Suspension - visual inspection points?
 

Hi there,

Reading some posts today randomly reminded me last summer when I was out in cottage country and the GPS took me to some roads that ended up being a checkerboard of potholes. Took it slowly but didn't occur to me that I could be throwing alignment out of spec / damaging the suspension altogether. None of the potholes were that large, they were just everywhere (constant vibration).

So...what I want to ask is...when you get under your car for maintenance, do you guys perform a quick spot check of certain wear / damage spots on your suspension?

If so, what areas do you specifically look for? (pictures would be amazing if available!).

I know it won't be possible to notice alignment issues with the naked eye, not concerned about those, more concerned about actual damage / things shaking loose on the suspension.

Thank you!

Chances are it's perfectly fine, but after some extremely rough roads you could look for:
leaking shocks
leaking brake lines
damaged wheel sensor wires
loose nuts/bolts (anything attached to the suspension, inc top plates)
loose bolts/screws or missing plastic clips around the lower body/undercarriage
cracks or cracked welds
wheels- bent lip or out of round
collected debris anywhere

There's no specific points of failure that I've ever heard of so I can't provide any particular inspection points, just general things to look for. If you want to be extremely thorough and OCD, you could raise the car and look for problems while it's dirty/dusty as some problems would be more visible (dirt stuck to collected fluids) and again after cleaning or spraying the underbody when its easier to see.

Yup, I'll be jacking it up next month for a CBE install, will check all the points you suggested. Thanks!