SwaintaN

4 years ago, put on all new ball joints, bushings, lower/upper controls arm etc.. Redid all the front end suspension with moog. Installed SS springs and shocks on my 07 LS, all new.... 4 years ago...

Now that the car has sat and the new motor is in the car, ive noticed while driving it, leaning on, working on it.. Seems like shocks have went out.. As in when the wife gets in the car, itll lean where she sit (shes not very big).

When driving, its really "bumpy/shakey"; i know great terms right.

In yalls opinion, could the new shocks have went bad from just being sat and never used?

donbrew

Shocks don't hold the car up. SS springs are shorter than LS springs, SS struts have a shorter space for the springs. = lower sloppy car.

Shock don't last forever, mine usually are noticeably bad after 25,000 miles. Notice they don't have mileage guarantees anymore.

SwaintaN

i noticed while looking for new shocks there was no 50k mile guarantee or even 40k mile guarantee, ill look at new shocks as well to try to smooth out the bounciness, while up on jack stands i tried to grease and lubricate everything that i could think to do

since its been so long ill have to search for strut recommendations.

Oldblue

KYB struts on mine have been on since 2012, no leaks , no bouncing.
I did replace the rear KYB shocks last summer , the right side was leaking .

SwaintaN

I was just thinking as we are riding in it... could it be the flat spots on the tires from sitting for so long?

Oldblue

It could be, 4 years is a long time for tires to sit.

Silverfox

Have you checked the tire pressures? Do you have a good tire gauge?
With an LS and 215/55R/16 " tires they should all be approx. 30-32psi cold.
Tires will lose air over time and if they got down in pressure while sitting that would add to the sidewall cord stretch.
4 years sitting is a long time for tires to sit with the full weight on them.

Also you do not mention if you changed all 4 springs or just the fronts to SS.
Just that change alone on an LS HHR would make for a harsher ride.

If in fact you actually have a lean you can put the vehicle on a level flat spot and take measurements front and rear to see if the lean is real and which corner is the culprit.
I would do it with the car empty and then again with your "wife" on the passenger side and then again the driver side to see if the measurements vary.

Silverfox

SwaintaN

Silverfox, all 4 corners were swapped to SS along with KYB shocks that were meant for the SS. :-) That was thanks to this forum for helping so much when she first got the car, yall made me one hella grocery list to do haha. but im still gonna do the flat level spot check like you advise.

Tire pressure we put at 30 as soon as we took it off the trailer at the shop. Yeah the first two years it sat, i honetly didnt think about it, it sat still for 2 years never moved, last two years i jacked it up and bricked the frame to get the tires off the ground. There is flat spot on each tire from sitting.. railroad tracks and small potholes are fine tho like they dont even exsist..

SwaintaN

I'm pretty sure as she is putting miles on it, that it was flat spots causing the shakey feeling..

however she came in today and told me a new noise at the front passenger side. So I took it around the block and yeep. What ever the thumping is, is repeated to tire area. As the wheel rotates you hear. So going faster it gets faster

so now I guess next adventure.. either hub assembly or axle.. never ends lol.

Silverfox

If you are getting a "thumping" I would check it out for a tire separation or a broken belt.
Try to pin the location down and when you are sure .. switch the tire to the other side and see if the thumping moves with it.

If the tire thumps there, then replace the tire.

Silverfox