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How long do shocks/struts really last?

S

steppinthrax

Diamond Member
I've read some places say 50 to 70K!!!!!!

I've personally never changed them, but if i were to I would get a complete unit (spring and all).

I've read others say just to do a bounce test?

And then some say they last for the life of the vehicle (what)?

Is there an accurate way to test them?
 
Depends on the car, driving habits, etc...

I have seen some go out as little as 30k and some that make it over 100k. Mind you that even ones that are still working may have lost some performance over a new one.

I generally say around 100k for most. Some longer and some shorter.
Also be careful with the aftermarket ones. Some like KYB are good but I see many Chinese ones I would not use. That and Monroe export production for many outside the US as well so they are hit or miss now.
 
bounce test works well. Either they work or they dont. I just replaced rears on a 2000 ford van with 120k miles on it. They can last a long time.
 
It depends on many things, mainly how often the car is fully loaded with cargo and also how bad the streets are in your city or town. More rough roads or potholes and the lifetime of a shock is greatly reduced. More highway usage usually gives a longer life.
 
monkeydelmagico said:
bounce test works well. Either they work or they dont. I just replaced rears on a 2000 ford van with 120k miles on it. They can last a long time.
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I disagree. Struts, and shocks, are not a Good or Bad type item. There is a lot of middle area and that's why many times after replacing struts/shocks many complain the ride is much firmer when all it did was return it to new.
 
I failed my VA inspection last year due to a bad front shock. Went ahead and replaced all 4 at the same time @ 165k. They were the originals...
 
several reports on the nissan titan forums of titans with under 10k having blown rancho shocks when all they do is drive on pavement. Strut/shock construction has a lot to do with longevity I believe.
 
Shocks have to be really bad to fail a bounce test. I knew mine were dead when my car felt really loose on small bumps, to the point of making me nervous, but bouncing by hand was fine. The clincher was when I jacked up my car and one of the rear struts pissed shock fluid everywhere.

That was around 35k on the original shocks.

Other shocks can, and will, last a lot longer.
 
I have to rebuild the shocks on my mountain bike every year. You can see fluid leaking from the seals when it's thrashed
 
Shocks are a wear item. By the time you have 70K or so on them you'll probably see a very noticeable difference by replacing them. That doesn't mean they are 'bad', but a shock doesn't have to start leaking to have lost most of the ability to do its job.
 
roguerower said:
I failed my VA inspection last year due to a bad front shock. Went ahead and replaced all 4 at the same time @ 165k. They were the originals...
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how did it feel?



I've only replaced a pair of fronts but they weren't bad the strut bearing was bad and the dustboot was torn. For the cost of both and $10 extra i was able to pick up quickstruts and just drop them in. I didn't daily drive the car but it felt just the same. Maybe a little better over minor bumps.

Car had 125k before the bearings and mount went bad and made noises
 
I replaced all 4 shock/spring assemblies on my Accord at 200,000 miles and there was barely any difference. I beat the living crap out them, overheated them, drove them at 130 MPH on the Bonneville Salt Flats, etc... Easily could have driven them another 100,000 miles.

There's absolutely no explanation for a damper to fail in less than 100,000 street miles other than shit engineering or shit build quality. Take your pick.
 
I have almost 270,000 miles on my accord on the original shocks. I have rode in vehicles with bad shocks (used to work in an automotive shop). Mine doesn't bottom out or make any funny noises. Hell it feels better than my newer civic lol.
 
steppinthrax said:
I've read some places say 50 to 70K!!!!!!

I've personally never changed them, but if i were to I would get a complete unit (spring and all).
Click to expand...

My general rule is that about 100,000 miles is when the shocks in most road cars are past their prime. They can continue working half-decently for much longer, but usually by 100,000 miles they're well off the performance of brand new units.

As for replacing the springs too, that's just absurd. Unless you want to put performance springs on or something there's no reason to expect problems with the springs themselves just from age.

ZV
 
JechtShot said:
I have almost 270,000 miles on my accord on the original shocks. I have rode in vehicles with bad shocks (used to work in an automotive shop). Mine doesn't bottom out or make any funny noises. Hell it feels better than my newer civic lol.
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Bad shocks don't cause bottoming out, nor do they cause funny noises, except in rather rare situations where the shock is physically defective. Bad shocks cause a car to "float" over bumps. They make the ride feel softer because the car's motions are un-damped and a lot of people actually claim that their car rides better with worn out shocks because of the greater float. Someone who worked in an auto shop should know this.

ZV
 
I didn't work on customer cars, I just drove them from the dealers to our lots so take my experience with a grain of salt.
 
Zenmervolt said:
My general rule is that about 100,000 miles is when the shocks in most road cars are past their prime. They can continue working half-decently for much longer, but usually by 100,000 miles they're well off the performance of brand new units.

As for replacing the springs too, that's just absurd. Unless you want to put performance springs on or something there's no reason to expect problems with the springs themselves just from age.

ZV
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I suspect that most people who install preassembled struts do so to make the job easier and so they don't have to mess with spring compressors, not because they think that the springs are "worn out".

I did shocks only on my 89 MR2, and I have to say that I can understand that choice. Taking each strut apart added a lot of cursing to the overall experience.
 
jagec said:
I suspect that most people who install preassembled struts do so to make the job easier and so they don't have to mess with spring compressors, not because they think that the springs are "worn out".

I did shocks only on my 89 MR2, and I have to say that I can understand that choice. Taking each strut apart added a lot of cursing to the overall experience.
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Eh, fair enough I suppose. But it's not worth the extra money to me for the maybe 15 minutes per side that it saves.

A buddy and I did a conversion to Koni inserts on his front struts and it was easy as pie on his '99 M Roadster. Of course, air tools make a big difference in the ease of getting the springs off and on again.

ZV
 
Zenmervolt said:
Eh, fair enough I suppose. But it's not worth the extra money to me for the maybe 15 minutes per side that it saves.

A buddy and I did a conversion to Koni inserts on his front struts and it was easy as pie on his '99 M Roadster. Of course, air tools make a big difference in the ease of getting the springs off and on again.

ZV
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If it only takes you 15 minutes more per side to disassemble the spring and replace the bearing, padding, etc on top of your strut tower, than you're a lot better at it than I am. Took me an extra 45 minutes to an hour to disassemble everything, clean it up, put it back together in the right order, etc. Some things are just not worth rushing to me.
 
slag said:
If it only takes you 15 minutes more per side to disassemble the spring and replace the bearing, padding, etc on top of your strut tower, than you're a lot better at it than I am. Took me an extra 45 minutes to an hour to disassemble everything, clean it up, put it back together in the right order, etc. Some things are just not worth rushing to me.
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If you have good air tools and proper spring compressor it can be real easy and quick. That and many of those all in 1's use cheap parts. I used a all in 1 for my brother inlaws focus. It was a name brand like Monroe or raybestos but was made in china and the welds looked awful. If it was my car I would have sent it back but it was not.

1 shop I worked at had a setup on the wall where you insert the strut and pull down and it compresses the strut/spring. Made doing struts real easy and quick.
 
slag said:
If it only takes you 15 minutes more per side to disassemble the spring and replace the bearing, padding, etc on top of your strut tower, than you're a lot better at it than I am. Took me an extra 45 minutes to an hour to disassemble everything, clean it up, put it back together in the right order, etc. Some things are just not worth rushing to me.
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I'm talking about just replacing the spring. There was no need to replace the mount, plate, or padding as it was still in great shape.

The steps were:

  1. Loosen (but do not remove) top nut for the spring plate (about 10 seconds with an impact wrench)
  2. Compress the spring (about 1-2 minutes with an impact wrench on the spring compressor)
  3. Remove the top nut that you loosened in step one
  4. Take off the upper spring plate and its assembly, making note of the order and orientation of the plate and any associated padding
  5. Lift off the compressed spring
It's that simple. It's not about rushing it, it's about it not being any more complicated than changing a tire or pulling off a brake rotor. Getting the strut assembly out of the car takes a hell of a lot longer than swapping the spring. If you can get the assembly off the car, you can change the spring easily.

Complicated was pulling out the entire dashboard of my car to track down and repair a rattle and even that wasn't too bad. Had it all out in about 5 hours by my lonesome.

ZV
 
A little while ago, I was trying to track down a noise in the back of a worn-out Chevy Malibu. I suspected rear shocks. Leaking oil and had shiny rub marks down the sides.

That design only takes about two minutes to pop the bolts out with an impact and remove the shocks. So I did what any logical person would do...I chucked the shocks aside and went for a test drive. :awe:

I learned two things: 1) it wasn't the shocks and 2) wow, completely trashed shocks are still doing a lot. You could hold the body of these and turn them over, and the rod would slide in and out under gravity. No control left in either direction. But the back end of the car was notably more absurd without them there, still somehow controlling oscillation of the springs.

No real point here, just a funny observation. I think there are pretty much four levels of shock: new > used but functional > trashed > Monroe.
 
Recognizing bad shocks effect on the ride is like frogs in frying pan...they gradually lose their power to absorb and rebound such that you don't feel their softened response over time...brake and other fluid degradation is much the same...

The bounce test is often misapplied...it's really a "press and release" test and there should be no bounce on the rebound...
 
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