I took a friend for a ride the other cool spring night, top down, heater on. When we got back, she said," I like your car, it reminds me of riding in my dad's boat. Kind of a squishy feeling. Now as I'm driving it, I notice on the highway, it is a squishy springy ride. I notice it mostly on a transition from pavement to say an overpass, and there is a change in the road heights. The right front will dropand come back up 2x's, the rear end will raise, and wiggle as it settles. The steering wheel will rock right to left a couple of times as the car settles. On an uneven road or on a badly patched strech, the car is all over the place. The struts are a year old, motor mounts are new. The Upper and lower control arm bushings look ok, and the ball joints and tie rod ends have no exsessive play. It's a neat little car, with 190,000 on the odometer. I'll probably do ball joints and bushings this weekend, and check the struts. I couldn't find a PolyUrethane bushings kit for it, like I put in my Vette. Just wish I could make it handle better. Any Idea's Anyone.

 

Anyone, am I the only one who's car rides like this? Suggestions? Upgrade Suggestions? Change the springs? Change the struts to KYB / Gabrial / McPherson? Or is this just the way the car is supposed to handle? Kind of like the brakes?

 

Your description sounds like your shocks/struts are bad, but if you're comparing a Sebring to a Vette, there ain't no comparison. How old are the rear shocks?

You won't find much in the aftermarket to hype up the handling of a Sebring. There's a kit to tie the front spring towers together. Some claim it stiffens up the ride. Browse around the Chrysler Sebring Convertible Club website for more info.

 

thx for the reply dcotter,
without shoehorning a vette under the sebring body, not really compairing. just wish I could make it handle better, with some upgrades. rear shocks are about a year old, same as the front struts. so the handling characteristics are not normal for this car? I looked for any worn bushings but everything looks good. I'm planning on pulling everything apart this weekend, and replacing all the bushings and ball joints, guess I'll replace the shocks and struts also. been looking for a polyurethane bushing kit, can't find any. I don't mind the stock ride height, so I don't really want to change the springs, but if thats what need to happen. guess I'm just looking for some advice. aside from asking someone for a ride, being in So Kalifornia, I might end up with an overnight stay with the local police, didn't know where else to look. doing a google search doen't return much,
and it's an old vette, so it doesn't handle as well as the new ones.

 

I just spent the last two days putting new struts and upper ball joints in my '01 convertible. I bought Monroe sensatrac struts. I'm not sure whether the struts in there were original or not, but I can't say I notice much difference in the ride. I wouldn't describe it as "squishy", but the '01 is supposed to be a bit stiffer than previous models and my other car is not a Vette.

 

hey dcotter0579
did a major over haul of the suspension, lower ball joints, front and rear bushings, uppers and lowers on the front, lowers on the rear, front struts and rear shocks. Pressing everything out and then back in was time consuming, but not an issue with the right tools. i haven't reinstalled everything, so she's still up on jacks. I'll post how things turn out, and yes the rear shocks were weak.
do you know if the rear disc brakes from a Sebring Coupe, can be swapped onto the convertable? maybe another thread? this is my first Chysler, do you know if there is an interchange book for these cars?

 

Coupes were built by Mitsubishi. There are virtually NO common parts with the convertibles/sedans, which were built by Chrysler.

If you have drum brakes and want to convert to discs, you might be able to get away with sedan parts. The suspensions are very similar. If you can, check part numbers.

 

wow, what a difference. much more of a solid feel. I probably could have got away with just changing the stuts and shocks, but it has a much more solid ride. I went with KYB front and rear.

thanks for the sedan sugestion.

Happy Motoring

 

Good job. What did you have to do to get to the upper rear shock mounts? How did you get around the convertible top storage bin? I've been thinking about doing the rear shocks but getting to the upper mount is not obvious.

 

access is through the trunk. take a look at this:
How to Remove Rear Shocks | eHow.com