4 Top Tips For Maintaining Your Car’s Suspension
Published May 1st, 2022
Your car is a part of your everyday life, so regular maintenance is essential if you want it to last for a long time.
Taking care of your car’s suspension is vital because if any one part fails, it may damage others. The knock-on effect could be expensive!
While you’ll want to leave the full suspensions service to a certified mechanic, you should try and get through these four checks regularly:
- Check tyre pressure and tread depth
Make sure you check tyre pressure at least every 500km. Tyres act as mini shock absorbers so if they’re under-inflated, your suspension has to work harder. If they’re over-inflated, their rigidity limits their shock-absorption capacity.
Also, check that your tyres’ treads are deep enough to enable the tyres to absorb “bounce” safely.
- Rotate tyres
Additional tyre maintenance such as rotating your tyres will keep them in good shape. Rotating tyres prevents weakness and wear and tear in specific spots on the tyre, which will lengthen its life. When you do the tyre rotation, it’s also essential to check wheel alignment for the same reason.
- Monitor power steering fluid
For your suspension to work at its best, your car needs to have adequate power steering fluid. If your steering feels “slippery” or seems to be pulling to one side, this may be a sign of low power steering fluid or a problem with your suspension.
- Do a “bounce” check
To establish if you need to replace struts or shocks, do a bounce test. A when your car is parked on level ground, push it up and down hard. If it bounces more than twice when you let go, there’s a problem.
If you’re unsure of the health of your suspension, consult the experts at ABS Auto who know exactly what to look for.