Front end, Greenville Drive
Steering and suspension, tie rod ends to differentials
Tie rod ends, ball joints, shocks, struts, springs, gearboxes and differentials.
Chapter 01
Wander, clunk and tires that wear on one edge
A tired front end tells on itself in a few ways. The car drifts in its lane and needs small corrections. You hear a clunk over a seam in the road or when you turn into a driveway. The steering wheel feels loose around center. And the tires start wearing on one edge or in a scalloped pattern, which is the part owners often notice last.
Roads around Appleton, Menasha and Kaukauna are hard on suspension parts. Frost heaves, potholes at the end of winter and rail crossings all put load through the same pivots and bushings, again and again. Worn parts rarely announce themselves with a single dramatic failure. They loosen a little at a time.
If any of that sounds like your vehicle, call (920) 734-6109 and describe when you hear or feel it. Turning, braking, or going over bumps each narrow it down.
Underside of a vehicle showing a strut, control arm and tie rod
Every joint, arm and spring on the list
We service the whole steering and suspension system: tie rod ends, ball joints, springs, shocks, struts, idler arms, pitman arms, center links, steering gearboxes and differentials. Which of those your vehicle has depends on how it is built, so a pickup with a center link and a front-wheel-drive car with struts are two different inspections.
Play in a joint is something a technician finds by hand and by eye, with the vehicle up on the lift and the weight off or on the suspension as the part requires. That is where ASE-certified training pays for itself. A tie rod end that looks fine from above can have slop you can feel in seconds.
We work on any make or model, and we handle warranty and insurance work. Warranties are based on the parts used.
Chapter 03
Alignment after the fix
Replacing a tie rod end or a ball joint changes where the wheel points, so an alignment check follows the repair rather than preceding it. Skip that step and a new part can chew through a good tire quickly.
That is why steering and suspension work and our alignment bay sit under one roof. You can read more about the camber, caster and toe side on our wheel alignments page, and about stopping power on our brakes page, since a worn front end and worn brakes often turn up on the same visit.
Any make or model, with same-day estimates and ASE-certified technicians.
Underbody parts map, front to back
Read it left to right, driver's seat to differential. Every part below is on the list we service, and the one line they hang from is the axle line of the vehicle.
Behind the wheel
Where your hands meet the road
Steering gearbox
Turns the rotation of the wheel into side to side motion.
Pitman arm
Carries that motion out of the gearbox to the linkage.
Across the front
The linkage that ties both wheels together
Center link
Spans the width of the vehicle and moves both wheels as one.
Idler arm
Holds the far end of the center link at the right height.
Tie rod ends
The pivots at the outer end that actually point each wheel.
At each wheel
The pivots and the ride control
Ball joints
Let the wheel steer and move up and down at the same time.
Springs
Hold the vehicle up and take the first hit from the road.
Shocks and struts
Settle the spring so the tire stays planted.
Under the middle and rear
Where drive reaches the wheels
Differentials
Split drive between the wheels so they can turn at different speeds.
Not sure which zone your noise lives in? Tell us when it happens, or read how we set alignment to factory spec once the repair is done.