely used, especially as a front suspension.
Simple and efficient, the MacPherson strut suspension is a popular choice among many car manufacturers. Therefore, it is widely found in various vehicles around the world.
How Does a Car’s Front Suspension Work?
A car’s front suspension allows its wheels to move vertically and adapt to any irregularities of the road surface while maintaining vehicle stability and control.
In short, it absorbs the impacts of road irregularities, dissipating the energy generated by these obstacles. In addition, it is responsible for keeping a car’s wheels in continuous contact with the ground, even in adverse conditions.
As a consequence, it ensures stability when going around corners by minimising oversteering and helping transfer weight from one side of the vehicle to the other.
What Are The Components Within the Front Suspension?
A car’s front suspension is made up of several components that work together to provide stability, comfort, and control. The main components within the front suspension are:
- Shock absorbers: which control the movement of the springs, helping absorb bumps and maintain vehicle stability;
- Springs: responsible for absorbing road irregularities and supporting vehicle weight;
- Upper and lower control arms: connect the wheels to the vehicle frame, allowing for the wheels to move vertically while controlling their position and alignment;
- Stabiliser bar: keeps your vehicle from rolling over on curves while maintaining stability;
- Ball joints or joints: allow the wheels to rotate and absorb movements, contributing to suspension flexibility;
- Bushings: are rubber or polyurethane parts that help absorb vibrations and shocks, reducing noise and maintaining part stability;
- Pivots and bearings: components that allow wheels to rotate and maintain their structural integrity.
What is the Suspension Arm?
The suspension arm is a key part of a car’s suspension system, connecting the car body to the wheel, allowing for the vertical movement of the suspension and controlling the wheel’s positioning.
What Does the Suspension Arm Do?
The suspension arm is essential for the stability, ease of driving, and comfort of any car, helping absorb road bumps and maintain the correct wheel alignment.
What Are The Most Common Malfunctions in Suspension Systems?
The most common problems in suspensions, including the front suspension, are:
- Steering problems;
- Damaged stabiliser bar;
- Loss of shock absorber fluid;
- Front suspension part wear;
- Misalignment or loose components;
- Noise in the front suspension, such as creaking or banging.
What Are The Symptoms of Car Front Suspension Failure?
Some of the most common signs of front suspension problems include:
- Pulling to one side;
- Creaking front suspension;
- Irregularly worn tyres;
- Abnormal vibrations in the steering wheel or car body while driving.
Solving Front Suspension Problems
When dealing with suspension problems, it is crucial that you act quickly to ensure that vehicle safety and performance are maintained. As such, you should:
- Perform regular visual inspections to detect signs of suspension wear;
- Take your car on a test drive to look out for any symptoms of problems, such as noise in the car’s suspension or other signs.
If you suspect suspension problems, take your car to a qualified mechanic for a detailed inspection using specialised equipment.
Depending on the mechanic’s assessment, damaged or worn components should be replaced or repaired. This may include changing defective shock absorbers, springs, bushings, or other parts to solve suspension problems.
Once these parts have been replaced or repaired, it is important to calibrate tyres and wheels to ensure that everything is well set up, preventing uneven tyre wear and future suspension problems.
Which Tools for Car Suspensions are Available in the KROFtools Catalogue?
To increase the productivity of your workshop and improve the service you provide your customers with, the KROFtools catalogue contains tools to help you carry out the correct maintenance and repair of your vehicle’s suspension system, whether front or rear.
Keep reading to find out what they are.
Hydraulic Coil Spring MacPherson
This compressor withstands a maximum load of 1000kg and can be operated on springs with a diameter of 102-165mm.
It is pedal-operated and has a maximum air pressure of 0.9 Mpa.
Click on the image to find out more about our Hydraulic Coil Spring MacPherson (ref. 1950).
Rear Hub Bush Tool Kit For BMW 1/3 Series
This tool is used to extract and install BMW 1 and 3 Series rear suspension bushings.
Click on the image to find out more about our BMW Hub Bush Tool Kit For BMW 1/3 series (ref. 6311).
370mm Spring Compressor
This tool is used to compress the springs to facilitate their installation and removal.
Click on the image to find out more about our 370mm Spring Compressor (ref. 6324).
Wishbone Suspension Arm Lever
This tool is used to remove the suspension arm by pushing the suspension (among other parts), for example, during axle disassembly or wheel bearing replacement.
Click on the image to find out more about our Wishbone Suspension Arm Lever (ref. 6341).
The inspection and maintenance of car suspensions are essential to preventive vehicle maintenance.
When Should you Perform Suspension Inspection and Maintenance?
Drivers are advised to carry out a complete suspension inspection every 20000 or 50000 kilometres, depending on the conditions of use of the vehicle and the manufacturer’s recommendations.
In addition, if you often drive on bumpy roads with a lot of potholes, or if you use your vehicle to tow heavy loads, you are advised to inspect your suspension more often, as these conditions can accelerate component wear.
Whenever you notice symptoms such as squeaking or creaking in your car’s front suspension, vibrations, difficulty controlling your vehicle or irregular tyre wear, it is important you carry out an immediate inspection, even if it’s not yet time for your car suspension’s regular maintenance.
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