What is chassis repair?

Be sure to take care of engine oil, add fluid to the brakes and wipers, and service the air conditioner. You care about the cleanliness of the lights and the car control system, regularly “take” your favorite car to a car wash, but tell me how often do you have to pay attention to the chassis?

And it depends on the chassis:

• will you be driving and driving along the road, and will you feel comfortable and comfortable with it
• will you drive stably
• the brakes will work
• will you feel vibrations in the cabin or not

What is a car chassis?

In one or two sentences, the chassis is called a set of components, such as:

• Frame
• podcast
• shock absorbers
• front and rear axle
• cuffs
• supports
• joint bolts
• springs
• wheels
• tires and so on

All these components make up the chassis of the car and, since this part is connected to the chassis, they are located at the bottom of the car. And precisely because it is located in such a not very accessible place, most drivers simply forget that they need to take care of this before problems arise.

The most common symptoms warning that the undercarriage is not perfectly functional:

The vibrations in the cabin are amplified
If the vibrations in the cabin increase every day while driving, this is usually a sign of a problem with worn bearings, shock absorbers, or a problem with the spring. Vibration is amplified because if the bearings or shock absorber are worn out and the tires are out of balance, the car starts to vibrate more.

Vehicle steers aside
When the car is in motion and you feel that it is shifting to the side, this means that you may have several problems with the chassis of the car. Offset to one side of the machine may be due to:

• brake wear
• tire pressure difference
• rod deformation
• broken wheel geometry or other

Tire imbalance
If you feel that the tires do not “behave” normally while driving, they are most likely worn unevenly or out of balance. Tire imbalance can also occur if the rims are deformed or the liners are loose.

Comfort in the cabin is greatly reduced
If the shock absorbers are leaking, you will probably notice that the course of the car has changed dramatically. It will no longer be so convenient and comfortable, and even if a chassis problem does not occur to you, we are sure that you will visit a service center to find out why your car no longer provides a comfortable and smooth ride.

Creak when stopped
If you hear a creak when the car is stopped, this is another symptom indicating problems with the chassis. Squeaking can be caused by a problem:

• worn brake discs or pads
• it can be from the spring or from the mounting part
• shock absorber problems

Knock and rumble
If you hear more and more knocks, rattles or other similar sounds in the area of ​​the suspension, this indicates a problem with one of the rubber seals, bushings or joints.

How to repair the chassis?

Since the chassis is not just one element, but a combination of several components, its repair is not easy. If you notice any of the above problems, it is strongly recommended that you contact a service center for a complete chassis diagnosis. This is necessary in order to be completely sure of what the problem is and what part needs to be replaced in a timely manner.

Depending on which of the components of the chassis is worth changing, the time and money for maintenance differ:

If, for example, you need to replace a shock absorber, the repair price ranges from $ 80-100.
If you have problems with the suspension, the price is from $ 50 to $ 60, depending on the number of elements, etc.

What chassis components change most often?

Shock absorbers
These components are not only one of the most important for the safety of the chassis, but also often break down. Problems with shock absorbers usually arise due to poor road surface, dirt and salt on roads in winter, and also because of their long-term use.

Despite the fact that manufacturers clearly state that shock absorbers should be replaced after a maximum of 80 km, a large number of drivers miss deadlines because they believe that they can “get” a little more. However, delaying the replacement of these chassis components can create a lot of problems and headaches, because not only driving comfort, but also safety depends on the shock absorbers.

Suspension
Suspension defects usually appear due to poor road surface in our country. When you drive and encounter bumps or, God forbid, a pit, this can create huge problems with the suspension and lead to:

• violation of the angles of the front wheels
• break the spring
• ball damage
• rupture of rubber bushings
• damage to the strut, etc.

Stupica
Wheel bearing wear is extremely dangerous and can cause jamming and accidents. Manufacturers recommend changing bearings every 130 km. Bearings change simultaneously on both wheels.

Can you fix the chassis yourself?

If you are aware of the repair of automotive components and possess the necessary tools, knowledge and time, you can do a decent job of replacing one of the components of the car chassis.

However, we do not recommend conducting such experiments, since this is a complex repair that requires really specialized tools and very good skills, especially when repairing this particular component of the car. We advise you, instead of trying to do it yourself, visit the service center and, as we said above, request a full diagnosis of the chassis of your car.

Specialists will carry out diagnostics, put the car on the stand and carry out all the necessary tests to check the condition of each component of the chassis of the car. Then they will tell you for sure whether you need to replace the entire chassis or just any component of it. They will use the original replacement parts and do their job before you find out. Before handing you the car, they will adjust the wheels and tires.

If you still want to repair the chassis yourself, you need to:

• Be sure that you are very well prepared with the necessary tools.
• have spare parts that need to be replaced at hand
• work slowly and very carefully

Usually, we always try to help motorists by showing them how to repair various parts of the car at home, but in case of repair of the chassis, we won’t do it, because it’s a really difficult repair and even if you can handle the situation if you don’t have it at hand the necessary equipment to check if everything is in order, you cannot be absolutely sure that the repair was completely successful and in accordance with all technical rules.