How long should Shock absorbers Last

[skc101fc]

No surely not , your roads are paved with gold and the best politician's promises. They think West cork is a different superb of Europe. Third world standards apply down here apart from where d Healey -Raes live . Sorry uk guys you have be here for that to mean anything .

[Canal Navvy]

Obviously you've checked your tyre pressures ? ☺

[njm]

Hi everyone , is it possible that a new set of rear Monroe shocks could be gone in around 7-8 months ?. Over the last couple of weeks my old td5 disco has been feeling a bit spongy , when you brake hard with the trailer behind it dips discernibly more than it used to .

I got a pair of Monroe (described as high quality and almost the most expensive available , at the motor factors) fitted around last July .

It went through the DOE with no mention of any suspension problems last Tuesday but theres definitely something wrong there , could the coil springs be gone ? , it does average miles but almost full time trailer work .

 

Most of the time your springs will be weak when shocks are due for a change , if the springs are shot you will overwork the shocks and they will not last long.

[MudRut]

Most of the time your springs will be weak when shocks are due for a change , if the springs are shot you will overwork the shocks and they will not last long.

 

Yep!

 

If it was my truck, I would do the following:

 

1) Look at the truck from the side. Does it sit low at the back? If it does, it is very likely that the rear suspension is tired.

 

2) Check whether the vehicle has traditional coils or airbags. Very easy to do - just look behind the rear wheels.

 

3) If it is sagging and you have coils, then I would replace them with heavier duty items as factory standard are a bit soft for heavy towing. I am not talking about longer springs which would lift the suspension - I just mean a heavier spring.

 

4) It's very easy to remove a rear shock absorber, so take one off and see if it is, indeed, buggered. It should have a fair, smooth resistance to compression with no graunch. It will probably gently re-expand under its own steam, but it shouldn't shoot back to full length. Remember - a shock doesn't carry weight, it is there to control a spring's motion.

 

5) I wouldn't call Monroe a particularly good shock. They are 'ok' along with Pro-comp and a variety of others at that end of the market. However, all things being equal, they shouldn't have failed this quickly which leads me to think that the suspension is bottoming due to weak springs or missing bump-stops.

 

Hope this helps a bit.

 

regards

 

 

Ian

[Lillywhite Timber]

Thanks very much for all the feedback Lads , much appreciated