i have a bunch of shocks and struts in my garage, i need to know how to check if they are still good. i took all the springs off, so far i only checked one set, if i press the rear ones down, they come back up. if i press the front down, they stay down, i have to bring them back up by hand. what are they suppost to do stay down, or rise back up, the car is a 99 Z24, thanks
i find that the best way to check them is when they are installed... off i have no clue... sorry
FYI... when installed... push down on either the front or rear end and make the car start to bounce as much as you can... then stop.. if they are still good they should stableize after one bounce or rebound... if it takes longer they are on their way out or gone..
Modfire wrote:i find that the best way to check them is when they are installed... off i have no clue... sorry
FYI... when installed... push down on either the front or rear end and make the car start to bounce as much as you can... then stop.. if they are still good they should stableize after one bounce or rebound... if it takes longer they are on their way out or gone..
have to disagree in this one....
when a strut is installed you have the weight of the car, the springs helping, alot of other factors...
with a strut OFF the car, you can move the shaft with your hand and feel the damage.
not all struts blow and squirt oil... those are worst case scenarios....
some start to lose their gas charge, others have inconsistent compression and rebound.
as it stands most people dont even know their stuff is blown or damamged until they take em off the car.
off the car is more accurate.
most struts will rise back up.... if they go down and stay down, they have lost some or all of their charge pressurized in side...
some may only come half way up...
thanks, so far the only ones that come back up are the rears, the fronts just stay down, so i guess it will be a bumpy ride then if i put them on?? pro-kits are also going on the car. I just need something to drive around if i blow my stock ones on the car (car is in europe) till i can afford aftermarkets.
Croatian Z24 wrote:thanks, so far the only ones that come back up are the rears, the fronts just stay down, so i guess it will be a bumpy ride then if i put them on?? pro-kits are also going on the car. I just need something to drive around if i blow my stock ones on the car (car is in europe) till i can afford aftermarkets.
personally i;d wait....
if the front ones are decently damaged, where do you think that extra shock goes to?
the struts arent absorbing it... so that means other suspension parts are. if you lost all the cartilage in your knees and tried to run, you know the cushioning of the cartilage is gone so the tendons and bones take the brunt....
either wait and get what you need to avoid doing it twice, or buy aftermarket front struts only, like agx....
hell if you got the front agx, you dont even need an alignment when you do the rear.
so, if they dont raise back up (on their own), i scrap them, right?
I don't believe that the stock ones will rise back up when you push them down.
Reason being that they're not gas charged. Anyone confirm?
the ones i had did... but then again back when i changed em... i sentenced em to death....via arospeed coilovers... but thats back when i knew no better.
gas charged usually offer more resistance, but when you push it in, any strut or shock should attempt to come back out. especially right near the bottom....
even on top end r/c cars, those arent gas charged, but the shaft should rebound on its own for the lower half of the stroke...
and if it feels like there are air pockets in the stroke... def goin or gone bad.... by air pockets i mean you push down, and its not smooth all the way down, but kinda choppy.
Is there any good way to check while there on the car??
thanks
unless they are visually blown and leaking, theres really too many other variables to tell... unless driving and you see a wheel constantly bouncing around erratically...(many of you have seen station wagons or vans on the highways and their tire NEVER stops bouncing.... 3 are plated, but 1 is just constantly up and down way faster than the rest)
