How do shocks go bad

Possibly you keep bouncing as you go over potholes and bumps in the road. You may wonder if the car struts , or shocks, are starting to go going bad. So what causes shocks to go bad? Shocks will wear out over time in the normal course of driving as your vehicle accumulates mileage. However, if you are consistently driving over the bumpy street and hitting potholes and other obstacles in the road, they will wear out even more quickly than usual. When shocks go bad, the results can be dangerous, as it impacts the steering and stopping the performance of your vehicle.

Replacing the shocks, or car struts, will improve stopping performance as well as increase the safety of your vehicle. Any of the above signs look familiar? Wondering if the stability of your car axles is being compromised by bad shocks? Our auto shop serves vehicle owners in Cannon Falls, MN , and the surrounding areas. D - Delayed or longer stopping distances. Worn shock absorbers can increase your braking distance by 20 percent, writes the Daily Monitor , which could mean the difference between a safe stop and an accident.

This symptom may have you coming in for a brake inspection, which is A-OK. Our experienced technicians will be able to diagnose the real culprit, whether it's low brake fluid, worn shocks, or something else entirely. So how can I test my shocks? Here's one way, but not the only way to do it.

With your car parked, press down on the front end of the vehicle and release. If more than a couple bounces are required to calm the car, the shocks might be worn. You can repeat this test with the rear of the vehicle, too. These worn shock symptoms won't appear overnight. Shocks wear out over time, making it difficult to determine when they need to be replaced. Think of your car's shocks like a pair of tennis shoes. One of the telltale signs of a suspension system that requires service is unusual noise.

As shocks and bushings wear, they lose their ability to properly support the strut. The result is that the strut can bottom out. When the strut bottoms out, the metal-to-metal contact can cause a knocking sound that emanates from the front or rear wheels. Tire cupping, or scalloping, can be another cause of suspension-related noise. When shock absorbers go bad and cause the tire to recoil faster, there can be patterns of wear that alternate like a series of peaks and valleys.

These variations in tire tread lead to a bouncing noise that can be detected during a test drive. Even under normal conditions on a smooth road, shocks stroke an average of 1, times for every mile traveled. New posts. Search forums. Log in. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.

Why do shocks go "BAD"? Thread starter Joe Golf Start date Mar 18, Joe Golf Veteran Member. Other than leaking or some other mechanical issue, why does a damper or "shock" wear out? I have read that the OEM fluid is good to K plus? Unless a seal fails, the damping characteristics should not change Are there springs and check valves inside that need to be replaced?

Any thoughts. Last edited: Mar 19, Peter Pyce or Ceilidh will likely be all over this question. Guys, if you do answer this, please also can you tell us if a damper is 'shot' when the old, removed damper doesn't rebound on its own, or rebounds very slowly?

I don't think this is necessarily the case because the damper is supposed to be a damper, not a spring. It's not supposed to support the car, it's supposed to control the motion of the suspension. I can see that there may be pressure necessary to keep the oil from foaming, and that without this pressure the damper could possibly be shot. It would seem that Peter is suggesting that a damper could last almost indefinitely with proper oil changes.

Powerstroke - if you are handy man and can do your own maintenance, and if you plan to keep the car and dampers many years, and you are driving a lot - a set of Red may be your ticket, because you can pull them out every K, change the oil and they are good to go for another round.

And you can go like this for the rest of the life of your car. If anything happens, they have warranty for life. The rest is simple maintenance. The FSD are a lot trickier to deal with as you have to fill them up after that, so you need to work on a system to do so, etc.

The Reds are stuff you can service in your garage on a weekend. And if there is something you do not like in the ride, it could be fixed as well, by tweaking little bit here and there, etc.

Last edited: Mar 18, Joined Nov 6, Let's have a nice and relaxing weekend, and then talk in depth next week. It is all deeply hidden in the damper thread, so it needs some digging, but I have no time now.