2 questions...Struts and door locks

[LastSVXintheChi]

Hi all, im Jared...im new here i have been a member for a little while but just started posting

First question is How do you know when your struts are going bad? specifically the front ones...when i go over little bumps at speed or accelerate out of a corner my steering wheel shakes furiously and i can hear a rattle from under the car...also i can grab the sway bar and shake it around about inch or 2...so i think the end links are bad but my mechanic said that all the rattling and shaking is probably from the struts...so i just wanted to see if anyone else has had this issue and what it is

second question is on the driver side door lock...is it electronically controlled or something because i have had the car for about a year now i have never been able to unlock the door with the key...does anyone what that could be also?

thanks!!

[icingdeath88]

When I got my blue car I had a similar rattle coming from the front. We have a 2-piece sway bar in the front and on the driver's side there's an arm that attaches to a long piece that goes to the other side. The joint where this arm attaches was loose. I tightened it up and it's been fine ever since.

It could also be that the upper strut mount is getting worn out and making a rattling sound. I'm not sure if the struts themselves will make a rattling sound, but if they're worn out you will feel the car bounce when you go over bumps instead of just going up and coming back down to rest. It shouldn't rebound much at all.

As for the door locks, they're probably seized from lack of use. Spray some WD-40 in there and wiggle the key in and out and work it in there. It might free it up. If not you can move on to some more aggressive stuff. What have you been using to lock the car?

[LastSVXintheChi]

the car does feel floaty on the highway at like 65-70mph over humps or just like rises and falls in the pavement and stuff but if its like a pot hole or something it just bangs and then the rattle starts which i assumed was the sway bar...i also bottom out on most speed bumps if i dont go very very VERY slow lol but i mean other than that the car ride is very smooth

the keyless entry...the original key fob gave a out last week on me. i still hve it mainly for sentimental reasons but i bought a new one from keylessride.com works perfectly...also its only the driver side lock the trunk and the passenger ones work fine

i forgot to tell you its '92 SVX LS

[icingdeath88]

Your struts might very well be bad regardless of whether they're the cause of the rattle. I would have someone drive it who knows what bad struts feel like.

Heh, the keyless doesn't even work in my '97. Lucky. It only works in my '94 because I fixed it. Try the WD-40 thing and exercise the lock cylinder every once in a while. Just don't go crazy and snap off the key in the cylinder, it does happen...

Are you any close to Elgin? My sister in law lives over there.

[LastSVXintheChi]

Elgin is like an hour north west of me...im in woodridge...does she have an SVX cus surprisingly i have seen 4 or 5 of them around here!


ok ill give the WD40 a shot...sounds like you know from experience that the key can break off lol i have an extra blank but the dealer ship didnt have the numbers for my car and i didnt want them to cut off of the original because it is so worn down...locksmith told me it would be about $100 bucks for him to get the numbers and cut the key

that bolt that you were talking about on the drivers side can i just tighten it up with a wrench or do i need some special SVX tool

[icingdeath88]

Just a wrench. I think it's a 14mm. If the arm wiggles at that joint then I bet that's the problem. Jack up the front (both sides, b/c you know, swaybar twists when only one side goes up or down) and take off the driver's side wheel or put it on a lift and it's really easy to tell and also fix.

Nah, no SVX, but she's got an ~07 outback wagon.

[LastSVXintheChi]

oh i like those outbacks...i like the new legacys too

i just looked at it and it wiggles right where the sway bar connects to the little arm that goes back...it goes in and out of the little arm (sorry idk the name of it :/ ) not all the way in and out but maybe 1/4 inch or so at this website they call it the "LEVER"...right where they meet is where it is moving well seems to be moving

[icingdeath88]

You're not talking about the endlink right?

[icingdeath88]

The joint with the 12 and 13 pointing at it is what I was talking about:

[B 4 You]

walmart will copy your key for $1.69. i have about 8. i have broken enough :P i'm having the exact same thing with my struts. i think it's the strut mounts, i'm taking her in in a couple weeks to get her fixed so i'll let you know. icingdeath, do you think mine could be loose as well as bad mounts? it feels like my whole front end is going to fall off when i'm going slow over bumps.

[LastSVXintheChi]

icingdeath88:
yeah 12 and 13 is where it is moving around a lot

B4you: i didnt want them to copy the key because of how worn down it is...i mean it still works but i figured it would be better for it to look how it is supposed too lol

[B 4 You]

yeah mine was at the shop once and they broke the key in the lock... but they took it out and made me new keys. if walmart breaks your key they'll probably have to make you a new one.

[aust92pearl]

the lock cylinder froze up on me once also , turns out the attachment on the the little motor that moves it to the cyl was loose and slid down the metal bit between the cyl and latch then grabbed and wouldnt let me lock the door ,
pull the door card off and check the little motor

[LastSVXintheChi]

Originally Posted by aust92pearl

the lock cylinder froze up on me once also , turns out the attachment on the the little motor that moves it to the cyl was loose and slid down the metal bit between the cyl and latch then grabbed and wouldnt let me lock the door ,
pull the door card off and check the little motor

yeah thats what i was wondering!! if there was some kind of motor in that door that unlocked the door because i can only turn the key about 5-10 degrees and then it stops...im afraid to turn to much cus i dont want to break the key...should it still work even if that little motor doesnt work??