how do you know if you blown a shock/strut ???
Your car will ride like a boat/rubberband and your strut will leak oil. Blowing out a strut is difficult unless your jumping your car General Lee style. If there is sound in the rear of your car like loud banging while hitting bumps then your upper strut mounts are going bad but the strut itself may still be ok. Had that problem on my Cavy.
Ya, the ride will be rough, and you will feel every litle imperfection on the road. Usually struts and shocks go gradually so it's hard to notice them. If they rattle (sounds like a rock in a can) then it's probably time for new struts or shocks or whatever. If you hear a creaking sound then it's probably your mounts that are gone.
My rule of thumb is, I look at the mileage of the car, how old the car is, whether or not they have been replaced and decide to change them or not. I would have better peace of mind replacing suspension and brake components a little earlier so that I'm not stuck on some cold winter day with no brakes or suspension.
Ryan1
Ryan1 wrote:Ya, the ride will be rough, and you will feel every litle imperfection on the road. Usually struts and shocks go gradually so it's hard to notice them. If they rattle (sounds like a rock in a can) then it's probably time for new struts or shocks or whatever. If you hear a creaking sound then it's probably your mounts that are gone.
My rule of thumb is, I look at the mileage of the car, how old the car is, whether or not they have been replaced and decide to change them or not. I would have better peace of mind replacing suspension and brake components a little earlier so that I'm not stuck on some cold winter day with no brakes or suspension.
its an 98 cavalier 123804miles from what i know they where never changed.
All of your struts are probably blown at this point. All of mine were when I replaced them at 120,000 miles
Consider a set of AGX's for about $375 shipped off ebay. They come with a life time warranty and you can adjust how soft or firm you want the ride.
you could always do the "bounce test". push down on your bumpers with some force and see how many times the car jumps up and down. if it moves up and down a lot, maybe like 3 or more times, then they are bad. but then again if you have aftermarket springs this is probbly not going to work. i say since you have almost 124k on the car you need to invest in some nice adjustable struts like konis or agx's
http://members.cardomain.com/scrawnyguy18
scrawnyguy18 wrote:you could always do the "bounce test". push down on your bumpers with some force and see how many times the car jumps up and down. if it moves up and down a lot, maybe like 3 or more times, then they are bad. but then again if you have aftermarket springs this is probbly not going to work. i say since you have almost 124k on the car you need to invest in some nice adjustable struts like konis or agx's
i did the bounce test that you are talking about it went up and then down thats it. i am going to get AGX's do i have to use a aftermarket sping i can't lower my car after i get the buddy club 2 kit it will get ripped off the first day i drive it unless theres a spring that only lowers the car like 1" if that. *live in pa/ pa's roads suck.*
The "bounce test" never worked for me. The car would go down and come up once, but all of my struts were completely blown. You don't have to lower your car to use AGX's. If you want a lowering spring that lowers about 1", consider the tein H-tech springs.
the bounce test didn't work fo rme either and mine were blown aswell. I was also told that when u take the strut out and seperate it from teh spring if u pust the rod/shaft in, if it's still good it should push itself back out. If not it's dead.
The bounce test works on the 2nd gens and other cars, i have tried it on others and it works but not on my 3rd gen.
Ryan1
the "bounce test" only works on 80's Cadillacs. It doesn't tell you anything on any modern suspension.
Jay
