Horrible ride has developed!

[Philsla]

I have a 2003 Tahoe that WAS a dream to drive. Smooth as glass but something has happened and it is hard to describe.

Going down the road, it feels like it is moving from side to side and front to back...not stable. Not so bad that you feel like you are loosing control but just not smooth. We first noticed it on a stretch of road near the house that has a series of dips I guess you would say and the motion there was so bad, it scared both my wife and I and stopped to see what the heck was going on. Again, hard to describe.

I am familiar with bad shocks and going over a hill or dip and it continues to bounce and it SORT of feels like that but not just a front to back motion like a rocking horse would be...that is what I am use to for bad shocks anyway.

So, this weekend, I will begin investigating. I will start with shocks but I would like advice as to what else to look at for other possible causes. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Phil

 

[08HoeCD]

Check your sway bar end links, front and back.

 

[Philsla]

Check your sway bar end links, front and back.

Thank you. I will youtube that!

 

[08HoeCD]

When the links fail, they basically render the sway bars useless. Sway bars help keep the vehicle from 'swaying' left to right, so without them the ride will feel less stable. It's the only suspension-related component I can think of that would suddenly degrade the handling as you describe.

 

[Rocket Man]

Just what I was thinking.

 

[Philsla]

Thanks so much for your responses. Points me in a direction to look. I have youtubed it and I understand how they work and what they do so it makes sense. I will post my findings.

 

[Philsla]

Just got home and checked all four. They are all in place and appear not to be broken. The front two had a couple rings of rubber type material down on the bottom that came out from above somewhere. Does it mean those are bad? The drivers rear shock has oil on it so I suppose it is gone.
Any way to tell if the

 

[Danny3737]

The rubber will slowly dry rot which will give a sloppy feel. It's always best to replace them with the urethane type, they have less give and will give a tighter feel

 

[TheAutumnWind]

Those are toast. Check control arm bushings, and tie rods also. Probably time for uca, lca, pitman, idler, inner and outer tie rods, and sway bar links and bushings...

I thought my escalade rode pretty decent but found that it wandered a bit and the tie rods were shot.

 

[MikeW]

Any update?