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Ok so first off im new to the forum so please bare with me. So I recently bought a 2006 acura tl auto with 150000 miles on it, it drives like a dream but just recently notice road noise and checking the rear tires im getting strange wear on the inside that is bumpy, and like a saw blade (can slide hand over easily and feel bumps, and go the opposite way and I hit the raised parts of the tread. So today I when to have my alignment checked and the front tires were in spec, but the rears was
left rear right rear
-1.5 camber -1.4 camber
-0.19 toe -0.51 toe
they told me I need my struts replaced but I just wanna be sure and only fix what is needed. Please Help !
No, I just wanted to get it checked and plus they did it for free. I just don't want to replace my struts if I don't have to. if just getting the alignment will solve my issue ill do that. they tires are pretty much toast, im just gonna wait till I get new tires and struts if I have too.
Sounds like you know what youre doing. Wait tile you get your new tires then have the alignment done when you get them. If its still bothering you fix it more. BUT if its not right your new tires could be in jeopardy. I dont know that much about these cars suspensions but I wouldnt think old struts would knock it out of alignment that fast. I would get a free alignment check within the next 6 months with the tires and utilize that to see if the alignment comes out again.
I couldn't tell what brand of tires you have but my TL loved to eat Michelin tires for some reason. After the OEM set wore out at 22k miles, I had a 4 wheel alignment (rear toe was -.04 left, +.16 right) thinking my problem would go away for my second set of Michelin tires. Sure enough those tires were shot at 24k miles. I finally changed to Yokohama and have 21k miles on those with no signs of outside wear.
Unusual wear patterns is usually a sign of a bad strut or suspension component.
150K miles and 9 years? Likely it's still the original, i doubt non-car enthusiasts bother with replacing shocks and struts especially if they go and sell it a few years later.
Most likely, so should I just replace the struts and then get it aligned? And what are the possibility the the rear control arm link bushing are warn out and ca useing my suspention to sag?
This is the way to go, make certain they zero each side, then see what the camber reading might be.
You should be able to tell if the shocks are leaking, or even bounce the rear to see how quickly if settles down.
I tryied to check for oil leaking from the strut but for the life of me I couldn't get the boot to slide up to check, as for the bounce I did that and it stopped after one bounce.
I have the same issue, but is the front tires, 118,000 miles original struts. At first I thought it was the tires, then I got a second different brand set of tires, still the same problem, I aligned the car every 3-6 months and still the toe was coming out of alignment. So it's probably the struts/shock or bushings, front compliance bushings.
I believe they are the original struts is there any way to tell like any marking or whatnot
Look for yellow crayon marks on the shock, they are placed with wax pencils on the factory shocks.
Originally Posted by tj19855
I have the same issue, but is the front tires, 118,000 miles original struts. At first I thought it was the tires, then I got a second different brand set of tires, still the same problem, I aligned the car every 3-6 months and still the toe was coming out of alignment. So it's probably the struts/shock or bushings, front compliance bushings.
I've been having the same issue with inner tire wear on the fronts for the last 30K miles (have 190K on the TL) and replacing the shocks helped reduce the inner wear by 1/3-1/2 towards the latter 20K but it was still bad enough to where my tires would be showing cords on the inside edge before the tires hit the wear bars, plus my alignment was supposedly spot on.
I installed new compliance bushings today and will be getting new tires and an alignment soon! Hopefully that'll rectify the issue!
Originally Posted by aznboi2424
+1 on getting an alignment before shocks. If your tight on money, just get the lifetime alignment from Firestone. The 3rd one will pay for itself.
With 150K, I'm 75-80% sure you'll need new shocks, and you'll notice a huge difference after swapping them out. I swapped my rears at 160K and fronts at 170K and it was a huge improvement in ride quality and driving dynamics.
I 100% agree with the firestone alignment! It's well worth it, but I believe you can get an alignment every 5000 miles or so.
04-12-2015, 02:25 PM
This is the way to go, make certain they zero each side, then see what the camber reading might be.
