**Understanding Your Car's Suspension and Alignment**

When it comes to improving your car's ride quality, there are several components that can affect how it handles on the road. In this article, we'll explore some common causes of clunky rides and how to diagnose them.

**Replaced Struts But Still Clunky?**

If you've recently replaced all four struts in your car and still experience a clunky ride, there are several other components that could be contributing to the issue. A strut is an assembly that includes a shock absorber cartridge and a spring. If the strap mount itself is worn on any of those struts, it will still clunk because that's where the top meets the rest of the suspension system. Additionally, the bushings in your lower control arms can wear out and cause a clunky ride. The ball joints on the bottom of your car can also be worn out or loose, causing vibrations and noise. Even the tie rods and steering components can be worn out or damaged, leading to a clunky ride.

**Diagnosing Clunky Rides**

If you're not sure what's causing the clunky ride in your car, it's essential to listen carefully when driving over bumps. If you can't replicate the noise yourself, take your car to a mechanic like me and use specialized listening devices that come with a set of sending units. These will allow you to pinpoint exactly where the clunk is coming from by switching between four different channels while wearing headphones. By locating the source of the problem, you can begin to diagnose the issue.

**Fixing Electrical Issues in Your Car's Computer**

If your 2008 PT Cruiser's computer is malfunctioning, it's essential to determine whether it's actually the computer that's bad or if there's an electrical problem with a sensor or wire. The computer requires a reprogram to fit your car and can't be simply replaced like any other part. A good mechanic will need to diagnose the issue and perform any necessary repairs before replacing the computer.

**The Cost of Fixing Your Car**

When it comes to repairing a car's electrical system, costs can add up quickly. Before committing to expensive repairs, consider finding a mechanic who understands your car's unique needs and knows how to work with its complex systems. It may be more cost-effective to find a good deal on a used car or one that fits your budget.

**A Lesson in Alignment**

If you've recently had a wheel alignment done but still experience steering issues, it means the job wasn't quite up to par. A good mechanic should not only perform an alignment but also road test the vehicle to ensure it's handling properly. If they're not doing this, it's likely they didn't do their job correctly and won't fix the problem.

**Why Choose a Better Alignment Shop**

When looking for an alignment shop, make sure to find one that does more than just perform a basic alignment. A good mechanic should take the time to diagnose any underlying problems with your car's suspension system and recommend repairs before returning you to the road. Don't settle for a mediocre alignment shop – look for one that will put in the extra effort to ensure your safety on the road.

**Conclusion**

A clunky ride can be caused by a variety of factors, from worn-out struts to electrical issues with your car's computer. By understanding what causes these problems and taking the time to diagnose them properly, you can get back on the road feeling confident and comfortable in your vehicle. Remember to choose a mechanic who takes pride in their work and will take the time to ensure that your car is running smoothly before returning it to you.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrun up your engine Subaru is that it again Subaru just recalled 500 thousand of their cars airbags that can explode throw shrimp no even kill people now they say at least it's not the drivers front airbag so I might wipe out your passengers but it also includes the sign airbag for the driver so the side airbag could throw metal through your head too so and here's the most bizarre thing of it all this is the same vehicles that have been recalled 2015 for the Takata airbags but figure that's when I'd you think someone would learn that recall replaced the original defective Takata airbags with what they have now found out are the new defective Takata airbags so those don't work either so they replace junk with junk which is reason I tell people hey you ever get burnt buying a certain model car certain ran a car take my advice don't buy another one they allowed Takata to replace effective Takata airbags with what has now turned out to be newer defective Takata airbags beyond the realms of my imagination that's society these days now there's father's awesome they got a do-over now you know what I say let's hope they don't used to County airbags again cuz if they do and they have yet a third generation and ones that aren't any good well what do they say fool me once shame on you what happens if they fool you three times you don't know that one came back so Scotty what are your thoughts on after 150 diesel trucks are you better than a regular gas engines alright if you're talking about gasoline versus diesel engines you have to understand what do you want because if you're just tooling around town stop and go and running around you're better with a gasoline engine they cost less they're quicker but if you're the type of guy that's going to do a lot of long distance traveling either hauling a bunch of stuff in the bed or pulling a large trailer you're much better off with the diesel engines I had a customer that a son raced motorcycles he bought a big Ford diesel he loved it because he was towing like this gigantic trailer they had like six motorcycles and all the time and engines and parts and if he would have had a gasoline engine he probably would have gotten four or five miles a gallon well he was getting like 13 14 miles a gallon which you might think is horrible gas much but for truck pulling all that weight that was actually decent gas mileage so decide what you want just don't think gas versus diesel think what am i using this drop for then you can decide I'm gonna do long a lot of haulin get a diesel if you're not getting gasoline they're better for just regular driving mangoes vision so Scotty what's the worst BMW had to work on as a mechanic regular or em version for actually working on the car yes it's an M series but here's the strange thing in the past the um series were actually much better built than the regular BMWs they were really strongly built that was their racing type setup now lately they had a problem with the end they're gonna recall them and they had to put a stop selling all the m's because they had a problem the electric one and a transmission but in the past the M series were the best built once but the hardest Oregon I had one that I actually gave up on customer bought front struts I said okay I'll put him on so I start taking a vehicle apart then I found out that because of the insane cantilever suspension system that the struts were inside I was unable to get the struts off I would have had to had these special BMW tools that I didn't have that I wasn't the law and spent thousands of dollars on to do the job basically the whole front end of the car had to be taken off and since I don't have a lift that would be an insane job for somebody with a lift it's a better job because they could lift it way up in the air and put braces on different parts and then drop the suspension down but the fact that you had to drop the entire suspension of the car to change struts on a car to me that's stupid now they do ride well that one really cornered well but when a struts worn out of course it didn't corner as well and it was going to be a fortune he had to go to a BMW specialist and spend well over a thousand dollars in labor alone just to change the two front struts so that'll tell you they are hard to work on Jose Jose says Scotty the oil light comes on per second when I stop my car doesn't mean I'm going on well of course you want to check your oil Davis law or if it's really dirty cuz that can make it happen praise just there now let's say you change your oil filter still doesn't then what you want to do is replace the oil pressure sending unit that's what tells the gauge how much oil pressure you have as cars age there's a spring inside a lot of times they wear out and then they make Boyd come out when you first start the car now as long as your car isn't making clanging noises you actually a boil pressure because if you don't have oil pressure playing like mad special clang clang clang Clank metal on metal where you might as well let's change the oil pressure sending unit it changing the oil filter doesn't fix it it's a decent warning system and if that started to break down the most sending units costing maybe twenty dollars or something you can both mine and off yourself in most cases it's not a hard job to do not my element says Scotty I have a know a Honda Element hundred sixty thousand miles I started experience a shudder when I speed it's around thirty two then it goes away yeah that's the typical shudder that those Honda transmissions often get the elements are excellent vehicles but their weak point as with most timeless our automatic transmissions now I got a customer with an element's got a five-speed standard transmission I mean they're solid built the transmissions on yours is the weakest point and they do that shattering as they aged now you could try changing the fluid but new fluid and only use Honda fluid Honda's are very particular about the only use Honda fluid let's see what happens but if that doesn't fix it personally I'd live with it long time take it shorter for years and still go and when you price what it costs to either rebuild or replace the automatic transmission in your element you are going to not be a happy person I've seen people spend anywhere from thirty five to fifty five hundred dollars you having those transmissions done over and that's a lot of money for an old vehicle with wise mileage Stephen 1203 says hey I replaced all four struts on my car the rides better but it's still clunky is there another part that could affect them oh sure there's all kinds of parts here's what you have to realize you said you replaced all four struts now McPherson strut is an assembly inside there's a struck cartridge and I'm assuming that's the part that you changed you probably used over the spring now if the strap mount itself was worn on any of those struts it'll still clunk because that's the top and if it's worn it'll clunk when you hear bumps but your lower control arms they go up and down they're bushings the bushings could be wearing and clunking it could be the ball joints on the bottom it could be the tie rods it could even be your steer there's a lot of things that can make clunky rides do you actually hear a noise though at least Jack it up and drag pulling on stuff to replicate the noise now if you can't replicate the noise yourself take it to a mechanic like me and I have these listening devices and they come with for sending units and you stick them all over the car wear headphones and then you switch between one two three four and any humor the clunk is the loudest and you can diagnose it better but a lot of times you can feel it see where the clunk is coming from when you Jack it up and there's play kaileena cells I'm having trouble with my 2008 PT Cruiser the computer how do I fix it you got to find out is it actually the computer that's gone bad those things are notorious for having electrical problems and if you have an electrical problem in a sensor or in a wire that goes from the sensor to the computer it can act like the computer itself is bad let's say it actually does have a bad computer well it's a 2008 it's a minor car you can't just buy one and plug it in because it won't work it's got a reprogram to fit your car and reprogram for your anti-theft system so you're gonna have to pay a mechanic to do it anyway find a good mechanic who understands those things yeah boom look into what it's gonna cost to get a brand-new computer if it needs one and reprogram it and then decide you want to put that much money into a PT Cruiser realize those were horrendous vehicles but those are one of the worst vehicles ever made and now that it's 12 years old he's probably gonna fall apart in front of your very eyes so my advice would be if you find a good mechanic maybe it's a bad wire or sensor and if they can get it so it runs sell it and give yourself a Toyota or Honda instead get a used one because those things are just endless money pits all my customers with them they are not hating them the ones who bought them especially the ones who bought him used they got him cheap and he thought oh great I got a great deal on his cool looking car and then they found out it was a nightmare in disguise Curtis Jeremiah says what does it mean if I just had a wheel alignment but my car still steers to look like well what it means that you had a crappy car to the alignment the job of being a mechanic is to fix a car then road test it and see what happens the alignment guy said I've been using for years in Houston that's exactly what they do first thing they're very professional you bring the car in they make sure all the tires have the same air pressure cuz that can mess things up then they check the alignment with their machines but why the check in the alignment they pull on all the suspension parts they look and if you've got say a warrant Tyrod they'll tell the customer hey you got a warrant I round we have to replace that before we line the car or it's gonna pull it's still not gonna work right so numero uno don't go back to the guys that did your alignment because they're not very good mechanics the shitty road test and then they should have fixed what was wrong now there's a lot of reasons they can pull a problem in your drive axle you could have a bad transmission mount you could have a bad ball joint tie rod power steering rack bad struts there's a whole bunch of things that can do it but that's the job of the guy who does a front-end alignment so find a better alignment shop first don't go all those guys again they just didn't care about the work they didn't even road test the car to show you that it wasn't pulling anymore because if we're still pulling they should have gone back to square one and figuring it out it's their job not yours so find a better shot so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that Bell\n"