hello everybody! i'm a dumb newbie that needs help..
now please dont cuss at my stupidity.

i went in for a brake job yesterday coz i was told to do so (my brake pedal was vibrating if i brake at highway speed and was a bit spongy)
and the mechanic told me that the front struts are leaking and so were my rear shocks. asked me to change it asap for $6-700 job..
now my brake is more spongy than before but vibrate's gone.. my question is how do i know those struts and shocks are leaking?!
i have no other problem other than the brake..
i know 0 about cars.. and i'm so damn frustrated that i have nobody i could trust..
what should i do?

 

If there is fluid or oil stains on the outside of the strut then the seal is blown and the strut needs to be replaced. the strut is the "tube inside the spring".

 

If your shocks are blown it will affect the braking performance of the car quite a bit also. hope it helps. Get a second price quote if you see that they are blown.

 

A"Bit" and that is all. The only thing you'll notice is that the car will nose dip a little more when braking and that's all. No BRAKING loss will be noticed. you can tell if the shocks are in need of replacement if when you go over speed bumps, the car keeps bouncing up and down more than once. The shocks dampen the bouncing so that it slows the rebound enough that the vehicle does not continue bouncing like a bucking bronco.

Spongy brakes are usually caused by air in the brake line. the air needs to be taken out by "bleeding" the brakes. If a brake job was done, take the car back now, and tell them the brakes are spongy and your mechanic friend said it's not due to the shocks. YOU CAN TRUST ME. I'M NOT MAKING A DIME BY ADVISING YOU, AND YOU CAN TAKE THAT TO THE BANK!

Aloha!

 

+1 on everything he just said!