So here is the deal, my car has stock springs struts everything, tires are always propely maintained. THey changed the speed bumps in my friends town from soft to hard, where when they were soft you could go over them at 30mph (45 zone) and it would be nothing, now when i went over it my car like flew, and slammed really hard, now everywhere i go the ride is more bouncy than normal, but it dosent bottom out. It is getting to the point where im going to buy a new suspension, but was wondering if these are blown, and if they are not I would like to blow them so I can see what its like to drive down the road before i get htem replaced

They are more than likely just worn, not blown. If they were blown, you would bottom out everytime you hit a decent pothole.

Why would you want to blow them intentionally? I don't understand the point in that...

If you want to replace them, just replace...no need to damage what you have before doing so.



www.kronosperformance.com / 732-742-8837

They sound blown. Blown does not mean you bottom out all the time. It means you bounce every time you hit a bump.

If you want to intentionally finish them off: This is dangerous, you have been warned. It's not my fault or the JBO's fault if you do damage to anything/anyone; anyone following these directions agrees to indemnify me and the JBO. Simply drill a small hole in the bottom and let the fluid out.

For ideas and suggestions on new suspension, see the Suspension FAQ

Push down on the corner of the car, if it comes up and then settles, its fine. If it bounces several times, its pretty worn, if it keeps bouncing, its definetely blown.

Yeah. An easy test: open the driver's door, put one foot on the runner, and grab the roof of the car. Get it bouncing back and forth about as hard as you can. Let go, compare results to table:
Stops moving immediately, simply returns to level: Very good struts
Bounces maybe half a bounce, or even one full: Average/Stock/Semi-Worn
Bounces more than one up and down: Blow/Very Worn/Replace soon
Bounces like a basketball, just keeps going: Blown/Totally gone

I knew someone who had a '86 Jetta, with stock shocks (this was last year). The back end was very light. You could litterally push on it untill you got it bouncing like a basketball, completely off the ground. You would have thought it had air the way it bounced.

on stock springs its rare you will travel that much to bottom out....


damaged struts can be blown, worn or worn bad as most have said.

thing is, have someone flank you on a rough road... if they see your wheel constantly bouncing erratically, upgrade.

the bounce test works, but depending on your size, i;ve seen some people try it and not have the strength to get the car moving enough and then back up and look at it.

stock struts dont have much a gas charge, but more of a liquid filled deal.




also blown struts... dont always have to leak externally... like a human, internal "bleeding" can occur which isnt good.

hm people in my car always say the ride is bouncy as hell, and my frined has an 03 civic EX and his ride is alot smoother than mine, lame any more ideas, as I wanna get a new suspension just not now as misses car needs alot more work.

James Cahill wrote:Push down on the corner of the car, if it comes up and then settles, its fine. If it bounces several times, its pretty worn, if it keeps bouncing, its definetely blown.

I know that is the standard test, but all 4 of mIne were blown and did not do that(120,000 miles on stockers ).

NJHK (That Black Guy) wrote:They are more than likely just worn, not blown. If they were blown, you would bottom out everytime you hit a decent pothole.

Not necessarily. Struts don't keep you from bottoming out. The struts control the rebound but if you hit a hard enough bump to fully compress your suspension, then you're going to bottom out whether you've got good struts or bad.

I killed my stock struts at the autox .


-Chris

Zach wrote:

James Cahill wrote:Push down on the corner of the car, if it comes up and then settles, its fine. If it bounces several times, its pretty worn, if it keeps bouncing, its definetely blown.

I know that is the standard test, but all 4 of mIne were blown and did not do that(120,000 miles on stockers ).

I just took 96,000 Mile Stocker off my car and they weren't blown (far from good, but not totally gone). Miles alone don't make them blown.

How big a fella are ya? Event already metioned that some people aren't really big/strong enough to get it really going.

I'm 220 lbs. and I'm definatley not weak I live down a dirt road, so its a little rough on shocks. When I took them off, I could literally push them all they way down into the body.

im only 165 so i dont think i really have the weight to move it around, is there a way to "fix" the worn struts before i get a new setup (im thinking gravana kit any comments). We road trip like every weekend and driving in this car is bloody hard, thanks

"Fix", no,. replacement is the only option.

It's a 2600 to 2800 lb car (plus whatever @!#$ you have in it) so it takes a degree of weight/strength to get it moving. And if they're not blown, it will be harder to get moving.