Front Suspension; Strut Assembly (Front) - Chrysler 2000 LHS Owner's Manual

2 - 10 SUSPENSION
DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION
FRONT SUSPENSION SYSTEM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

STRUT ASSEMBLY (FRONT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

STEERING KNUCKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
HUB AND BEARING (FRONT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
LOWER CONTROL ARM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
BALL JOINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
TENSION STRUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
STABILIZER BAR (FRONT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
DIAGNOSIS AND TESTING
STRUT ASSEMBLY (FRONT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
STEERING KNUCKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
HUB AND BEARING (FRONT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
LOWER CONTROL ARM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
BALL JOINT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
STABILIZER BAR (FRONT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION
SERVICE WARNINGS AND CAUTIONS . . . . . . . . 15
STRUT ASSEMBLY (FRONT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION
FRONT SUSPENSION SYSTEM
DESCRIPTION
This vehicle uses a MacPherson strut type front
suspension design (Fig. 1).
The front suspension includes the following compo-
nents:
• Strut assembly
• Steering knuckle
• Hub and bearing
• Lower control arm and ball joint
• Tension strut
• Stabilizer bar
OPERATION
The front suspension allows each front wheel on a
vehicle to adapt to different road surfaces and condi-
tions without affecting the control of the vehicle.
Each side of the front suspension is allowed to move
independently from the other. Both sides of the front
suspension are allowed to pivot so the vehicle can be
steered in the direction preferred. Steering of the
vehicle is provided by a rack and pinion steering gear
that is connected to a fixed steering arm on each
front strut.

FRONT SUSPENSION

TABLE OF CONTENTS
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DISASSEMBLY AND ASSEMBLY
SPECIFICATIONS
SPECIAL TOOLS
STRUT ASSEMBLY (FRONT)
DESCRIPTION
supported by coil springs positioned around the
struts (Fig. 1). The springs are contained between an
upper seat, located just below the upper strut mount
and a lower spring seat on the strut housing. A steer-
ing arm is permanently attached to each strut mak-
ing it side specific.
upper fender reinforcement (strut tower) through a
rubber isolated mount.
top of the steering knuckle with two serrated
through-bolts and prevailing torque nuts.
side of the vehicle depending on optional equipment
and type of vehicle service.
are serviceable if found to be defective (Fig. 2):
STEERING KNUCKLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
HUB AND BEARING (FRONT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
LOWER CONTROL ARM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
STABILIZER BAR (FRONT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
STABILIZER BAR ISOLATOR BUSHINGS
(FRONT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
WHEEL MOUNTING STUDS (FRONT) . . . . . . . . . 32
STRUT ASSEMBLY (FRONT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
LOWER CONTROL ARM PIVOT BUSHING. . . . . . 36
LOWER CONTROL ARM TENSION STRUT
BUSHING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
TENSION STRUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
TENSION STRUT CRADLE BUSHING . . . . . . . . . 40
FRONT SUSPENSION FASTENER TORQUES . . . 42
FRONT SUSPENSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
The front strut and suspension of the vehicle is
The top of each strut assembly is bolted to the
The bottom of the strut assembly attaches to the
Coil springs are rated separately for each corner or
The components of the strut assembly listed below
• Strut shaft retainer nut
• Upper mount
• Seat and bearing
• Dust shield
• Jounce bumper
• Jounce bumper cup
• Coil spring
LH
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