| nysimonsez |
Before I take my '02 X to my mechanic this weekend, I'm trying to "pre"-diagnose a couple of problems.
1. The right rear tire seems to be bent outward (when viewed from rear of vehicle) when the back is loaded around 150-300 lbs. Looking at all 4 tires from the back when the car is loaded, the other 3 tires has a very slight (if at all) bent outward but the right rear bent out very noticeably (about 15-20 degrees by naked eye). Is this a serious problem and what do you think is the cause?
2. With 49k miles of mostly NYC driving, the ride has gotten quite bumpy and road noise is very noticeable. I don't see any leaks from the struts/shocks and the bounce test seems fine (or maybe I did it wrong). But going over potholes (especially the Willis/3rd ave bridge ramps for those of you living in NYC) the whole car shakes. And sometimes when I hit a bump the rear seems to jump and shift. With the tires I used the penny to test the Michelin CTs tread and has about 5-6/32 of tread left. Before I throw $$ in for new tires and/or strut/shocks/springs do you think these replacements may be right at this mileage? I thought that the struts/shocks would last longer than that.
Thanks for any opinions. |
|
|
| G. COLTON |
If your vehicle had 15 to 20deg positive camber I do not think it would be driveable!!!
I suggest that you take the vehicle be an alignment shop and have the suspension checked.
G |
|
|
| nysimonsez |
Thanks for the advice Colton.
The 15-20 deg (it's a rough est.) only occurs when I have around 300 lbs in the trunk area. when it's empty it's almost not noticeable.
I just hope it's nothing major.
thanks |
|
|
| SuperTech |
On a normal MDX, when the back end is loaded, you should see about 1.5 degrees of negative camber on each side. Not exactly good for tire wear, but blame the engineers for not designing in heavier rate springs.
15-20 is totally screwed up if it actually is that much. Something is severely bent. Stop driving it at once! |
|
|
| nysimonsez |
I've stopped driving it since and the next time I drive it is to the mechanic tomorrow.
Btw - can anyone tell me what should be the normal unloaded vehicle height and how is it measured so I can measure each corner? I want to see if I'll also need new springs as I've been hauling a lot of building material with the X for my house renovations the past year.
thanks |
|
|
|
