Achieving that "new car ride" again without buying a new car again.

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Ob1hybrid

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As the the mileage add up and the years pile on or maybe you bought it this way, the ride becomes bumpy, steering becomes loose and the engine a little sluggish. What can we do to restore that new car feel? I just changed both shocks and struts (acDelco) and while that made a difference, steering still feels loose and ride is still a little bumpy. Yeah, I have factory 22s but in the beginning it wasn't a factor. So what would you change?
 

adventurenali92

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Loose steering can be caused by a number of different things. My steering was loose due to bad front sway bar bushings, and pitman arms. Could also be a few other steering components. On the sluggish part, how many miles? Have you considered changing spark plugs?also have you looked into a tune yet?
 
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metelhead

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....I'm in the process of trying to get 'near' to that new car feel as well....my 09 has 202k and while its been quite trouble free, the wear and tear has taken a toll

...as such I'm rebuilding the entire front end....upper and low control arms, ball joints, tie rods, hubs, sway links,and anything connected to a bushing like sway bar bushing etc.....new shocks too... same will go for the rear end too (although much less to fuss with).....but I do have to get new rear axel bearings and seals- as they are leaking...

All told, the front end will cost around 400-450 in parts plus shocks, rear should be about 1/2 that....I'm just doing chucks or pieces per paycheck and doing the labor myself.

Motor/drivetrain....just did diablosport tune (which gave it some crispness), replaced all rotors, pads, bleed lines, replaced all belts, pulleys, tensioners too....next up will be all fluids diffsx2, trans, transfer case, motor oil and some fresh wires and plugs....

I should be about a month out from completing the above I figure....the only other outliers are a new windshield and I'd love to rebuild (or replace) the drivers seat..
 

08HoeCD

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As the the mileage add up and the years pile on or maybe you bought it this way, the ride becomes bumpy, steering becomes loose and the engine a little sluggish. What can we do to restore that new car feel? I just changed both shocks and struts (acDelco) and while that made a difference, steering still feels loose and ride is still a little bumpy. Yeah, I have factory 22s but in the beginning it wasn't a factor. So what would you change?

What model, year and mileage?
 

Ex Euro Driver

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....I'm in the process of trying to get 'near' to that new car feel as well....my 09 has 202k and while its been quite trouble free, the wear and tear has taken a toll

...as such I'm rebuilding the entire front end....upper and low control arms, ball joints, tie rods, hubs, sway links,and anything connected to a bushing like sway bar bushing etc.....new shocks too... same will go for the rear end too (although much less to fuss with).....but I do have to get new rear axel bearings and seals- as they are leaking...

All told, the front end will cost around 400-450 in parts plus shocks, rear should be about 1/2 that....I'm just doing chucks or pieces per paycheck and doing the labor myself.

Motor/drivetrain....just did diablosport tune (which gave it some crispness), replaced all rotors, pads, bleed lines, replaced all belts, pulleys, tensioners too....next up will be all fluids diffsx2, trans, transfer case, motor oil and some fresh wires and plugs....

I should be about a month out from completing the above I figure....the only other outliers are a new windshield and I'd love to rebuild (or replace) the drivers seat..

All that metel stated above will make your "worn in" vehicle feel new. Replacing all the wear items in the front end will make the steering track better and replacing shocks will give it that sturdiness you felt when new. Mos def a worthy investment.
 
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Ob1hybrid

Ob1hybrid

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Loose steering can be caused by a number of different things. My steering was loose due to bad front sway bar bushings, and pitman arms. Could also be a few other steering components. On the sluggish part, how many miles? Have you considered changing spark plugs?also have you looked into a tune yet?

60k miles. She was tuned recently. When I mentioned sluggish is was just really for general informative purposes. Dunno who in here might benefit from this. But I'll definitely check my bushings. Thanks for the response
 
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Ob1hybrid

Ob1hybrid

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....I'm in the process of trying to get 'near' to that new car feel as well....my 09 has 202k and while its been quite trouble free, the wear and tear has taken a toll

...as such I'm rebuilding the entire front end....upper and low control arms, ball joints, tie rods, hubs, sway links,and anything connected to a bushing like sway bar bushing etc.....new shocks too... same will go for the rear end too (although much less to fuss with).....but I do have to get new rear axel bearings and seals- as they are leaking...

All told, the front end will cost around 400-450 in parts plus shocks, rear should be about 1/2 that....I'm just doing chucks or pieces per paycheck and doing the labor myself.

Motor/drivetrain....just did diablosport tune (which gave it some crispness), replaced all rotors, pads, bleed lines, replaced all belts, pulleys, tensioners too....next up will be all fluids diffsx2, trans, transfer case, motor oil and some fresh wires and plugs....

I should be about a month out from completing the above I figure....the only other outliers are a new windshield and I'd love to rebuild (or replace) the drivers seat..


You just gave me wealth of info. Thanks. Are you using all OEM parts or not. Speaking of driver seats, mines keep making this crunching sound. I must investigate.
 

adventurenali92

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60k miles. She was tuned recently. When I mentioned sluggish is was just really for general informative purposes. Dunno who in here might benefit from this. But I'll definitely check my bushings. Thanks for the response
Yeah his post was excellent^. I see what you mean on sluggish. Always somwthing to look into haha. I've done some of that to my 2006 and will doing most of that over the next few months as I close in on 100k on the odometer. I have new front shocks en route currently. That will improve front end ride tremendously. Spark plugsfor me soon.
 

AppocAlexx

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depending on budget, start accumulating parts for a full front end rebuild. Anything and everything you can think of. Now that struts are out of the way its easy lol.
 

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