Road noise, harsh ride

[Guest imported_Fox W.]

I adore the Reatta, and the longer I have had it, the better her condition has become. However, one thing I haven't found a reason for is why a car that I know based on others words should be smooth, is so harsh for me. When I first got her I thought she was pretty quiet and nice, though bouncy due to bad shocks/struts. I had those replaced with GM OE, and that made it nice a firm. Since then however, the car has been terribly loud and feels hard every time the wheels go over any imperfection in the road, even just some cracks. It's pretty considerable sometimes, it just doesn't seem right, and I even put new tires on it that were said to be -very- quiet, and they did help road noise on good roads, but on any road that isn't -very- good, she is still bangs about over everything bumpy. I have had the car aligned twice after having a steering rack replaced (twice) and both times they said all the bushings look just fine and don't need replacement. The body mount/insulators look OK, cracked a bit, but not falling apart yet. Can any one suggest where else to look to dampen things? A Miata delivers less of a shock than this, it feels like it's bad for the car sometimes even. Also how firm/soft are the shocks supposed to be? My car still after the new shocks/struts (almost 2 years old now) is a tad bouncy in the back. Thank you all!

[Richard S]

I would blame the tires, but you say this problem pre-dated the new tires. What pressure do you run in them? A-arm bushings can be a little deceptive. The only thing you can see is the lip, which may look OK even thought the inside is torn or worn. That's a real long shot thought. How many miles between the cushy/bouncy ride, and the harsh ride? Is it equally harsh on driver and passenger sides[you can easily test this by running each side over the Botts dots]?

[Guest EDBSO]

Would you have the shock part numbers available, hopefully off the shock.

Tire brand and present tire pressures?

[Ronnie]

I would check the sway bar end link rubber bump stops. They can cause noise, rattles and possibly a poor ride when the rubber has deteriorated. Changing mine to polyurethane bump stops made huge difference in ride and handling.

Here are the instructions for replacement on a '88-'89 model. IF you have a '90-'91 model they are different.

[Richard S]

Since Fox did not post the year of his car, cannot tell what kind of end links he has. The 90 version does not usually make noises when they fail, you have to manipulate the link to tell. There is no place for urethane in that link. I have yet to see a urethane version of the sway bar bushing itself, but would like to.

[Guest imported_Fox W.]

Sorry about that, it's a 1989. The tires are Yokohama AVID Touring tires, pretty new, much more quiet as far as road noise on good roads than what was on it. The pressure is set at or below the recommended. Is it hard to replace the body/subframe insulators?

[Guest EDBSO]

The tires are not your problem. They are excellent tires.

I don't know that the body insulators are the solution either. On another car I replaced the 4 front sub frame isolators with milled aluminum stock and noticed no increase in harshness.

Buick struts are soft. I have to wonder about the front strut mounts. Were they replaced at the same time as the struts?

$40 each here, that is a deal.

[Guest imported_Fox W.]

Interesting, I'm surprised they don't help with dampening the vibrations. I have wondered if the mechanic replaced the strut mounts when he replaced the struts, I do think the harshes is predominately in the front too. I will ask him and see if he can recall, thank you for the information.

[Guest EDBSO]

You would think that Aluminum would be harsh but they weren't.

Not much give here.

Certainly made the steering much more direct.

Full DIY here. Easy fun project.

Struts usually fail soft. Could you simply have the wrong struts, as unlikely as it sounds.