Issues addressed in the material:

  • What is the front suspension of a car, what is its function
  • What are the typical malfunctions of the front suspension arm of a car
  • How to remove and replace the front suspension arm of a car

It may seem that replacing the front suspension arm is a complex matter and, in order to remove this problem from your shoulders, it is better to contact a car service. But there they will definitely ask you for a tidy sum. Why not try to do it yourself? Before you remove the front suspension arm, you need to generally understand how the suspension works. It is better to familiarize yourself with the instructions in advance and find out what tools and spare parts you may need. But first of all, you should understand what the front suspension is and how it works.

Purpose and main elements of the suspension

Wheel suspension was created much earlier than the car itself. Initially, it was used on horse-drawn carriages, which were intended for a comfortable ride over long distances. At least 4 wheels were installed on them, because of this, the designers had to worry about how to ensure the vertical movement of the wheels relative to the body. This was especially important for riding on rough roads.

The first suspension designs were created during this period. Later, almost without any changes, they were also used in the first machines, which had just begun to appear on the market. The speed of these cars could barely reach 30 km / h. But with the development of the industry, it was necessary to revise the approach to suspension designs.

Initially, the suspension was perceived only as a means of achieving the most comfortable ride, but the cars became faster and the emphasis shifted to the quality of handling. In the 20s of the last century, a new car organization system appeared: an independent suspension system was created for the front, and later for the rear wheels.

Today, in the passenger car sector, independent suspension is only possible for front wheels. It can be combined with an independent, semi-independent and dependent rear system. Although there are already a large number of schemes, they are all united by common components. 

There is:

  • guide elements that provide a given trajectory of the wheels relative to the body;
  • elastic elements responsible for the required force of movement of the wheels;
  • elements whose purpose is to damp vibrations.

Guiding elements: levers, racks, ball joints and rubber-metal joints.

Elastic elements: springs, springs, torsion bars and pneumatic chambers.

Top 3 most common car breakdowns:

Almost every day I see how an undetected and uncorrected problem leads to an expensive repair, and even to neglected cases, to accidents (God forbid, of course!).

I believe that it is CRITICAL IMPORTANT for everyone to know about the 3 most common problems that motorists face most often (below you can download a document that details all the possible problems):

1) Dashboard Warning Icons: Engine Check Indicator

The “Engine Check” icon on the dashboard is the most common problem for cars and trucks. This indicator on the tidy lights up when the computer (electronic engine control unit) detects an error code in the system in the operation of any system. In total, there are more than 200 possible error codes, in order to identify the cause, you need to do a full-fledged electronic diagnostics in the car service nearest to you (most often it is free).

2) High fuel consumption

When the engine is operating normally, it burns fuel at a speed that helps to efficiently consume fuel (we get fuel economy). However, some parts of the fuel system, such as fuel filters, air filters, mass air flow sensors and oxygen sensors (lambda probe), become dirty and worn out over time. If they are not replaced (and this is the most common reason for increased fuel consumption), then this will lead to the fact that the engine will consume more fuel than usual.

3) Squeaking brakes

Brakes in a car are sacred. It is from them that the safety of our car, and sometimes life, often depends! Therefore, when you notice any signs of problems, such as a squeal, a creak, or if, for example, the brake pedal becomes soft, you should, of course, show the car mechanic as quickly as possible. Most often, a creak or squeal suggests that it is necessary to replace brake pads or brake discs.

Some car breakdowns are not critical and allow you to operate the car, while others, on the contrary, require immediate intervention.

Elements for damping oscillations: various shock absorbers.

The classification that we cited is relatively arbitrary, because in various types of pendants, some details may well perform several functions at the same time.

For example, a spring. Initially, it was used in carriages. Spring helped to remove the intensity of vibrations due to the mutual friction of its sheets. In addition, sections of springs with an asymmetric shape served as levers.

Due to its functionality, springs have been used everywhere. Such a classification of key elements gives a clear understanding of the dependence of the spring characteristics on the replacement of any of the above parts. For example, the position of the wheels depends on the guide parts, the stiffness of the suspension device is associated with elastic elements, and the damping efficiency is provided by shock absorbers.

The most common designs and front suspension

To date, most small and middle class cars are equipped with McPherson suspension.

In the figure – the device of the front node of this type:

diagram of car front suspension

A distinctive feature of such front suspensions is the ability to share the lower arm and telescopic upright. In such suspensions, most of the load due to the weight of the car goes to the body in the place of the upper mounting of the telescopic rack, since the elastic element (in the figure this is a spring) is located directly on the front rack.

The lower lever of a triangular shape is needed to control the trajectory of the wheel and to transmit to the power elements the longitudinal and transverse forces that appear when the car is moving. A similar system works well if front-wheel drive is installed: the axis of rotation of the wheel will be located above its lower arm.

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