The fact that any component in a car must be in good working order is beyond doubt. This fully applies to such an important part of the car as the suspension - its technical condition must always be perfect. It is responsible not only for comfort when driving on roads with heterogeneous, poor-quality surfaces, but also for safety. So, it is the suspension that is responsible for maintaining a horizontal position of the body when driving.

This is required to maintain control over the vehicle making sudden maneuvers, especially on high speed. If there is a faulty or heavily worn element in the vehicle suspension, there is a real threat to the safety of the driver, his passengers, and other participants. traffic. Eg, sagging springs or damaged shock absorbers, which are unable to ensure the stability of the car, can cause it to fly into a ditch when trying to overtake or entering sharp turn. Independent and timely diagnosis will allow you to avoid similar problems.

How the suspension works

To ensure that your car's suspension always remains in good technical condition, you should check it yourself periodically. Suspension diagnostics can be carried out in service centers using special stands and computers, but this is not suitable for every car. In addition, the cost of such a service is a considerable amount. For the vast majority of owners of domestic vehicles, self-diagnosis of the suspension is the most the best option.

To correctly diagnose the suspension yourself, you need to know how it works. The main elements of any suspension, which are most often subject to failure, and accordingly require special attention, are the following:

For experienced drivers who have spent many years behind the wheel, problems with self-diagnosis no suspension occurs. Often, they just need to listen to the car while driving to accurately determine the faulty unit. For inexperienced drivers or owners luxury cars, where everything is controlled electronically, things are not so easy. However, it is necessary to perform suspension diagnostics.

Principles of self-diagnosis

Periodic diagnostics of all suspension elements is important for any car, but not all car owners do it. This is due to both a considerable investment of time and some inconvenience - it is better to carry out independent diagnostics by lifting the car on a lift. However, the appearance extraneous noise and knocking in the suspension when the car is moving, forces most drivers to crawl under the car. This is an excellent alternative service check, after all Often the cause of knocking or grinding is just a cheap rubber seal, replacement of which is a matter of a few minutes.

The primary task when independently diagnosing a suspension is a visual inspection of all protective covers, or anthers. Any experienced mechanic will tell you that a unit without boot protection either already needs repair or will require it later. soon. It should be understood that the presence of cracks on the still intact boot, discovered during self-diagnosis, should be regarded as the need to replace it with a new one, since it will no longer perform its direct duties in the near future.

After diagnosing the anthers, you can begin diagnosing the front suspension - it is more susceptible to damage, since it is the first to encounter all the flaws road surface. Diagnostics of shock absorbers consists in their visual inspection- visible deformations and oil leaks are not allowed on the body. This should not be confused with oil deposits, the presence of which is considered normal. The serviceability of these elements can be judged without inspection - just rock the car while it is standing on the ground. If it continues to swing on its own after the driver no longer puts any effort into it, then it’s time to change the shock absorbers.

Important! When diagnosing suspension springs, attention is first paid to the presence of visible cracks in them.

It is also worth assessing the ground clearance; if it is less than normal, then the springs also do not perform their functions and require replacement. Ball and silent blocks are diagnosed with the car raised. There should be no pronounced play, deformation or delamination. There should be no play on the stabilizer supports, rods and bearings. The same moment is checked on the steering rod. Carrying out self-diagnosis of the anterior or rear suspension, it is advisable to pay attention to the brake system - primarily to the discs and pads. Some tips for self-diagnosis - in the video:

How suspension malfunctions manifest themselves

To suspect not quite correct operation suspension, you don’t need to be an experienced mechanic - often diagnosing a car is not that difficult. Especially if the car was purchased new, and the memories of a smooth, comfortable and silent ride have not yet been erased from the car owner’s memory. Of course, the quality of the road surface in many regions of our country is far from ideal, but there are a number of signs, the presence of which is a reason for at least a simple visual diagnostics pendants. These “calls” include the following:

Basically, any of these symptoms is already a reason to diagnose the suspension: computer or independent. Operate the car with faulty suspension not only unacceptable by the rules, but also simply dangerous. In addition to the immediate threat to life and health, postponing car diagnostics and repairs until later often leads to the need for very expensive and lengthy repairs in the future.

Most common faults

The majority of suspension malfunctions on any car arise as a result of a noticeable mechanical impact that continues as long as the car is moving. Impacts on uneven road surfaces cause continuous mechanical stress, as a result of which certain defects appear even on metal parts, making normal operation of the suspension no longer possible. Among the most common and typical breakdowns standard suspensions, which are easy to determine during self-diagnosis, include the following:

• impaired wheel alignment;
• loss of design stiffness by springs and shock absorbers, and in case of serious overloads and full exit them out of order;
• loss of the correct geometric shape by the suspension arms;
• damage to silent blocks, ball bearings;
• ruptures or severe abrasion of rubber seals.

What are the consequences of not diagnosing the condition?

Lack of basic self-diagnosis front and rear suspension cannot remain without consequences even for the most technically advanced car. Of course, we are not talking about the need to independently diagnose and interfere with the work of complex adaptive suspension, which is completely controlled electronically. But the standard suspension options that most vehicles are equipped with require constant attention from the driver. A worn suspension significantly impairs the comfort of the driver and passengers during the trip., but this is the least significant consequence.

Incorrect operation suspension poses the following problems while driving:

• noticeable increase braking distance, due to the high reactivity of the body, which allows serious swaying when trying to brake sharply, as well as accelerate;
• poor stability of the car on the road, which is especially noticeable when maneuvering at high speed - too much body roll can lead to a complete loss of control over the car, especially at slippery surface;
• large loads on the load-bearing elements of the body, resulting from weak damping, accelerating its wear.

In addition, operating costs for car maintenance increase, for example, uneven wear requires more rubber frequent replacements, which can cost quite large sums.

We will not discuss or emphasize the importance of suspension for a car. This is as important a set of mechanisms and assemblies in a car, like any other. Let us only recall that the suspension (suspension system) plays the role of a link connecting the frame or supporting body of the car with the road. Structurally, the suspension is part of the car chassis.

How to diagnose suspension

There is no need to say that the serviceability of the suspension, its parts and components is safe movement, and movement in general. A malfunction of any suspension part leads to unpredictable consequences, or rather the consequences are the impossibility of movement or damage to the car body, and body repair is not a cheap pleasure. And if only - in the best case.

As always, several options are offered for your consideration. It should be noted that one does not exclude the other. And you can judge the effectiveness of any of them only after you try them.

DIY suspension diagnostics in a literal sense, this is an “old-fashioned” method that has come to us since the times of Zhiguli and Muscovites. This is when we rock the rear of the car and let it go. After this procedure, the body rolls 1.5 times, i.e. full up and slowly down. Therefore, we confirm. Old experts on the sounds of knocks and grunts in the rear suspension area will be able to tell you what you need to pay attention to. Alas, this method of diagnosing suspension is in no way suitable for modern cars.

Computer diagnostics of suspension- This is high-tech work, but it is only applicable for electronic systems management. This means it is not suitable for outdated car models, of which there are still a considerable number on the country’s roads. This type of diagnostics involves reading data from sensors and gives recommendations in % of the factory parameters.

Vibration stand for suspension diagnostics- This is another way to check the condition of components in conditions close to road conditions. The trouble is that the stands of different companies are set to different parameters, but they always require one thing - before the suspension is diagnosed on a stand, the car must be brought into good technical condition.

Those. By comparing the results obtained from the vibration stand with the factory parameters of a particular model stored in the computer, we end up with completely useless information. And what’s most interesting is that the data can differ radically on different services.

How to diagnose the suspension yourself

The way out of the situation suggests folk experience. Please note that diagnostics of the front suspension requires special attention from the car owner. This is approximately the same as with the diagnosis of the anterior and. It is in front of the machine that experiences loads much greater than the loads on back auto.

Traditional diagnostics of suspension components

• First of all, we check the anthers and rubber covers. It is accepted that the part that is torn rubber cover, definitely requires replacement (repair)
• Check for signs of oil leaks. This primarily concerns the diagnosis of shock absorbers
• The degree of wear of the springs is visually determined by the height of the car body sag
• Ball joints - checked using a mount by rocking up and down. There should be no noticeable play
• Silent blocks should not have visual deformation, cracks or peeling. When pressed with a pry bar, they should not play. It is best to check ball and silent blocks on a raised machine with the ball mount to the lower arm unscrewed
• Bearings upper supports The suspensions have play when rocking up and down if they are faulty.
• The stabilizer and link supports should not play during increased swinging.
• Steering rack failure is not a common occurrence. The serviceability of the guide bushings is checked by rocking the rack itself.
• The tie rod and tie rod end are checked by two people. Your partner turns the steering wheel left and right, and at this time you grab the part with your hand. Neither the tip nor the rod should have any play.
• The CV joint warns us of its malfunction with a characteristic cracking noise while driving, especially when turning.

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An important step in getting to know the car you want to buy second hand is checking the car's chassis. The chassis is a large set of mechanisms, some parts here are consumables, since this part of the machine is movable, and its elements are directly responsible for contact with the road, steering, and much more.

Even if the car is legally clean, and everything is in order with the main units like the engine, this is not a reason to rush out and buy it - look under the bottom, there are also enough vital elements for the car.

Those who are not ready to spend money on diagnostic services in the service, while reading, thought about how to check it themselves chassis car? We will tell you about this in detail.

Self-check of the car chassis

If you decide to check the car yourself, including seeing what is under its bottom, it is important to know what to look for - the car has four wheels around the perimeter, in the middle most often there are crankcase protection sheets, but this does not mean that you should not look there for what.

First of all, faulty elements suspensions give themselves away with extraneous sounds. If you can hear them below extraneous sounds, then the culprits requiring replacement or repair may be:

• Shock absorbers are an element that absorbs all the bumps and impacts from road potholes;
• Strut springs are constantly loaded, over time they inevitably “get tired” and require replacement;
• The CV boot - as the name suggests, protects the part from dust. If it is dirty or torn, replacement is required;
• The support cups of the racks - by and large, simply must be intact and not deformed;
• Silent blocks - what they connect various parts pendants. Represents two metal bushings with a rubber insert in the middle. If, when driving, there are strong vibrations from the suspension elements, and the car is not very stable, questions should arise primarily to this element;
• Various backlashes can affect many chassis elements at once, be it CV joints, tie rod ends and much more.

It’s worth dwelling on some points in more detail to clarify the details, especially if many of these words have become something new for you.

Shock absorbers are the simplest thing; no special skills or abilities are needed here, and anyone can check their condition on the spot. To do this, just try to rock the car; if it rocks more than twice, the shock absorbers need to be replaced. To make sure that they are faulty, you can lift the car and inspect them from the side for any leaks.

With springs it is somewhat more complicated - the fact that the springs have “sagged”, unfortunately, may not be visible to the naked eye. But it is very clearly visible if the spring is broken. And the height of the car’s suspension will give a hint if something happens - if the car is too low, then it’s worth paying attention.

With anthers everything is simple - if they are whole and clean, then we move on, if they are dirty or torn, or all of them - we change them. The part is not too expensive, even cheap (what can be expensive in a piece of rubber?), so torn and dirty boots can only be a cause for concern if the owner has been driving with them in this condition for a long time.

Buying a used car with self-diagnosis involves getting your hands a little dirty and inspecting the car from top to bottom. Some parts of the chassis need to be checked more carefully and in several stages, since it will no longer be possible to determine the problem “by eye”.

For example, silent block. Here everything is a little more complicated and you will have to tinker if you want to know everything for sure. If you checked the car while driving and noticed that the car is “pulled” to the side while driving, then the algorithm for checking the silent blocks is as follows:

• Raise the car with a jack, or better yet, drive it into the inspection hole;
• While the car is suspended, remove ball joints to get to the silent blocks;
• Check the condition of the parts working in conjunction with the silent block. This is a suspension arm that you can swing and check that it springs back. Check the bushing; it does not rotate relative to the lugs. After this, check the silent block itself for knocking;
• It is important to check the element for play and mechanical damage. If the element is too mobile, or it is damaged on metal parts or rubber, you should consider replacing the entire element.

If you are not afraid to take on the installation, you can check the condition of the stabilizers while under the car. If you insert the assembly between the subframe and the bushing stabilizer and wiggle it, you will understand whether the elements are working properly or not. A bushing that is too old due to deformation will cause the stabilizer to “walk.” This indicates the need for replacement. However, this procedure still requires a lift; if you have one in mind, use it, but it would be better to go to a service center, where the procedure will be carried out for a modest fee.

In case of braking system everything is simple if the car has cast or forged wheels. If you are considering a simple option with “stampings”, you can’t do without removing the wheel and studying the elements of the system.

Condition is important brake pads- they must not be rusty or worn out. Otherwise, they need to be replaced. The same applies to brake disc, and here a caliper may come in handy, since for different cars The installed thickness of the brake disc varies, and the easiest way to determine the condition is by regular measurement.

The last thing I would like to mention cannot be attributed to any specific element; it concerns many elements at once, and in some cases can lead to serious consequences.

Examine the chassis for a variety of backlashes. To do this, you need to find out how movable certain suspension elements should be, and check with your own hands how movable they are on the car. Any play above normal needs to be eliminated, and for some parts big play(for example, in the steering) can be dangerous both for the car and for the people in it.

Contacting service

Another, simpler, but less economical option for checking the chassis of a car before purchasing is to pay for chassis diagnostics at a car service center.

The advantage here is not only that you don’t have to crawl under the car yourself and check the elements for play, but also that the diagnostics are usually comprehensive, and they will tell you not only about the chassis, but also about others important details And technical points car.

If you want to thoroughly know everything about the car’s chassis and suspension after checking, then ask the technicians to check the chassis point by point to get information about its most important elements:

• Shock absorbers;
• Levers;
• Steering pins (knuckles);
• Ball joints;
• Springs;
• Anti-roll bar;
• Stabilizer's pole.

From the state of these chassis elements, conclusions are already drawn and a decision is made. Price complex diagnostics the service cost is about 2-3 thousand rubles, and in this case the specialists will lift the car on a lift, examine the suspension elements, and inform you about what to replace and what repairs are required for the car and its chassis.

Checking the chassis will tell you both about its condition and how the car was cared for in general. Not a single motorist who cares about his vehicle will never allow serious damage in the chassis and will not “start” it. Cracked springs and torn boots are a sign that the car has not been looked after, and may be a reason to refuse to buy a car.

And don't forget to check the car's history before purchasing. This can be done using the Autocode service by state. number or VIN. The check is carried out using 16 official sources: traffic police, RSA, EAISTO, Federal Tax Service, Federal Customs Service and others. In 5 minutes you will learn about all the problems that the car has: incorrect mileage, traffic police restrictions, being wanted, on credit or under arrest, and much more.

If the online check is positive and the car is legally in in perfect order, we recommend that you study its technical component in more detail. To do this, it is best to use the services of an on-site car inspection. A specialist will arrive at the appointed time at the appointed place and inspect your car using special equipment. In this way, even the smallest hidden damage will be identified.