What frost heaves on the Sebago lake roads do to your suspension

Anyone who drives the roads out toward Sebago Lake knows the spring routine. Water gets under the pavement, freezes, swells and pushes the road up. Then it thaws and the road drops. What is left is a stretch of humps, dips, cracks and potholes.

Your tires feel every one of them. Your suspension absorbs the rest.

Struts and shocks

Struts and shocks control how the car moves after it hits a bump. When they wear out, the car keeps bouncing after a heave instead of settling. You may notice the nose diving hard under braking or the car leaning more in turns. Worn struts also let tires skip on rough pavement, which wears them unevenly.

Bushings

Bushings are rubber pieces that cushion the joints between suspension parts. Cold weather hardens rubber and repeated hits crack it. Worn bushings show up as clunks over bumps, a loose feeling in the steering or a car that wanders on a straight road.

Ball joints

Ball joints connect the wheels to the rest of the suspension and let them steer and move up and down. Hard hits wear them faster. Early signs are a knock or creak from the front end, especially over dips or when turning. Ball joints should not be put off. A joint that separates can cause loss of control.

Signs worth a look

Clunking or knocking over bumps. A steering wheel that is off center when you drive straight. The car pulling to one side. Tires wearing on one edge. A bouncy or floaty ride. Any of these after a rough mud season is worth having checked.

The good news is that most suspension wear comes on slowly, so there is usually time to catch it. We will put the car on a lift, show you what is worn and tell you what can wait and what cannot.

If the car will not drive

A bad enough pothole can bend a wheel or break a part so the car is not safe to drive. If that happens, we run our own flatbed tow truck and can bring it straight to our bays on Route 302.