Shocks / Struts

W

WyrTwister

Joined
Jan 13, 2013
Messages
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Location
Texas
Front tires on the 2014 F150 work truck I drive , had worn on the inside edges . Took the truck to a local tire dealer / shop we had used in the past . Told the service writer I wanted the front aligned , front tires moved to the back and tires balanced if they needed it . Service writer asked how many miles on the clock . Almost 100,000 miles . ( Shocks / struts were not leaking . )

He started trying to talk me into shocks / struts on the front , based on miles . ( Shocks / struts were not leaking . )

During the discussion / argument , I told him I have never had shocks / struts replaced on a company truck . I accused him of trying to up sell and I would NOT replace the tires / struts .

By that point , I would not have replaced them , at that shop , even if I thought they needed it .

Well , they finished & I have been driving it for around 1 months . All seems fine , so far .
 
Typical upsell. Just decline it. The guy might be right, based on his knowledge of the area and the vehicle in question, but if you didn't want 'em, just say no.

There is a chance that they might well be worn out. Not all shocks last forever.
 
Shocks don't have to leak to be worn out. The seals inside wear and your shock becomes much less efficient at damping out the oscillations. Also, many shocks have rubber bushings where they attached to the suspension. Those bushings will crack.
 
Originally Posted by Bottom_Feeder
'argument'? You 'accused him'? Really?

How hard is it to say, "I'm aware of the mileage and why now would be a good time to replace them, but no thank you."



Oh , the conversation started out calm . Thing is he was not going to take no for an answer . That rubbed me the wrong way . That & I have been driving since I was 16 years of age . Over 50 years .

Not saying the shocks were or were not worn out . Immaterial , the boss has never paid for shock replacement . Brakes , tires , engine repairs , yes . Shocks ? Never has come up . Not going to happen .

Again , we are speaking of a work / service truck . Although I rarely carry any tools , any more . Screwdriver and a VOM .
 
Millions of miles travelled, some vehicles with 260k miles or more, not once have I ever replaced struts. Shocks that wore out, sure. Struts? For my driving, I consider them good for the life of the car, and they usually are. The roads are decent enough down here so maybe that makes a difference.
 
Originally Posted by Donald
At 100K miles, good chance the vehicle needs shocks or struts.


Indeed! I cannot imagine any factory truck shock that would still be optimal at 100k miles. But it is common for the stealerships/tire stores to upsell at every opportunity.

I totally agree with the client's right to decline, and then the service writer should be quiet and do as he was asked to do.
 
Originally Posted by jjjxlr8
Shocks don't have to leak to be worn out. The seals inside wear and your shock becomes much less efficient at damping out the oscillations. Also, many shocks have rubber bushings where they attached to the suspension. Those bushings will crack.


Don't people still do the bounce test to see how well they're still working? Usually you bounce the car up and down a few times and then when you let go, if it only does one bounce, they're good, two might be ok, but three or more, then they're shot.

Around here, they're pretty shot at 100k, but then we get lots of potholes from winter weather so they take a beating. Sometimes I've even replaced them at 60k.

I suppose not replacing them just means greater tire wear and less control/worse comfort on the road. I have seen cars on the road that have blown shocks/struts. They hit a pothole and they just keep bouncing the whole time. Somewhat comical actually.
 
Originally Posted by bubbatime
Millions of miles travelled, some vehicles with 260k miles or more, not once have I ever replaced struts. Shocks that wore out, sure. Struts? For my driving, I consider them good for the life of the car, and they usually are. The roads are decent enough down here so maybe that makes a difference.


Not an option around here, struts need replaced for safety reasons because they rust. I once was driving a car where the front strut spring seat failed from rust while driving. Front corner of vehicle came down and rested on the tire, making ABS braking poor, steering difficult, and could have shredded the tire if I were going at highway speeds. I was very lucky to be driving slow at the time.

Anyway, some vehicles need more control from their shocks or struts than others due to the suspension design (and higher center of gravity, etc), and those that do, tend to wear them out faster too.

As far as this case, I would've just repeated to the service manager "not my vehicle, I can't authorize that". If you repeat The Exact Same Thing to a person, they tend to realize faster that they are getting nowhere.
 
Last edited:
When you do need shocks, consider Bilstein
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by jjjxlr8
Shocks don't have to leak to be worn out. The seals inside wear and your shock becomes much less efficient at damping out the oscillations. Also, many shocks have rubber bushings where they attached to the suspension. Those bushings will crack.


Don't people still do the bounce test to see how well they're still working? Usually you bounce the car up and down a few times and then when you let go, if it only does one bounce, they're good, two might be ok, but three or more, then they're shot.

Around here, they're pretty shot at 100k, but then we get lots of potholes from winter weather so they take a beating. Sometimes I've even replaced them at 60k.

I suppose not replacing them just means greater tire wear and less control/worse comfort on the road. I have seen cars on the road that have blown shocks/struts. They hit a pothole and they just keep bouncing the whole time. Somewhat comical actually.


my honda dealer did the bounce test and refused to replace them
 
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Front tires on the 2014 F150 work truck I drive , had worn on the inside edges . Took the truck to a local tire dealer / shop we had used in the past . Told the service writer I wanted the front aligned , front tires moved to the back and tires balanced if they needed it . Service writer asked how many miles on the clock . Almost 100,000 miles . ( Shocks / struts were not leaking . )

He started trying to talk me into shocks / struts on the front , based on miles . ( Shocks / struts were not leaking . )

During the discussion / argument , I told him I have never had shocks / struts replaced on a company truck . I accused him of trying to up sell and I would NOT replace the tires / struts .

By that point , I would not have replaced them , at that shop , even if I thought they needed it .

Well , they finished & I have been driving it for around 1 months . All seems fine , so far .

I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2010 (in 2014). At 68k miles it was horrific. Shocks and struts DEAD. No leaks. Just floaty as [censored]. Some vehicles are made with poor quality parts. Some arent. No idea about that year f150, but in Chrysler products, on the Jeep forums, it's a known thing. Shocks are done by 50k miles. So dont assume it cant happen.
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by jjjxlr8
Shocks don't have to leak to be worn out. The seals inside wear and your shock becomes much less efficient at damping out the oscillations. Also, many shocks have rubber bushings where they attached to the suspension. Those bushings will crack.


Don't people still do the bounce test to see how well they're still working? Usually you bounce the car up and down a few times and then when you let go, if it only does one bounce, they're good, two might be ok, but three or more, then they're shot.

Around here, they're pretty shot at 100k, but then we get lots of potholes from winter weather so they take a beating. Sometimes I've even replaced them at 60k.

I suppose not replacing them just means greater tire wear and less control/worse comfort on the road. I have seen cars on the road that have blown shocks/struts. They hit a pothole and they just keep bouncing the whole time. Somewhat comical actually.

My Jeep passed the bounce test. Still shot. Bounce test is about as reliable as kicking a low profile tire to determine air pressure. Might indicate something. Probably not.
 
Indeed, I don't trust the bounce test. I think the suspension can have enough drag of its own to prevent bounce, yet once off the strut could be bad. My prior VW was like that--the mechanic condemned the struts, and I got them back so as to RMA them. Sure enough, dead. No bounce, and I couldn't tell that they were dead, seemed to drive just fine.
 
Originally Posted by Dave9
Originally Posted by bubbatime
Millions of miles travelled, some vehicles with 260k miles or more, not once have I ever replaced struts. Shocks that wore out, sure. Struts? For my driving, I consider them good for the life of the car, and they usually are. The roads are decent enough down here so maybe that makes a difference.


Not an option around here, struts need replaced for safety reasons because they rust. I once was driving a car where the front strut spring seat failed from rust while driving. Front corner of vehicle came down and rested on the tire, making ABS braking poor, steering difficult, and could have shredded the tire if I were going at highway speeds. I was very lucky to be driving slow at the time.

Anyway, some vehicles need more control from their shocks or struts than others due to the suspension design (and higher center of gravity, etc), and those that do, tend to wear them out faster too.

As far as this case, I would've just repeated to the service manager "not my vehicle, I can't authorize that". If you repeat The Exact Same Thing to a person, they tend to realize faster that they are getting nowhere.


I've had to replace the rear shocks on my 2008 Mazdaspeed3 twice now and I only have 55k miles on it. The OE shock rusted out at 22k, and the Koni replacement lasted just a little longer. Fortunately Koni offers a free lifetime replacement warranty and sent me free replacements. Hard to beat that! A friend had a 2009 Mazdaspeed3 and had the exact same issue...also twice!

Rust from a poorly designed bumpstop/shock cover...
[Linked Image]
 
Last edited:
Hahaha, the Bounce Test is hilarious.

Simply does not work on some vehicles. My FIL once sidled up to my sig car and tried to feel the front end springs once and couldn't even begin to move the front end! Hilarious. Then tried to tell me the car must ride very rough with such stiff springs.

Try that test on a 3500 van...
 
Originally Posted by SteveSRT8
Hahaha, the Bounce Test is hilarious.

Simply does not work on some vehicles. My FIL once sidled up to my sig car and tried to feel the front end springs once and couldn't even begin to move the front end! Hilarious. Then tried to tell me the car must ride very rough with such stiff springs.

Try that test on a 3500 van...



When I had my 98 Mustang GT I had Bilstein coilovers with Hyperco springs, it was very stiff to say the least. At the time I worked at Sears Auto and went to a Hunter alignment school through them. I volunteered my car for the suspension evaluation portion of the class. The instructor who was probably 250lbs or so was trying to show the bounce test on the front of my car. He had both feet off the ground pushing on my fender, completely red faced and got the car to move maybe 1/8". I finally said "dude you're going to have to buy me a fender if you keep trying that."
 
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
Originally Posted by SteveSRT8
Hahaha, the Bounce Test is hilarious.

Simply does not work on some vehicles. My FIL once sidled up to my sig car and tried to feel the front end springs once and couldn't even begin to move the front end! Hilarious. Then tried to tell me the car must ride very rough with such stiff springs.

Try that test on a 3500 van...



When I had my 98 Mustang GT I had Bilstein coilovers with Hyperco springs, it was very stiff to say the least. At the time I worked at Sears Auto and went to a Hunter alignment school through them. I volunteered my car for the suspension evaluation portion of the class. The instructor who was probably 250lbs or so was trying to show the bounce test on the front of my car. He had both feet off the ground pushing on my fender, completely red faced and got the car to move maybe 1/8". I finally said "dude you're going to have to buy me a fender if you keep trying that."



That's hilarious! There are many who are familiar with ordinary transportation-type cars who are completely befuddled when presented with something a bit off the beaten path.
 
Reviving this old thread rather than starting a new.. My Acura TL has 107,000 miles on it. Trying to decide whether to get new struts or to wait. Car is slightly more floaty than it used to be, but definitely not handling dangerously. Does it make sense to wait until it is obvious that I need them, or just replace them now as long as I am bringing the car in for other servicing. (I don't have the time, energy or facilities to do the wrenching myself) so it will be a big investment--easily $1000 with the labor and parts.
 
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