Tell me what to do to test my struts...

[Naim]

A quick summery of the saga I am going through...
The steering wheel shakes when driving (noticeably at hi-way speeds).
I figure that the wheels need rebalancing...
Get wheels rebalanced.
Drive a couple weeks, notice that it's re-occurring.
Figure that the weights might have come off. Take car back.
The guy says that the tires are wearing un-even and that is reason of the vibration. Says it's because the front struts need replacing.

Now my question, would worn struts cause an un-even wear where it looks like every other tread piece is lower than the next one?

Second question, what is a good way to test the struts. I tried pushing down on the front of the car a couple of times, but it stabilizes it's self quick and doesn't bounce like a car with dead shocks would.

Thanks

[Earthworm]

It sounds as though you are describing feathering. That's normally caused by bad alignment.

Check your steering components for wear (like tierod ends).

Abnormal wear caused by worn struts is when one side of the tire is worn more than the other side from the bouncing.

yes and no the uneven tread could be a alinement issue from the struts. them just going bad wont cause different tread wear. tire pressure is the other tread wear issue. as for testing u got the testing right but my struts are done leaking and tore up and ride like crap my push down test goes well. i push it down and get very little hardly noticable bounce. go figure.

[Earthworm]

My rear struts were so bad they failed the push down (bounce) test.

[Beav]

When every other tread block seems lower it usually indicates two things. One is open-shoulder tires (like snow tires) and they rarely wear properly on front wheels. The other is toe wear. This occurs when the toe setting (alignment) is off and the tire is 'slipping' out - scruff-slip, scruff-slip, ad infinitum.

Uneven patchy-type wear indicates worn struts/shocks or worn parts. Evenly spaced cupping indicates a balance problem - the tire is always out-of-balance in specific spots and will continue to wear in those spots, hence evenly spaced. Worn parts and worn shocks are random and produce random patterns.

The bounce test really doesn't prove much on our cars due to their relatively short suspension travel and large control arm bushings. If you notice the ride as being jiggly when you would normally expect it to be smooth they have probably seen better days. Expect to replace them after 80-100k miles.

p.s. once the tires have a pronounced wear pattern it is almost impossible to get it to wear properly again. Remember, no matter what you do, you can't put rubber back onto the tire. Even if you replace parts, shocks and balance and align the pattern is there and will pretty much act as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[Naim]

Ok.... Where can I get struts cheap??? What else should I check besides tie-rods?
What else should I consider replacing since I will have the front end apart?

check all (halfshaft cv) boots for cracks holes or leak or what not. same with the outside ball joints which could be your problem. dont know bout cheap anything in alaska.

[processengr]

Question for those who have experience with the struts in the SVX...I have the front strut out of our 97 due to noise that we thought was upper strut bearing/mount. However, when collapsing and extending strut without spring, there are times when the shaft will free travel for 1/2" or so...is this the source of the popping noise?
The upper mounts seem fine...