DIY Maintenance - Suspension, Chassis, Body, etc.

• Front and rear suspension, ball joints and wheel bearing axial play (Inspect)
• Driveshaft Dust Boots (Inspect)
• Bolts and Nuts on chassis and body (Tighten)
• Exhaust system and heat shields (Inspect)

ColoradoDriver said:

• Front and rear suspension, ball joints and wheel bearing axial play (Inspect)
• Driveshaft Dust Boots (Inspect)
• Bolts and Nuts on chassis and body (Tighten)
• Exhaust system and heat shields (Inspect)

I don't know what bolts and nuts I'm supposed to apparently be tightening. What am I inspecting for exhaust and heat shields? I don't know what a driveshaft dust boot is, and same for what I am apparently supposed to be inspecting for front/rear suspension, ball joints, bearing axial play. I don't know what any of that means.

Can anyone help me? I suppose you could call this the next step of me learning about my car and more DIY.

Thanks,
CD

Click to expand...

sm1ke said:

For front and rear suspension, I believe you're just inspecting for leaks, and making sure that all of the bolts are torqued to spec. In some cases, the strut tower nuts in the engine bay are only hand tightened.

For ball joints, jack the car up, put your hands at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions and try to push the wheel in towards the center of the car. If there is play (i.e. movement when you push the wheel in), you'll want to get the ball joints replaced. Here's a great video for reference. This guy also has a lot of other very helpful videos on his channel.

For wheel bearings, all I know is that if there is a humming sound/vibration coming from one of the wheels while driving, that's a symptom of a wheel bearing on it's way out.

Driveshaft dust boots: http://www.mcx5.org/front_drive_shaft_inspection-979.html

For the exhaust system and heat shields, I'd just check to see if there are any exhaust leaks and make sure all of the nuts and bolts are tight. Heat shields should be secure, metal exhaust hangers should still be intact (they can break off due to rust sometimes). To check for leaks, I'd take a wet, soapy rag and run it along the exhaust piping while the car is idling (preferably from a cold start to avoid dealing with hot piping). If you see any bubbles from the soapy water, you have a minor leak. These usually originate at the exhaust flanges and can be fixed by replacing the exhaust gasket. Bigger leaks are more obvious, in that the exhaust note will be much louder.

Click to expand...

sm1ke said:

For front and rear suspension, I believe you're just inspecting for leaks, and making sure that all of the bolts are torqued to spec. In some cases, the strut tower nuts in the engine bay are only hand tightened.

For ball joints, jack the car up, put your hands at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions and try to push the wheel in towards the center of the car. If there is play (i.e. movement when you push the wheel in), you'll want to get the ball joints replaced. Here's a great video for reference. This guy also has a lot of other very helpful videos on his channel.

For wheel bearings, all I know is that if there is a humming sound/vibration coming from one of the wheels while driving, that's a symptom of a wheel bearing on it's way out.

Driveshaft dust boots: http://www.mcx5.org/front_drive_shaft_inspection-979.html

For the exhaust system and heat shields, I'd just check to see if there are any exhaust leaks and make sure all of the nuts and bolts are tight. Heat shields should be secure, metal exhaust hangers should still be intact (they can break off due to rust sometimes). To check for leaks, I'd take a wet, soapy rag and run it along the exhaust piping while the car is idling (preferably from a cold start to avoid dealing with hot piping). If you see any bubbles from the soapy water, you have a minor leak. These usually originate at the exhaust flanges and can be fixed by replacing the exhaust gasket. Bigger leaks are more obvious, in that the exhaust note will be much louder.

Click to expand...