One of my shocks is broken. (I believe, it sqweeks when I push on that side.) How long can I go without a replacement and what are the repercussions?

 

if it is in fact broken, it will be fairly bouncy. the springs support your car. the shocks dampen the recoil of the springs, effectively slowing them down, and keep them from bouncing.

if you hit a large enough bump, the bouncing up and down could cause you to loose control of the car, or worse, cause the wheel to loose contact with the ground, both of which come with severe repercussions.

if it were my car, i'd replace it immediately.

others would say you can go as long as you want, and it's no big deal.

 

if its broken it will leak. it may just be worn out. either way fix it for your own safety.

 

What can I do to make sure that its broken? I don't notice the ride being particularly bouncy because most of the roads around me are decent right now.

 

hit it squarely on the side with full force of a 15lb mallet. it will definitely be broken.

i know what you mean. it sounds like it's a candidate for replacement, but not completely gone yet. if you push down on that corner of the car, and it bounces, it's toast.

 

Is it your front or the back?

I blew both of my rears and they were leaking everywhere. Just look at the base of the shock and spring. If it is vovered in goo that's the oil leaking. If it is your fronts let me know mine are still good and maybe we could work somethying out since I am replacing mine with coilovers.

 

Back. I anticipated replacing them all eventually since I have Hotchkis springs.

 

How many miles have you been on your springs?

I know my back blew but I think it was from a scuff that happened on each shaft during the install.

 

i hope mine dont blow by the next couple of months untill i get my Koni shocks. Cant wait for a smoothe ride!

 

If its just squeaking, its probably just a sway bar bushing that needs a little lube...

Find the squeak...Don't go replacing parts without KNOWING that they are bad,,,

 

how many miles are on your car??

 

15k total, 10k on the new springs.

 

wow not a lot of miles at all. i've heard some others saying they had problems with their shocks too (not the one who scuffed the shock when replacing springs).

 

ifi you want to check if your shock is clown... go to the side the noise if coming from.. stand facing the wheel... push down overe your strut.. if the sping bounces back and doese compress again.. your good.. but if the spring keeps compressing .. you need to replace them asap..

 

Wouldn't not replacing a blown strut cause problems for the other struts since you now have an unbalanced suspension?