Shock absorber replacement

I have only heard of shock replacements done by Andrew Grant the Famous Prius Taxi Driver of Vancouver BC. I think I've read that he drove his classic Prius taxi more than 300k kilometers, changed the rear shocks around 100k and the front struts at about 200k. Vehicle was in full time taxi service.

Anybody else? Not mine, they feel young at 74k miles.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NiMHPrius\";p=\"82249)</div>

Well, cost of living we probably have you beat. An ultra-luxury condo sells for $275,000-$375,000 Cdn, though an exclusive high rise condo development at 3,000sq ft per unit sold out when they were asking $700,000-$1,400,000 CDN.

I think the average is around $160,000 Cdn for a good condo, around the same for a decent house. No earthquakes, at least none during recorded history here.

I do take exception to your comments on your roads. Try driving near the Floodway, take the South Perimeter around Winnipeg, and especially St. James north of Portage. If your wheels don't fall off, you'll at least flatten a tire. This is due to the extreme cold winter temps of -40 causing frost heaves and potholes.

Don't worry, we p*** and moan about our taxes up here too. I'm still sour over my income tax situation this year.

As far as shocks, unless you want to change the ride quality, they appear to last a long, long time now. As an example, I used to have a 2000 GMC Sierra with that God Awful Z-71 package. Rode like a buckboard. I took off the OEM shocks and put on Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks, set at setting 1. That helped a lot.

I wish there were soft mushy shocks made for my Prius. I would happily trade "handling" for a plush ride.

 

As I close in on 50,000 miles, it looks like my front left strut is really starting to make noise. Clunks and pops every time we drive over a dip or bump or turn and stress the front end in a normal turn. Has anyone replaced front end shocks/struts...i assume we are dealing with struts instead of shocks... Thanks to the "great" Indiana roads and our winters...our roads will prematurely wear out shocks/struts in half the time as normal states with decent roads... :angry:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman @ Apr 18 2005, 04:28 PM) [snapback]82383[/snapback]</div>

Not a chance.

In Silicon Valley you're looking at about $600 per square foot, and $550k for a 2br condo. You could probably get a 1br for close to $400k still. You're looking at at least $700k to get into a fixer-upper house.

Back to the topic: There's a test you can do if you think your shocks might have worn out. Bounce a corner of your car, get it moving good, and then stop. If your shocks are good, it should overshoot on the way up a small amount, come down, and then stop. If it bounces more than that you might need new shocks. If you know your shocks are good, you might try it now to see how your car reacts with good shocks. It's not the most accurate test, but in lieu of the experience to tell from a road test, which most people do not have, I don' t know of anything better. It might not catch the marginal cases, but it does work when the shocks have completely worn out.

60k miles is when I usually start thinking about replacing shocks or struts, given the low quality of most OEM shocks. Good aftermarket shocks like Bilsteins might last as long as the car. Crap shocks, like the Edelbrocks that once disgraced my Jeep for a couple years, might fail completely after 30k miles, as mine did.

 

I replaced my shocks and struts at 10k miles. But I'm different like that.

 

Sometimes when they fail, you can actually see liquid weeping down the outside of the shock/strut.

But I think you'd probably feel it in the steering wheel or ride by then.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DocVijay @ Sep 18 2006, 09:01 AM) [snapback]321086[/snapback]</div>

Wow - every 10k... if I did that, I would be buying new shocks every 2 months... :lol:

BTW - how much does it cost for replacement shocks and struts??

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(londo-cat @ Sep 19 2006, 08:59 PM) [snapback]321987[/snapback]</div>

No, not every 10k miles. I replaced the factory setup with the TRD Sportivo setup.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NiMHPrius @ Apr 18 2005, 01:02 PM) [snapback]82249[/snapback]</div>

Shock absorber condition is difficult to evaluate as these are wear items, like tires and air filters which needs replacing occasionally. The primary reason for shock absorber replacement is physical damage such as when there's bent/broken rod, there's an unusual worn/cupped tires, missing bushings and severely dented dust shield [shield restricts shock movement].

 

rear's are 48 and change and the fronts are 148 and change. Rears are the same PN front's are LH and RH. Be advised that my price list is getting dated but I would guess that they might be up a bit or possibly down a bit but in that range. Rears are in a strut type mount where the lower spring mount is intergral with the shock tube but the fronts are true strut cartridges.

 

I have a 2004 with 305,000 miles and I wonder if anyone has put in new shocks and noticed any difference? I'm not a DIYer, and over the years, several times I've had the car in for "look for anything that needs replacing, cause I have money now, but won't for long.." I've always had good mechanics (I recommend ATOMIC AUTO in Portland, OR and need a recommendation for a good shop in NYC or New Jersey), anyway noone has ever said I should replace the shocks. So does it make a difference?

 

We'll, I'd just say on general principle that after that many miles you should replace the shocks. Have you noticed excessive tire wear, bottoming out, jiggly ride, any oil leaking from the struts, or any mechanical sounds coming from your shocks?

With new shocks it should feel more tighter, my guest is that with new shocks you'll notice the difference.

 

At 120,000 my car was getting hard to control at 65+. Just new rears made it handle like new.

 

Back to the roads in California: We really have some decent roads here but could use the money they collect that most likely goes to our politicians as the norm. Living in lots of other states like Oklahoma, Texas and Florida and recently traveling across to Michigan recently, the states that have that freezing weather have some really crappy roads. California just has too many cars but I can live with the roads. As for the shock replacements; my guys want to replace mine too at 122K miles 2007. Actually I am afraid to do the bounce test as was previously mentioned due to being afraid I'll smash these cheap-nice person fenders. They want $1,100 to replace all four but I really don't feel the ride as being bad. Good luck deciding when to change them. P.S. I have done lots of work installing all the equipment for the sensors and recorders for our earthquakes and my advice is to move away from the coast and the LA area.

 

My '06 had about 145000 on it when I replaced the set. The driver side strut was leaking a little oil with no real performance issue, but it was probably time.

DIY is not a problem, just like any other auto, just make sure you have the right tools.

 

DId you go for the new shocks? made a differnece?

 

that's a 16 year old post, and the poster hasn't been seen in 15 years.

i would recommend searching for something current, or starting a new thread.

all the best!