Suspension and steering repair in West Chester

What the noise is telling you

• A clunk or knock over bumps. A control arm bushing, a ball joint or a sway bar link with play in it.
• A shimmy in the steering wheel when you brake from highway speed. Often not the brakes at all: worn front control arm bushings, a well-known one on BMWs.
• A hum or growl that rises with speed and changes when you steer left or right. A wheel bearing.
• Clicking in a tight turn. A CV joint. It started as a torn rubber boot that let the grease out and the grit in.
• Loose or wandering steering, or tires worn on one edge. Tie rods, or the alignment.
• A vibration at idle that goes away on the move. An engine or transmission mount — the oil-filled ones on European cars leak and collapse.

Tracking down a clunk, a click or a bearing noise is a quick diagnosis at a set price. The suspension and steering are also checked on the lift in every bumper-to-bumper inspection, free with any service.

What we replace

• Control arms and bushings. European front ends use several arms a side — the upper arms on Audis, the thrust arms on BMWs — and their rubber bushings and ball joints are the wear parts.
• Ball joints, tie rods and sway bar links.
• Wheel bearings and hubs.
• CV axles and boots. A torn boot caught early is a boot; left alone it is an axle.
• Engine and transmission mounts.
• Steering racks, pumps and lines — leaks on hydraulic systems, faults on electric ones.
• Shocks, struts and air suspension have their own page.

Alignment

Replacing a control arm or a tie rod changes where the wheel points, so the car is aligned afterwards. On its own, we recommend an alignment check once a year: it is cheap next to the set of tires a bad alignment eats, and the wear pattern on the tires — which we measure at every inspection — usually shows the problem first.

Suspension questions

Is a clicking CV joint dangerous?

It gets worse, not better. A joint that clicks in turns can eventually fail and leave the car unable to move. It is worth fixing while it is still just a noise.

Do both sides have to be done?

Not always. A joint or an arm is replaced where it is worn. If the other side is close behind, we tell you and you decide — doing both saves a second alignment.

My tires are wearing on the inside edge. Is that the alignment?

Usually the alignment or a worn bushing letting the wheel move. We look at both before aligning it, because aligning a car with worn parts does not hold.

Why does my steering wheel shake only when I brake?

It can be the rotors, but on many European cars it is the front control arm bushings letting the wheels shift under braking. We check both rather than sell you rotors that will not fix it.