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THE IN’S AND OUT’S OF CHROME RIMS Chrome Rims.  A love / hate relationship. In my opinion chrome looks great on anything, but in this day and age of reducing weight by any means possible, we end up with problems in a relatively short time. We have chrome trim that is essentially a piece of plastic with a thin chrome covering and aluminum wheels that have a very thin layer of chrome attached to the surface. All is good and well while new, but get a few miles of use and changes start to occur. In this article I am focusing on rims. Anything that can chip the chrome will allow contaminants, such as salt and road chemicals, to get…

Ball joints are of a stud and socket design that attaches the control arms to the steering knuckle. The ball joint allows the turning of the wheel left or right. It also allows for the up and down movement of the Suspension. The Ball Joints can also hold the Suspension Spring system together. Worn Lower Ball Joints typically will cause inside edge wear on tires, which will be worn smooth, while worn upper Ball Joints will cause outside edge wear. Excessively worn ball joints can also make a clunking noise which is caused by the stud banging into the socket. Also a steering wheel off center, or drifting left or right can result.  Ball joints that are excessively worn can come…

While Shocks and Struts are both designed to limit body movement and give you a smooth ride, they are two completely different parts. A Strut is a part of the vehicle Suspension while a Shock is not. Alignment settings are adjusted on the Strut as well. A Shock Absorber is designed to keep your tires in constant contact with the road; by absorbing impacts and controlling the spring oscillations. This is done by internal hydraulics. Any loss of fluid affects the Shock’s ability to dampen the road effects. If you see any fluid wetness on a Shock it should be replaced. If a Shock loses enough fluid the Tires will not maintain contact with the road and can cause loss…