I have got myself some used adjustable shock absorbers but unsure if all 4 are ok. There are no signs of leaks but the rears require an overhaul/rebuild?
Well that’s what I was told prior to getting them.
Having removed all 4 springs I tried pushing down & pulling up the rod on each shock just to see if there was any difference in force/pressure between the fronts & rears. All 3 required near enough the same amount force to push the rod down & slightly more though for pulling up. However one of the front shocks had what I can describe as a 2 stage pushing down force, starting off with it being easier then requiring more force.

Should the amount of force used to pull up the rod be the same when pushing it down?
Or should the rod work its way back up itself once it’s pushed down?
How should they be?

Hopefully the rears will be sent for repair at a later date but I just wanted to be sure that the fronts don’t need the same repair work.

Thanks Ticky

 

Bounce and rebound settings will be different and no they do not move by themselves. It is the spring on the car which opens them out again.

I believe Powerstation (see top for ad) have an on car shock test facility, not sure if they can test off car.

 

Ticky

My understanding is that the damper will return to the fully extended position when you release the pressure on them. I set both front dampers to the same setting, say 1 click, and fully compress each one in turn and time their return. They should be about the same time for each damper on the same axle. If they don’t return or they don’t push down with even force all the way down then the damper is shot.

Thanks Paul.

 

Thanks guys.

I thought the same as you (gdavey) " It is the spring on the car which opens them out again."

But if your understanding is correct Paul then all 4 are shot if they are supposed to return on there own (no springs). The one front shock is definatly shot.

Still though there are 2 different opinions/understanding of how a shock should work without the spring/not fitted to the car?

Hopefully some others can confirm.

Ticky

 

Ticky, it might help if you said what type they are.

Gas dampers should extend by themselves as a result of the internal gas pressure. Most dampers nowadays are 'gas', either low pressure twin-tubes or high pressure mono-tubes.

 

bump for an old thread...

I have some Group N Tarmac shocks that I want to run but would rather avoid fitting them and discovering they are shot!

Any other testing suggestions?