Your suspension does three things at once. It absorbs impacts from the road so the cabin stays comfortable. It keeps the tyres in contact with the road surface under braking and in corners. It holds the steering geometry within the correct angles for straight, predictable handling. When components wear, all three of those functions are compromised at the same time. At KITH Cars Garage in Hackbridge, suspension and steering repairs are carried out at the medium rate of £72 per hour.
Shock absorbers are the most misunderstood wear item on most vehicles. A working damper controls how quickly the spring compresses and rebounds. A worn one lets the spring bounce freely. The bounce you feel over every pothole, the way the car wallows in corners, the extra stopping distance under hard braking. These are all symptoms of dampers that have lost their ability to control movement. We replace them in pairs on the same axle because fitting one new damper opposite a worn one creates uneven handling.
Wishbones connect the wheel hub to the subframe at two points. The inner end uses a rubber bush. The outer end uses a ball joint. Both wear over time. A worn bush produces a knocking or clunking noise from the front suspension, particularly over speed bumps. A worn ball joint is more serious. In severe cases it can fail completely and allow the wheel to collapse. MOT testers apply load to the wheel to check for ball joint play during the inspection.
Anti-roll bar links are small drop links connecting the anti-roll bar to the suspension strut. They wear faster than most suspension components. The clunking noise over speed bumps at low speed is often the first sign. They are a common MOT failure item and a straightforward repair. About 30 minutes per side, and we always check both sides when replacing one because they wear at similar rates.
After any steering component replacement, wheel alignment should be checked. The track rod end or steering rack controls the toe angle of the front wheels. Change one without checking the alignment and the car will pull to one side and wear the new tyres unevenly within a few months. We subcontract wheel alignment to HS Tyres next door at £100+VAT for a two-wheel check.
CV joint clicking when turning sharply is one of the most recognisable sounds in automotive repair. It typically means the outer CV joint is worn or the rubber boot has split and the grease has been lost. Left long enough, the joint seizes and the driveshaft needs full replacement. We handle both the joint replacement and full driveshaft replacement depending on which is more appropriate for your vehicle.
