Signs Your Air Struts Have Gone Bad

Jan. 20, 2011 - PRLog -- If you've ever wondered about the purpose and function of your air struts, just about the minute they start to go bad you'll have the answer to that question. From a safety and ride comfort point of view, you don't ever want to wait till they do go bad in order to find out.

Your struts are there to stop your car from bouncing all over the place. Basically when you're getting handling problems it can be a sign you need change your struts. But the reality of the situation, in the name of safety, you really need to change them before that starts to happen.

Even during regular driving, if you your air struts are stuffed you'll start to notice several things in your vehicles performance and handling.

One of the most common signs is excessive swaying and body roll while cornering or even during steady-state cornering. If your car has totally worn out struts, it will tend to ‘float' over even the smallest lumps and bumps in the road. Trying to drive a car in this state has been likened to the sensation of “trying to handle a barge in the ocean.”

Another sign your struts need replacing is any amount of uncontrolled wheel movement. This is the opposite of the first problem. Rather than floating over imperfections on the road surface, when this problem gets bad it will feel like you're driving over a washboard with a jarring rapid up and down bounce.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1uQaN9x37U



Probably the best known symptom of sick struts is ‘bottoming out' over large dips in the road, speed bumps or when you are carrying extra weight or passengers. You might first notice this driving over a familiar stretch of road and all of a sudden your car bottoms out somewhere you've never had a problem before.

Finally, your blown struts will be most noticeable when you're doing a rapid right-left-right transition. If your vehicle tends to continue leaning one way while the car is actually traveling the other, new air struts are well over due. You don't ever want to experience the worst case scenario here when your car has the potential of spinning out or rolling over.

Really, in the name of safety it is not recommended that you wait till you start noticing these signs because if you're already noticing them it means your struts and the safety of your vehicle are already compromised. This is why most car dealerships and parts manufacturers will tell you, you need to change your struts every 40,000 miles or so. Contrary to popular belief, they're not just out to get more cash off you!

If you understand how the air struts on your vehicle integrate with the other suspension components and when applied to the front suspension, also integrates steering components, you'll have a better appreciation of how important they are to the overall handling your care and therefore the safety of your ride.

So even if you're not yet noticing the side effects of worn struts we've just mentioned, it's far safer for you and everyone else on the road to get them checked for signs they are weakening or near failure, and replace them regularly.

# # #

http://www.airsuspension.com/ - Having air suspension problems? Consider our air ride suspension conversion kits to get that new car ride again. We offer struts, air shocks and shock absorbers.