ok so i dont know what to call our suspension strut or shocks. all i know is that i need to change my back strut/shock because there blown and when im riding in the highway all i hear is ratling coming from the back strut/shock area. i know there blown, but could the strut/shock mount also be bad? help please


"Sunfire got stolen, all i have is the J to remember it by"

they are both.

fronts are struts because they attach to the knuckle and are designed for our cars
rears are shocks that are a universal shape



I may run 18s, but I can do your taxes in 10 seconds flat.

its all struts. all 4 corners are struts

All 4 are struts because the spring is mounted on the strut.

The front are McPherson Struts because they hold the knuckle.

o...ok ignore me...lol



I may run 18s, but I can do your taxes in 10 seconds flat.

thanks guys. now my next question....what does a ratleling in my rear struts mean?? could it be the strut mount??? i know for sure that the strut is blown.


"Sunfire got stolen, all i have is the J to remember it by"

that rattling is usually associated with a bad upper mount. replace 'em both and call it good. they're pretty cheap.

as to the strut/shock name-calling thing, just use the word 'damper' and all bases will be covered.

my miata has shocks all around, yet they mount to knuckles and the springs surround the shock bodies. the '91 wagon has mcpherson struts up front and shocks out back.
recalling my 3rd gen days, 'The Book' called the fronts mcpherson struts and the rears coil-over-shocks.




Have you seen the turbo wagon?

13.90 @ 105.46mph
street tires
rough tune

so change both upper strut mounts??? how much are they usually? what about for struts for a 02 sunfire??


"Sunfire got stolen, all i have is the J to remember it by"

if you can narrow the noise to just one side, feel free to just change that one upper mount. i usually just changed them in pairs...habit, ya' know?
last time i bought rear uppers was from a dealership, and they were something like $25us each. could've gotten 'em cheaper elsewhere, but i needed them right then, not four days later. your pricing results may vary.
cost on dampers varies a ton by brand, performance level and vendor. i'm sure you can find threads galore on here about experiences with various types of dampers.




Have you seen the turbo wagon?

13.90 @ 105.46mph
street tires
rough tune

I got new struts front an back on mine. I didn't have the mounts changed. I'm using the stock mounts. But i'm now getting a rattling noise when going over any bumps. So does that mean i should get new mounts for the rear? It sounds like it is both sides.


2002 Sunfire SE, Polo Green, 2.4, 4 Speed Auto,
Sunroof,
Mods: Sony MP3 HU, 6 1/2 kicker speaker in Front Doors, 6 x 8 Pioneer speakers in back,
100 Watt Boozka sub, Remote start and alarm.

did you fix this problem? it's happening on my 01 z24.
thanks

I didn't get the noise fixed. I heard it a lot after getting the struts done. But i haven't heard the noise lately since it got colder.So If it does come back i'll have to get it checked. But for now i'm not worring about it.


2002 Sunfire SE, Polo Green, 2.4, 4 Speed Auto,
Sunroof,
Mods: Sony MP3 HU, 6 1/2 kicker speaker in Front Doors, 6 x 8 Pioneer speakers in back,
100 Watt Boozka sub, Remote start and alarm.

The strut will not fall off if the mount goes bad (most likely). It will just be really loud and annoying, and may dent your hood if it really fails....

mine make noise opposite of yours. (When it's colder)