How can you troubleshoot suspension issues in a commercial vehicle?

Under pumped wheel also put out negative on your steering check tyre pressures as it will feel like your Allignment is out and you waste money by taking your vehicle in, just check tyre pressures first

Vehicle suspension system is mounted in the tyre zone. So always check the tyres first. For instance, deflated tires can reduce ground clearance, increase rolling resistance, compromise handling and stability, cause uneven tyre wear, stress suspension components, lead to overheating and damage, and impact wheel alignment, collectively affecting the overall performance and safety of the vehicle's suspension system.

I've had an experience of bouncing vehicle, firstly, I checked the tire pressures and it was overinflated. After inflating to the required pressure, the vehicle stopped bouncing.

Troubleshooting suspension issues in a commercial vehicle requires a systematic approach to identify and address potential problems. Visual Inspection: Start by visually inspecting the entire suspension system. Look for signs of damage, wear, or leaks. Check for any loose or missing bolts, nuts, or other fasteners. Inspect the suspension components, including the springs, shocks, struts, control arms, and bushings. Ensure that the wheels are properly aligned. Misalignment can cause uneven tire wear and affect the vehicle's handling. Align the wheels if necessary and inspect for damaged suspension components contributing to misalignment. Use a diagnostic tool to scan for any suspension-related trouble codes in the vehicle's computer system.

The tires are the first contact point between the vehicle and the road and they can influence the suspense system you should inspect the tyres for any damage such as cracks bulges aur punctures and check the air pressure and trade depth if the tyres are under inflated over inflated or worn unevenly they can cause the vehicle to bounce pul aur vibrate you should also check the alignment and balance of the wheels and correct any issue with a professional service

Tire wear will show a lot of problems from bad bearings and ball joints to salt build up between tire and hub. On long haul trucks kingpins and drum hub are normally some of the issues smaller vehicles don't have as much issues. The other thing it shows is the wear on the steering components.

How can you troubleshoot suspension issues in a commercial vehicle? To troubleshoot suspension issues in a commercial vehicle, there are several key steps you can take to identify and address the problems effectively. ### Watch Out for Signs of Suspension Issues Identifying common signs of suspension issues is crucial. Look out for symptoms such as excessive bouncing after hitting bumps, unusual noises when driving over rough terrain, or uneven tire wear. These could be indicators of suspension problems in your commercial vehicle. ### Regular Inspection and Maintenance Regularly inspecting the suspension components is essential for early detection of issues. Check the shock absorbers, leaf springs,

Once you have confirmed that the tyres and rims are not flat, bent or unbalanced, basic static settings like toe and camber need to be checked. Suspension compononents should be checked for broken/bent bushes, bearing or linkages. Thereafter a test drive is necassary for analysing the feedback from the handling, roadholding and vehicle behaviour. This can help uncover 90% of the mystery by listening for noises, testing with varying steering-wheel angles and passing over uneven surfaces. If the problem persist then a dynamic wheel travel analysis (eg. bump steer analysis, shock travel behaviour etc) will need to be performed.

In commercial vehicles suspension issues occur frequently due to the nature and loads assorciated with these jobs so periodic inspections are needed on these vehicles .you can have inspections on tyres you can test drive the vehicle and feel the perfomance on the road physical inspections on some components is also necessary

Always start with the simplest and cheapest method possible. Air pressure. Visual inspection on components for wear and tear. Rubber dampeners wear out, and need to be replaced.

One of the problems I have dealt with on semi trucks is broken springs in the winter time. It can cause all kinds of ride problems

Shocks should be warm after use, when working properly they convert kinetic energy into heat energy. If you have been driving your truck and your shock is not warmer than ambient temp, you have a shock that is not working.

Also please check if there is any oil residues on the shocks if there are any please replace as it can make your vehicle unstable and uncomfortably

Normalmente, um comportamento oscilatório não amortecido, ou como um "pula-pula" é um ótimo indicador de amortecedores estourados, uma vez que toda a carga está sob as molas

Check the shock abosorbers Know that defective shock absorbers adversely impact a vehicle's suspension system, causing reduced stability, poor handling, increased body roll, longer stopping distances, heightened wear on other suspension components, diminished comfort, and safety concerns.

This maybe time consuming but remove & test the shocks by hand is a good indicator as a leak may not always be present especially when talking about heavy vehicles like road trains & prime movers, pushing down on a corner will achieve bugger all.

Vale ressaltar que as buchas / coxins não necessariamente precisam estar trincados, ou deteriorados para perder eficiência. Um profissional especializado deve fazer um teste de rua, principalmente em pavimento de má qualidade para avaliar os ruídos, assim como verificar as folgas com o veículo suspenso. Pode ocorrer de as buchas perderem rigidez com o tempo, não cumprindo totalmente com seu papel. Sempre utilizar peças de reposição com qualidade original.

Bushings are one of the most popular reason for feeling uncomfortable while driving, apart from the huge amount of click noise conducted to the chaises, disturbing the passengers.

Even something it may happen be having a very goog log of previous maintenance, we could guess the defected part. Some manufacturers have the maintenance SOP for their suspension.

Keeping journal entries on what operating conditions the vehicles were subjected to, and what the required repairs were will help guide you to the most likely area of concern in the future.

In my experience, after verifying a customers concern, and doing an initial inspection for any worn parts, there’s a few more avenues to follow. See if you can get the noise to replicate in the shop. If you don’t know what the noise is, you can use a chassis ear or similar device and test drive the vehicle flipping between different channels to see where the noise is coming from. if you can replicate it in the shop, you can either use a long handle screw driver (like placing your ear on a railroad track) or a mechanics stethoscope to pinpoint the exact part at fault.

Information is key from the driver as to what the suspension is actually doing? Is it air bag? Is the trailer bouncing? How are the tyres wearing? Do they wonder along the road? Does it lean to one side? Is it slow to build air? There are many factors to take into account a visual inspection with clear communication from the customer almost always point you in the right direction.