Question Details: I have a 1998 Honda CR-V and took it in for an oil change. Found out that I needed a new radiator. Car has 113,000 miles. When I got the car back from the radiator replacement, I drove it home and it felt like I was driving a truck or a boat. Every bump made my car shake and bounce. I took it back and they said the pressure in the tires (which they also rotated) was too much. They lowered the pressure, but the car still bounces any time I go over any type of bumps. And when I press on the brake to stop and the car finally comes to a stop, the back end of the car is still moving and shaking back and forth. Why did this happen when they just changed the radiator. My car was driving just fine before I brought it in. Heading back to the Honda dealership for the 3rd day in a row for resolution. Just wanted to be able to talk %26quot;car intelligent%26quot; to the dealership tomorrow.
Thanks in advance for any insight.|||Lucy-
Its not the fact they changed the Radiator or adjusted the air in your tires.
I have encountered this problem before as a mechanic.
Sometimes what will happen is the shocks get %26quot;work worn%26quot; into a certain location within the shock tube.
Let me explain.
Shock Absorbers are nothing more than an oil filled tube with a plunger, rubber %26quot;O%26quot; rings, check valves and control valves, filled with a light oil and pressurised with gas.
As you drive your car the plunger locates itself in a certain location in the shock tube, (this is the part you see with your eye). After miles and miles of the plunger working in a particular location inside the tube is wears a spot in the steel. This is partly due to failing seals on the end of the shock ram. As this debris accumulates it acts like sand paper in that one single section of the shock tube.
Now having said that, the O Ring Seal can no longer maintain its proper sealing function within the shock tube. So what will happen is this allows the oil and the gas to leak by that seal, and the springs that your car are riding on are no longer controlled by the absorbers.
By lifting the vehicle off the ground to service your radiator the wheels and shocks are allowed to go to their full extension, picking up this debris and collecting it in front of or behind that O-Ring Seal. Now the seal cannot do its job and the shocks will fail to control the suspension springs. So when the vehicle was returned to the ground and the shocks returned to their %26quot;Rest%26quot; position they allowed the pressurized gas and oil to escape, or enough debris built up inside the shock and disabled the control and check valves, rendering the shock useless.
This eventually happens to all shocks. Its just in the lighter vehicles you are more prone to feeling it because they are so light.
I would recommend that you have the shocks and struts replaced before the wet weather gets really started. Having bad shocks and struts during the wet weather is an excellent recipie for a very severe accident.
Good Luck, I hope I helped you out!|||radiator replacement does not affect the shocks on the car. it is likely a coincidence that they went bad at the same time you had the radiator replaced.|||a radiator replacement has nothing to do with the shocks. nothing at all.|||No It cant, but they could have accidently did someting to them, but very unlikely.|||No!!!!! A radiator has nothing to do with your suspension. Dealers are only good for selling cars. they can care less about you once you own the vehicle|||No, a radiator replacement wouldn%26#039;t have caused that. Also, they should not have had to take your shocks off to change your radiator. If they jacked it up to get under the car and remove some hoses, then dropped it back with considerable force, then it could have caused some damage to them...but proving that would probably be almost impossible.|||is the radiator is reall heavy, or the shocks were taken out during the process|||no way no how|||No, the radiator could not have affected the shock absorbers. The radiator holds coolant and allow the flow of coolant to keep the engine cool and to prevent overheating over the vehicle. Shock absorbers control how the vehicle rides. It sounds like that the shock absorbers just happened to go bad. I%26#039;d recommend taking it to the dealership and have them replace the shock absorbers, coil springs, leaf springs, and ball joints. All of these affect the ride and handling of the vehicle.|||lol@ %26quot;dealers only care about you til you buy, then they forget to care%26quot;....some of you people are REAL idiots....
