Swaying/jumpy rearend when going over some bumps

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I am not an expert in suspensions, but just wanted to know which to go after first.
Honda with double wishbone rear suspension. Shocks/springs are factory and gone through 270k km of mostly highway driving. Swaybar links has been replaced at dealership through warranty once around 130-140k km due to knocking noise.

At bridge expansion joints or lowered manholes, I feel the rearend sways a bit while going over them.
No knocking noise yet from the links, but one of them feels quite easy to move side to side if I try wiggling with my hand. The other one has more resistance.

However, I don't know if this swaying/jumpy feeling is coming from the shocks or because the links are worn out, just not to the point where they're knocking.

Any thoughts?
 
270k on the shocks/struts? I think I see the issue.
wink.gif
 
I did do the bounce test and they all settle back to steady state after 1 bounce. Going over normal speedbumps at posted/normal speed seems fine.

Maybe I should rephrase when it happens, when expansion joints are at an angle where the rear tires don't go through the joint in sync, then I can feel the swaying. The best example is an overpass ramp connecting 2 highways that completes a 90 degree turn over time. The same is true when driving manhole, only one side of the rear goes over. That's when I sort of feel it.

I am wondering if sway bar links can have this effect or it's purely from shocks?
I have some swaybar links in my Rockauto cart and not sure if it's worthwhile to try and replace them first.
 
Sway bar end links are easy to tell if they need replacing via a visual inspection. Shocks and struts, not so much unless they are leaking. The bounce test is not very accurate. I still vote for them being the problem.

What year/make/model is this?
 
I vote shocks. At that age if you're willing to rebuild the suspension, new bushings and sway bar links won't hurt either.
 
Grab the sway bar links and wiggle them; if they're worn that much, you'll feel it. Likewise, the bushings can be checked visually; if they're all cracked up, they need replacing.
 
At 270K there is unquestionably wear on anything factory that wears.

Shocks/struts, spring seats, wishbone bushings, links, etc., even springs by now. If it's a strut tower I would replace the whole tower w/spring as a unit at this point. If you just want to know which are contributing the most, shocks/struts do tend to wear out in less than half the time of the rest, but hitting a pothole/curb/etc too hard can have less predictable wear or damage.

The question is how much to invest in a vehicle with that many mi, how much longer you expect to keep it and how much that "sways a bit" matters. Most people would just slow down going over such things and would have replaced their original shocks/struts 150K miles ago and have done it again by now.

The swaybar links, having been replaced at half the mileage it has now, it would make perfect sense that they're due for it again.
 
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Knowing what vehicle would help..

a 2007 f150 would be different vs a 1999 focus zx2
 
So, your description of the issue does slightly point to something with the sway bar. One wheel bumps would twist the sway bar while a bump on two wheels of the same axle would not really engage the sway bar. However, sway bar end links don't actually do anything to control the sway. If connected at both ends and not making noise, it's not causing your rear end to jump around.

My guess for a Honda with a rear double wishbone suspension with that mileage to be a 90s Civic (not sure if the rear is a true double wishbone or a multi link) or a Prelude. I'm guessing if it was an NSX of S2000, he would have mentioned that.

Either way, the sway bar, shock and any bushings/ball joints are the major items that allow/restrict movement.
 
Thank you all for your comments so far.

It's a 2006 Acura CSX(Civic).

Left rear swaybar links can be wiggled much easier with hand versus right side.
I know I should replace the shocks at the very least, but hoping to do that after winter since we got tons of potholes here around this time frame.

I guess if car is out of alignment could also cause this? Even though car is tracking straight right now and alignment was done early 2017.

I am hoping to keep the car till around 350k km which will be about 1.5 to 2 years worth of driving.
 
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Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
270k on the shocks/struts? I think I see the issue.
wink.gif



Yup! Your car most definitely needs new shocks.
 
I had a new 2011 Sentra that had the rearend jolt to a side when going over a bump on either side. It also ran at 4-5k RPM stone cold just to do 20mph when below 50F. Apparently a feature of the transmission warmup programming. For me driving at 5k at 20mph for the four miles to work was unacceptable even after I was told by Nissan regional.... "its is normal". Great interior and features though.
 
Originally Posted By: wing0
Thank you all for your comments so far.

It's a 2006 Acura CSX(Civic).

Left rear swaybar links can be wiggled much easier with hand versus right side.
I know I should replace the shocks at the very least, but hoping to do that after winter since we got tons of potholes here around this time frame.

I guess if car is out of alignment could also cause this? Even though car is tracking straight right now and alignment was done early 2017.

I am hoping to keep the car till around 350k km which will be about 1.5 to 2 years worth of driving.
Yes sounds like blown struts.

Replace before winter, if it's bouncing like that on slippery roads, you'll lose control of the car and crash.
 
Originally Posted By: wing0
Thank you all for your comments so far.

It's a 2006 Acura CSX(Civic).

Left rear swaybar links can be wiggled much easier with hand versus right side.
I know I should replace the shocks at the very least, but hoping to do that after winter since we got tons of potholes here around this time frame.

I guess if car is out of alignment could also cause this? Even though car is tracking straight right now and alignment was done early 2017.

I am hoping to keep the car till around 350k km which will be about 1.5 to 2 years worth of driving.


If the links are still attached, that is not the issue. The rear sway bar on the base CSX is so small, I doubt you would even notice if it was removed.

Did you just put winter tires on? What size/brand/load rating are they?
 
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Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
Originally Posted By: wing0
Thank you all for your comments so far.

It's a 2006 Acura CSX(Civic).

Left rear swaybar links can be wiggled much easier with hand versus right side.
I know I should replace the shocks at the very least, but hoping to do that after winter since we got tons of potholes here around this time frame.

I guess if car is out of alignment could also cause this? Even though car is tracking straight right now and alignment was done early 2017.

I am hoping to keep the car till around 350k km which will be about 1.5 to 2 years worth of driving.


If the links are still attached, that is not the issue. The rear sway bar on the base CSX is so small, I doubt you would even notice if it was removed.

Did you just put winter tires on? What size/brand/load rating are they?


Haven't swap snow tires on yet.
Running 205/55/16 Michelin Primacy MXV4 91H.
 
Originally Posted By: wing0
Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
Originally Posted By: wing0
Thank you all for your comments so far.

It's a 2006 Acura CSX(Civic).

Left rear swaybar links can be wiggled much easier with hand versus right side.
I know I should replace the shocks at the very least, but hoping to do that after winter since we got tons of potholes here around this time frame.

I guess if car is out of alignment could also cause this? Even though car is tracking straight right now and alignment was done early 2017.

I am hoping to keep the car till around 350k km which will be about 1.5 to 2 years worth of driving.


If the links are still attached, that is not the issue. The rear sway bar on the base CSX is so small, I doubt you would even notice if it was removed.

Did you just put winter tires on? What size/brand/load rating are they?


Haven't swap snow tires on yet.
Running 205/55/16 Michelin Primacy MXV4 91H.


Then like others have said, most likely blown shocks, unless you have a flat tire.
 
A lot of people replying seem to have misread and think the vehicle has 270k miles. OP said he has 270k kilometers, which is about 167k miles.
 
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