MY 1997 CAVALIER CONVERTIBLE LEFT SIDE FRONT BOUNCES LIKE CRAZY ON BUMPS AND UNEVEN PAVEMENT. INSTALLED NEW STRUT, AND A NEW TIRE AND BALANCED. STILL DOES SAME THING. RIDES GREAT ON SMOOTH ROAD. ALL SUSPENSION BUSHINGS LOOK GOOD AND THERE IS NO PLAY ANYWHERE.
You installed one strut? That won’t work. You need to install them in pairs. On a '97, you very likely need to rear two as well.
You also need to thoroughly check the condition of the upper strut mounts, the strut towers, the subframe members, and the unibody. Rotted out attachment points of any of the above will cause the dampers to be ineffective.
And I just noticed that this is a convertible. Even right off the assembly line a '97 Cav convertible was wobbly. The bottom half of the body was not sufficiently reinforced to compensate for the loss of the top. If there’s any rot of the unibody whatsoever the structure will be like a wet noodle.
+1 for the same mountainbike. Make sure the tires have the proper pressure as indicated by the tire pressure placard or decal on the vehicle.
Agree with all of the above. Just an aside it seems your caps lock is stuck.
Try the bounce test on all four corners. Sometimes a bad strut will tend to make the opposite corner seem bouncy as the car pivots on the other opposite corners with the good struts. Pay particular attention to the right rear.