Suspension, shock and strut repair in Calgary

Your suspension has one main job: keep the tires pressed onto the road. Springs hold the car up. Shocks and struts control how fast those springs move, so the car settles after a bump instead of bouncing. On Calgary roads after the spring thaw, that's a lot of bumps.

Because suspension wears gradually, most people get used to it. It often shows up in the tires first, as cupped tread, or in a front end that clunks over every rail crossing. We inspect and repair suspension on every make and model at our NE Calgary shop and tell you what actually needs replacing.

What's in your suspension

Four parts do most of the work, and they're the ones that wear.

• Shocks: dampers that control spring movement. They're separate from the springs themselves.
• Struts: a shock and spring in one assembly that also holds the wheel in position. Most modern cars have struts up front. Because a strut is part of the steering geometry, plan on an alignment after replacing one.
• Sway bar links: connect the anti-roll bar to the suspension. Worn links clunk or rattle over bumps and broken pavement.
• Ball joints: the pivot points between the control arms and the wheel. Wear causes clunks and loose handling, and a ball joint that fails is dangerous.

Signs your shocks or struts are worn

A quick check you can do at home: push down hard on one corner of the car and let go. It should come back up and settle. If it bounces more than once or twice, that corner's damping is weak. It's a rough test, but it's a start.

• The car keeps bouncing after a bump or dip
• The nose dives hard when you brake, or the rear squats when you accelerate
• Body roll in turns, or the car getting pushed around by crosswinds on the highway
• Cupped or scalloped tire wear, with patches worn in a pattern around the tread
• Oil leaking down the outside of a shock or strut
• Clunks or knocks over bumps

Why it matters when you brake

A worn shock lets the tire skip and lose contact on rough pavement, and it lets the car's weight pitch forward when you brake. Both mean less grip when you need to stop. That's how worn shocks and struts add to braking distance, especially on rough or icy roads. They also speed up wear on your tires and on the other steering and suspension parts.

Shocks and struts are normally replaced in pairs on the same axle, so both sides respond the same way. Replacing just one can leave the car handling unevenly.