I was going around a rotary (roundabout) yesterday at 35 or so mph. It has a terrible roadway I hit a bump and the rear end of the car seemed to jump to the right side a tad. Is this the control arms we have discussed in the pass, instead of getting off I went around again at the same speed and hit the same bump and it didn't jump. Am I being too paranoid?

 

Adam, try this, while making a wide turn at about 20 mph, play with the gas some and get on and off of the gas. Does the rear end feel like it wants to jump to the side? If so, the bushings on the lower forward trailing arm for the rear suspension are shot and you are feeling the slop in the suspension. The arms run about $100 per side and take about an hour each side to do. Just make sure to get an alignment afterwards so you don't trash a set of tires in the rear due to the wheels pointing in a new direction now.

 

I tried you advice today and the rear of the car was very stable. Perhaps it was just the way I went into the turn and hit the bump?

 

Adam, it may have been simply a ripple in the road that you hit and upset the suspension. Normally the first thing that you will notice when the suspension starts to go on your car is that the tires will tend to lean in on the top. So, keep an eye on this and when you can see the tires leaning in, you have worn parts. The front end can be adjusted some what, the rear unfortunately can not be (I am working on that though). The only way to restore this problem in the rear is new parts (upper control arm for the rear suspension).

 

I will keep an eye on the tires and thanks so much for your help.