Awful Handling

shovenose

Original poster
Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
About 15K miles/one year ago when I sold the Envoy to my ex it handled and drove just fine. I would regularly drive it 100mph and feel completely save weaving in and out of traffic (yeah, yeah, I know)... It was primarily used for commuting 70mi/day for work during this time, to the best of my knowledge it was never off-roaded or anything.

Now, I bought it back, but something is very clearly wrong. To me if feels like the biggest problems is all the shocks are bad, because body roll is crazy bad even on slight turns, and after bumps/dips it kind of wallows around before settling again, if you know what I mean. I genuinely feel that if I had to make an emergency maneuver at high speeds that there would be a risk of flipping it. It desperately needs tires but I don't think that would cause this problem. I really should just take it to the shop and have them make a list of what's messed up, but I'd like an idea to begin with of what to look for. There's also a intermittent clunking noise from the back, which I don't remember, might that have something to do with it?
 

shovenose

Original poster
Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
I am sure it needs swaybar links.

These things?

k53Snh5.png
 

Matt

Member
Dec 2, 2011
4,019
Yep, they're it. Also, look at Bilstein HD shocks for a firmer ride.
 

shovenose

Original poster
Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
Yep, they're it. Also, look at Bilstein HD shocks for a firmer ride.
Thanks, I will inspect all four of them, and if they need replacement, it looks like an easy project for my day off, and I'll see what's the cheapest available at O'Reilly :wink:


As for shocks, If they need replacement, I'm going to see what's available through O'Reilly for my employee discount and compare to Rockauto. All I know is I don't want Rancho, I've done too many warranty returns on those haha, so your Bilstein suggestion is good, but it looks like there are B6 4600 models for $75 each on RA for the rear shocks, or ACDelco for $32 each... Do you think the cheaper ACDelcos are OK, since I'm trying to save money? For the front, I'd go with an assembled unit, to cut down on labor time, so on RA, it's $63 each for the Econo-Matics and $107 each for the Quick-Struts. Any feedback on the difference between those in handling and quality? I'm inclined to save the money, though I really should see what's available at O'Reilly.
 
Last edited:

HARDTRAILZ

Moderator
Nov 18, 2011
49,665
Might check to see if the fronts are there or needed as well. If they made noise someone may have just cut em off as well as the maintaining of it was done :wink:
 
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Chickenhawk

Member
Dec 6, 2011
779
Do this in stages. I would start with the items that NEED to be done or are likely the first cause of bad handling on our platforms. I would also knock off those things you can easily do yourself if you have some tools.
- sway bar end links
- sway bar bushings
- rear shocks (Bilstein HD for firm ride; Monroe Reflex for a controlled but more comfortable ride)
- front strut units (Quickstruts are not much more money and easily worth the upgrade)
- outer tie rod ends

This will get you through the normal wear parts. Tires also contribute a lot to handling, and it would be bad to get in an accident with a well-handling vehicle that hydroplanes you sideways until you flip. Tires should always be replaced in fours, but if you need to stagger purchases a month or two apart, start with the rear tires and avoid the use of four wheel drive. (The best tires on any car ALWAYS go on the rear; front wheel drive OR rear wheel drive, by the way.)

Strangely enough, a little wear in the outer tie rod ends actually make the vehicle feel quite loose, so this is a good replacement to make.

My suggestion is to save the money you would spend on a wheel alignment and spend it on better quality parts instead.

If you know what you are doing, setting the toe setting (which is the only adjustment you need after replacing outer tie rod ends) can be done in your driveway with a jack, two sections of aluminum u-channel from the local hardware store, a long tape measure and 4 bungee cords. (I have a post about this on this site.)

If poor handling still exists after the above parts are replaced, then get a proper wheel alignment done, and start saving for new tires.
 

shovenose

Original poster
Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
I got me four new sway bar links for about $7 each :smile:
 

shovenose

Original poster
Member
Apr 24, 2016
318
SF Bay Area, CA
Alright, so I have a question, is the shocks something I could do myself? For the front I'm either going to get assembled units (Monroe Econo-Matic or Quick-Strut), so I don't need to mess with a spring compressor, but for the rear, it seems like the shock is separate from the spring? All I have to do is jack up the vehicle, remove shock, install shock, right?
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
Yeah rears are stupid easy.
 
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