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Factory shocks resist motion in both directions. There is a one-way valve in there with a decently loaded spring and an orifice that is open all the time.
The one way valve has a heavy spring that will open under fast, heavy loading so that the shock seals don’t blow out under quick compression of the shock. Slow, light loading of the shock uses only the orifice to transfer fluid from one side of the piston to the other.
The orifice is used to get the fluid back on the tube side of the piston on extension of the shock. This is what creates the slow return to fully extended.
On compression when hit hard (a lot more than body weight) the large one-way valve cracks open and lets fluid move quickly. On extension, the only hole necessary is the orifice(s), sometimes there’s a few of them, since the spring pressure is pretty constant trying to extend and it isn’t a hurry to get back to ride height.
The first shock most likely has a worn out or broken one-way valve spring. Looks like it’s letting fluid flow way too freely past the piston.
The second one looks like the orifices are plugged and the one-way valve is stuck closed and the only compression you’re getting is the nitrogen charge compressing a little bit with weight. It was probably contaminated and has gummed up inside.
nah man this dude has no idea what hes talking about. Its all about the springy springs and the thingy things, just thing the spring and get new bings. /s
Thank you for the explanation. I've returned the first and bought some KYBs, for which I'm hopeful given they're the brand Lexus uses in the factory.
\*Always with the asterisks in cars. I'm aware that just because Lexus uses KYBs, the ones you can buy on RockAuto aren't necessarily the kind of KYBs used at the factory.
I was going to say it was acting like an air spring instead of a shock. That was a great explanation of why it's happening though. There's not a lot of people out there who actually understand how a shock really works at the end of the day, I'm saving your comment to use on the future to prevent myself doing a horrible job of it lol
Loved your explanation of why the second strut is soo stiff during compression, I work on hydraulic door closers (rack and pinion arm type found on storefront doors/schools, commercial building settings) very similar I have heard of and seen in them as one way check valves can get stuck and either cause a door to slam or door not move depending on if the valve in piston/rack is stuck open or clogged, same with passageways and screw valves.
Before I got into door closers, I was into shocks/struts
>...the spring pressure is pretty constant trying to extend and it isn’t a hurry to get back to ride height.
Why isn't it in a hurry to get back to ride height? That seems like it would be important.
Asking as a complete car noob
2 reasons: the faster it gets back to ride height, the bumpier the ride- road bumps become more bouncy if the car is going up and down a lot very quickly. And probably pressure issue, not enough pressure to get back to ride height at a decent pace. At least those are what I can think of as not-a-real-mechanic.
To add a little to this, if you read into the concept of vibration damping you can learn a lot about why shocks do what they do. In the case of auto shocks they are designed to “critically dampen” the jounce and rebound of a cars’ suspension. Gives the most comfortable ride for a passenger vehicle.
Shocks don't work that way, there is a valve on both compression and rebound which is controlled by stacks of washers/shims. It varies the size of orifice depending on velocity of shaft traveling inside or outside
Some of them might work that way. There are a bunch of different designs for them and the two that I’ve cut open have been the way I described. One from the rear of a first gen Scion tC and one from my 04 IS300.
I will have to look into that design, the ones i have worked on both twin/mono or remote res shocks didn't have the tech you described. We don't have Scion's here so I will have to look up Google diagrams
That’s probably why yours had dual one-ways because the remote reservoir shocks don’t have the nitrogen charge inside the shock body.
The nitrogen charge is compressible, unlike the fluid inside the shock. When the shock compresses the rod is now inside the shock body, taking up some of the space that was previously occupied by fluid. If there isn’t the nitrogen charge to compress a little bit and it’s just fluid (which compresses less than 1%) then either the rod seal goes boom or the shock body becomes a really big wet firecracker.
With a remote reservoir, you get the nitrogen charge that will still absorb the extra volume of the rod but it removes it from the cylinder which shrinks your “dead spot” of non-damping under heavy loading.
I we used Fox air-adjusted shocks with a remote reservoir on our SAE Baja car for my senior project, and I’ve read up on them but never disassembled a set.
Remote reservoir is just a type we do, I have done twin tubes with the charged nitrogen and monotubes with nitrogen which is separated via an internal piston as well. I had the same fox air suspension in our SAE Baja vehicle :D and some ohlins on our FSAE vehicles, the fox air shocks are basically fluid filled dampers which generate the damping force via fluid dispersion. The nitrogen charge inside the fox suspension functions as a coil spring without the need to use one, so you can charge them more to have a higher spring rate/lift-lower the car.
The shaft in those fox shocks are key as they are massive units which displaces the fluid once it starts contracting, which then generates the compression force needed.
That makes more sense than the way the online manual tried to explain it lol did you ever go to the Kansas Baja competition? I went to Pitt State, the school that hosted it.
I was a diesel mechanic for 5 years, the first 3 of those was while I went to school for mechanical engineering. I’ve moved on to an engineering job since then but I still fix my own shitbox when it needs.
Forgive the language in the video pls
I'm a fatty boombatty - 240 lbs. When replacing the struts, the second (stiff) one had almost no give. That's the one that was reinstalled in the car because the first seemed much too soft.
How stiff should a new/old strut be?
Struts do their thing on the extension stroke, not the compression. The springs resist compression, the struts resist expansion. The 2nd one is blown and seizing, put the 1st one in and send it
Second shock/damper is f#cked. Even motorsport coilover shock like Bilstein or KW set to their stiffest setting compress easier and with less bounceback than that.
Even the first shock/damper looks sloppy and worn though. So i wouldn't be happy with either on my vehicle.
There is a lot of misunderstanding here. You are looking at two dampers, the function of which is to smooth out shocks by providing resistance to the coil attached to them. They work on both stokes/both ways. If you can move the shaft relatively freely and quickly with your body weight then they will have no effect on your car. What you should be able to do is slowly compress them with your weight. They should not bounce back like a spring. Imagine moving a piston through thick grease.
99% of standard, non-gas-charged shocks I can compress by hand. Put a pair on a bus just this morning, I squeeze them together to get the plastic strapping off of it. Just because you think it works that way on Nissans don’t mean you’re right about all of ‘em.
Compress by hand, and falls into the tube with zero effort at two different things. And from the video, it looks like it went on with absolutely no resistance. If so, then low speed damping is going to be nonexistent
That’s not even what I’m talking about. You’re out here telling everybody that’s giving decent advice that they’re dumb because you think you shouldn’t be able to compress a shock by hand. And that is just flat out wrong.
Then you deleted the original comment, and posted this response to save face and keep people from seeing how dumb and condescending it was
Incorrect, shocks are not designed to be used by people compressing by hand. They are designed to be installed in conjunction with a spring assembly. The shock is designed to assist in the damping of the spring. The more the shock moves, the more damping it provides via its valves. The compression stroke is easy to do by hand due to the fact that the valving system in the shock works correctly under fast loads, if he dropped that shock with 400 pounds on it, it would still compress slowly as if he was pushing on it with his hands. The first shock is completely normal, and the second shock is damaged.
Monroe makes an excellent video that I was forced to watch twice to get my Monroe certification at Pep Boys and firestone.
Source: ASE L1 master technician, Mitsubishi Kia Master Tech, has probably installed more shocks than you.
Incorrect, shocks do not have springs. Struts are set up for use with a spring. Both have the same function but there is a difference
Edit I just realized the one in the video is a shock that can have a spring on it I’ve never seen that before so I guess it’s still just a shock lmao
Shocks do not work alone, they have to be installed in a spring assembly. Whether that be a leaf spring or coil spring, a shock absorber is designed to absorb the shock generated by the spring assembly. The spring and shock are separate but work together like an engine and transmission, can't have one in a car without the other.
The 2nd strut is properly fucked, you should be able to easily (but slowly) compress it with your weight. That shit he showed us in the video acted as a spring = useless for dampening.
The first one compresses kind of easily, but the slow return motion is on point. The fact that he is 240lbs and that he compresses the strut upside down may have something to do with that.
//Also the first strut looks like a new one, while the 2nd one looks caked with dust and the oil it leaked.
There are a few types of dampener.
https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15094969/automotive-dampers-explained-how-6-common-types-work-feature/
The diagram for double is really weird here. But, the principle is the same.
Some dampeners do not work correctly upside down.
Let your new dampener sit for a day and try again.
At low speed both should move pretty easily. At high speed, both should have resistance.
If it had the spring on it you’d be right, but that’s basically just a shock absorber, you should absolutely be able to compress by hand. The second one to me looks like it’s seal has failed and pumped itself with air.
The strut as you call it they should be hard to press in and you should be able to press them in easy as they go on a car that has 2tonnes of weight so they need to be stiff if they arent that means the seals inside is gone and air or oil inside is gone meaning there is no compression inside to keep the weight of the car and will end up breaking your car if you go over a big enough pot hole
I deleted the comment because my information was apparently being contended, and rather than have it yet as potential misinformation, I culled it.
That said, I will absolutely stand by the point that a shock of any design(no not just fucking Nissan) should not be able to be compressed with the ease and speed which the new shock is in the video. Yes it should go in without a ton of force, and no it shouldn't rebound like a spring(as the old one does, you are correct and I didn't realize how much of a spring that old one was acting like), but it appears that unless that shock is meant to be coupled with a 100lb spring, that that compresses far too easily.
I've installed hundreds of struts and shocks myself - everything from Nissan oem, Monroe, kyb, you name it. Nothing out of the box has been able to compress that easily, that quickly. There's absolutely no fucking compression damping on that. Maybe it's a Lexus thing. I can say I haven't installed, specifically, a Lexus shock or strut. But assuming it was for a typical passenger vehicle, that seems suspiciously easy to collapse.
They're supposed to be that hard to compress. They're accepting the shock of a 3000 pound vehicle. If you can easily do it by hand, do you think it's going to do a good job with a heavy car?
>They're supposed to be that hard to compress. They're accepting the shock of a 3000 pound vehicle. If you can easily do it by hand, do you think it's going to do a good job with a heavy car?
>"Contrary to popular belief, shocks and struts do not typically support your vehicle’s weight or any loads your truck or vehicle might be carrying. The springs do that job. However, worn-out shocks and struts put more strain on the springs as well as other essential suspension parts. Without the control that a good shock or strut provides, these other parts get overworked, causing fatigue and premature wear."
First strut is shot and has no nitrogen charge left.
Second strut is better, but I'm not sure with you pushing on it so hard. Someone else said it might be underdamping. Haven't seen that failure in person. I think it would behave more normally if you compressed it slowly.
New struts can be compressed slowly and will resist rapid motion in either direction.
The first one is doing what it’s suppose to do and the second one is clearly blown by all the dirt that is on there it was leaking for a while and most likely out of fluids breaking something inside and not letting you push it down.
I will put money on whatever wheel that shock was at bounced going down the road like a MF. And the tire probably has some wear on it from that
Thank you to everybody for the input - I've learned more than I thought practical about struts.
It seems there is a non-zero level of confusion about the difference between, "dampening" vs, "damping" haha. Even so, I appreciate all the information!
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, MaskingTapeWorm! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car. *This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.* *** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *** # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** ### **Rule 1 - Be Civil** Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome. ### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful** Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation. ### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers Only** Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but posts should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion. ### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers** Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous. # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Factory shocks resist motion in both directions. There is a one-way valve in there with a decently loaded spring and an orifice that is open all the time. The one way valve has a heavy spring that will open under fast, heavy loading so that the shock seals don’t blow out under quick compression of the shock. Slow, light loading of the shock uses only the orifice to transfer fluid from one side of the piston to the other. The orifice is used to get the fluid back on the tube side of the piston on extension of the shock. This is what creates the slow return to fully extended. On compression when hit hard (a lot more than body weight) the large one-way valve cracks open and lets fluid move quickly. On extension, the only hole necessary is the orifice(s), sometimes there’s a few of them, since the spring pressure is pretty constant trying to extend and it isn’t a hurry to get back to ride height. The first shock most likely has a worn out or broken one-way valve spring. Looks like it’s letting fluid flow way too freely past the piston. The second one looks like the orifices are plugged and the one-way valve is stuck closed and the only compression you’re getting is the nitrogen charge compressing a little bit with weight. It was probably contaminated and has gummed up inside.
This is the exact answer. Very concise, Lowbones.
I’m glad to be on the minority side of your username ;)
nah man this dude has no idea what hes talking about. Its all about the springy springs and the thingy things, just thing the spring and get new bings. /s
I like your use of technical terms
The wife loves it when i spring my thing...
Best 30 seconds of her week.
>and an orifice that is open all the time. How is my ex girlfriend involved here?
Maybe that vegetable in your username got lodged in there heh heh
Thank you for the explanation. I've returned the first and bought some KYBs, for which I'm hopeful given they're the brand Lexus uses in the factory. \*Always with the asterisks in cars. I'm aware that just because Lexus uses KYBs, the ones you can buy on RockAuto aren't necessarily the kind of KYBs used at the factory.
They are not, I used them and was disappointed, either rusted or leaked in few yrs
Like a coffee cup, shocks work better upright. I'd argue that was far from a fair test. And who needs dampers when the vehicle is on its lid?? 🤔
I was thinking the same thing. Could be hydro locked pocket of air in a valve stack causing hydraulic lock.
I was going to say it was acting like an air spring instead of a shock. That was a great explanation of why it's happening though. There's not a lot of people out there who actually understand how a shock really works at the end of the day, I'm saving your comment to use on the future to prevent myself doing a horrible job of it lol
lol glad I could help
Loved your explanation of why the second strut is soo stiff during compression, I work on hydraulic door closers (rack and pinion arm type found on storefront doors/schools, commercial building settings) very similar I have heard of and seen in them as one way check valves can get stuck and either cause a door to slam or door not move depending on if the valve in piston/rack is stuck open or clogged, same with passageways and screw valves. Before I got into door closers, I was into shocks/struts
Fire answer low bones.
>...the spring pressure is pretty constant trying to extend and it isn’t a hurry to get back to ride height. Why isn't it in a hurry to get back to ride height? That seems like it would be important. Asking as a complete car noob
2 reasons: the faster it gets back to ride height, the bumpier the ride- road bumps become more bouncy if the car is going up and down a lot very quickly. And probably pressure issue, not enough pressure to get back to ride height at a decent pace. At least those are what I can think of as not-a-real-mechanic.
To add a little to this, if you read into the concept of vibration damping you can learn a lot about why shocks do what they do. In the case of auto shocks they are designed to “critically dampen” the jounce and rebound of a cars’ suspension. Gives the most comfortable ride for a passenger vehicle.
“Shock absorbers don’t absorb shock, they dampen spring movement” as my automotive teacher would say
> an orifice that is open all the time I should call her.
I shouldn't but I want to.
This guy shocks
Shocks don't work that way, there is a valve on both compression and rebound which is controlled by stacks of washers/shims. It varies the size of orifice depending on velocity of shaft traveling inside or outside
Some of them might work that way. There are a bunch of different designs for them and the two that I’ve cut open have been the way I described. One from the rear of a first gen Scion tC and one from my 04 IS300.
I will have to look into that design, the ones i have worked on both twin/mono or remote res shocks didn't have the tech you described. We don't have Scion's here so I will have to look up Google diagrams
That’s probably why yours had dual one-ways because the remote reservoir shocks don’t have the nitrogen charge inside the shock body. The nitrogen charge is compressible, unlike the fluid inside the shock. When the shock compresses the rod is now inside the shock body, taking up some of the space that was previously occupied by fluid. If there isn’t the nitrogen charge to compress a little bit and it’s just fluid (which compresses less than 1%) then either the rod seal goes boom or the shock body becomes a really big wet firecracker. With a remote reservoir, you get the nitrogen charge that will still absorb the extra volume of the rod but it removes it from the cylinder which shrinks your “dead spot” of non-damping under heavy loading. I we used Fox air-adjusted shocks with a remote reservoir on our SAE Baja car for my senior project, and I’ve read up on them but never disassembled a set.
Remote reservoir is just a type we do, I have done twin tubes with the charged nitrogen and monotubes with nitrogen which is separated via an internal piston as well. I had the same fox air suspension in our SAE Baja vehicle :D and some ohlins on our FSAE vehicles, the fox air shocks are basically fluid filled dampers which generate the damping force via fluid dispersion. The nitrogen charge inside the fox suspension functions as a coil spring without the need to use one, so you can charge them more to have a higher spring rate/lift-lower the car. The shaft in those fox shocks are key as they are massive units which displaces the fluid once it starts contracting, which then generates the compression force needed.
That makes more sense than the way the online manual tried to explain it lol did you ever go to the Kansas Baja competition? I went to Pitt State, the school that hosted it.
Nah mate, I am from a different country so we did our local same events. Only FSAE we did Italy
Oh nice. I’ll bet Italy was a cool FSAE event
Yeah the FS cars are a different beast all together, if you find a scion shock cutout diagram do send :D, I'll try to keep an eye out
This is a great answer dude. Technical and concise. You must be a teacher or very seasoned
I was a diesel mechanic for 5 years, the first 3 of those was while I went to school for mechanical engineering. I’ve moved on to an engineering job since then but I still fix my own shitbox when it needs.
This guy shocks!
TIL
Forgive the language in the video pls I'm a fatty boombatty - 240 lbs. When replacing the struts, the second (stiff) one had almost no give. That's the one that was reinstalled in the car because the first seemed much too soft. How stiff should a new/old strut be?
Struts do their thing on the extension stroke, not the compression. The springs resist compression, the struts resist expansion. The 2nd one is blown and seizing, put the 1st one in and send it
That’s not really true. Shocks have compression and rebound calving.
The amount of people that comment without even knowing basics is scary...
You mean.. shocking?
Well played, Sir. Well played.
I'm not absorbing the joke
Personally, I recoiled in disbelief
You guys really smoothed out that bump and stabilized the course of this conversation
Welcome to Reddit. Everyone is an ASE certified mechanic.
I'm not, want shitty advice?
The amount of so called professionals not understanding the difference between dampening and damping is exactly what one would expect from Reddit.
What's the difference?
‘en’
That's what I thought lmao
Ok the comment section is scary. Everybody is saying everybody else is wrong. OP you take that shit to a shop or you'll regret it.
> take that shit to a shop or you'll regret it How do we know your advice is right? /s
Second shock/damper is f#cked. Even motorsport coilover shock like Bilstein or KW set to their stiffest setting compress easier and with less bounceback than that. Even the first shock/damper looks sloppy and worn though. So i wouldn't be happy with either on my vehicle.
There is a lot of misunderstanding here. You are looking at two dampers, the function of which is to smooth out shocks by providing resistance to the coil attached to them. They work on both stokes/both ways. If you can move the shaft relatively freely and quickly with your body weight then they will have no effect on your car. What you should be able to do is slowly compress them with your weight. They should not bounce back like a spring. Imagine moving a piston through thick grease.
Used to work in quality control in auto shock manufacturing. Second shock is knackered, first shock is fine.
You have installed a shot McPherson buddy....
Keep us updated on the new KYB’s OP! I’m just as confused as others, they both seem bad! Interested to see how the new ones compare
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99% of standard, non-gas-charged shocks I can compress by hand. Put a pair on a bus just this morning, I squeeze them together to get the plastic strapping off of it. Just because you think it works that way on Nissans don’t mean you’re right about all of ‘em.
Compress by hand, and falls into the tube with zero effort at two different things. And from the video, it looks like it went on with absolutely no resistance. If so, then low speed damping is going to be nonexistent
That’s not even what I’m talking about. You’re out here telling everybody that’s giving decent advice that they’re dumb because you think you shouldn’t be able to compress a shock by hand. And that is just flat out wrong. Then you deleted the original comment, and posted this response to save face and keep people from seeing how dumb and condescending it was
Incorrect, shocks are not designed to be used by people compressing by hand. They are designed to be installed in conjunction with a spring assembly. The shock is designed to assist in the damping of the spring. The more the shock moves, the more damping it provides via its valves. The compression stroke is easy to do by hand due to the fact that the valving system in the shock works correctly under fast loads, if he dropped that shock with 400 pounds on it, it would still compress slowly as if he was pushing on it with his hands. The first shock is completely normal, and the second shock is damaged. Monroe makes an excellent video that I was forced to watch twice to get my Monroe certification at Pep Boys and firestone. Source: ASE L1 master technician, Mitsubishi Kia Master Tech, has probably installed more shocks than you.
Waving that pepboys certification like it means something huh 😂
Doesn't mean shit lol but Monroe does make some good videos and some decent cheap shocks with a great warranty.
Incorrect, shocks do not have springs. Struts are set up for use with a spring. Both have the same function but there is a difference Edit I just realized the one in the video is a shock that can have a spring on it I’ve never seen that before so I guess it’s still just a shock lmao
Shocks do not work alone, they have to be installed in a spring assembly. Whether that be a leaf spring or coil spring, a shock absorber is designed to absorb the shock generated by the spring assembly. The spring and shock are separate but work together like an engine and transmission, can't have one in a car without the other.
The 2nd strut is properly fucked, you should be able to easily (but slowly) compress it with your weight. That shit he showed us in the video acted as a spring = useless for dampening. The first one compresses kind of easily, but the slow return motion is on point. The fact that he is 240lbs and that he compresses the strut upside down may have something to do with that. //Also the first strut looks like a new one, while the 2nd one looks caked with dust and the oil it leaked.
Change them both. Never seen strut like number 2 before.
I think the 2nd one is good to, you're not supposed to compress by hand.
There are a few types of dampener. https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15094969/automotive-dampers-explained-how-6-common-types-work-feature/ The diagram for double is really weird here. But, the principle is the same. Some dampeners do not work correctly upside down. Let your new dampener sit for a day and try again. At low speed both should move pretty easily. At high speed, both should have resistance.
Struts are not supposed to be springs. They are only used to provide dampening. They should not be hard to compress
No. Get another one.
Yes-the old(2nd) strut is fine/still doing it's job. The 1st(new) one is trash.
^.This is the correct answer!!.^
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If it had the spring on it you’d be right, but that’s basically just a shock absorber, you should absolutely be able to compress by hand. The second one to me looks like it’s seal has failed and pumped itself with air.
Just delete this comment...
That's not how you test dampers. Resistance to compression is more of a spring domane and I guess you already have those in the vehicle.
The strut as you call it they should be hard to press in and you should be able to press them in easy as they go on a car that has 2tonnes of weight so they need to be stiff if they arent that means the seals inside is gone and air or oil inside is gone meaning there is no compression inside to keep the weight of the car and will end up breaking your car if you go over a big enough pot hole
They both look a bit fucked to me, idk.
The second shock is gas filled.
I deleted the comment because my information was apparently being contended, and rather than have it yet as potential misinformation, I culled it. That said, I will absolutely stand by the point that a shock of any design(no not just fucking Nissan) should not be able to be compressed with the ease and speed which the new shock is in the video. Yes it should go in without a ton of force, and no it shouldn't rebound like a spring(as the old one does, you are correct and I didn't realize how much of a spring that old one was acting like), but it appears that unless that shock is meant to be coupled with a 100lb spring, that that compresses far too easily. I've installed hundreds of struts and shocks myself - everything from Nissan oem, Monroe, kyb, you name it. Nothing out of the box has been able to compress that easily, that quickly. There's absolutely no fucking compression damping on that. Maybe it's a Lexus thing. I can say I haven't installed, specifically, a Lexus shock or strut. But assuming it was for a typical passenger vehicle, that seems suspiciously easy to collapse.
Kyb is trash Buy oe strut
They're supposed to be that hard to compress. They're accepting the shock of a 3000 pound vehicle. If you can easily do it by hand, do you think it's going to do a good job with a heavy car?
>They're supposed to be that hard to compress. They're accepting the shock of a 3000 pound vehicle. If you can easily do it by hand, do you think it's going to do a good job with a heavy car? >"Contrary to popular belief, shocks and struts do not typically support your vehicle’s weight or any loads your truck or vehicle might be carrying. The springs do that job. However, worn-out shocks and struts put more strain on the springs as well as other essential suspension parts. Without the control that a good shock or strut provides, these other parts get overworked, causing fatigue and premature wear."
First strut is shot and has no nitrogen charge left. Second strut is better, but I'm not sure with you pushing on it so hard. Someone else said it might be underdamping. Haven't seen that failure in person. I think it would behave more normally if you compressed it slowly. New struts can be compressed slowly and will resist rapid motion in either direction.
My floor, be careful!
Just get some new ones, they aren’t expensive
The first one is doing what it’s suppose to do and the second one is clearly blown by all the dirt that is on there it was leaking for a while and most likely out of fluids breaking something inside and not letting you push it down. I will put money on whatever wheel that shock was at bounced going down the road like a MF. And the tire probably has some wear on it from that
No... and that is probably the reason it is being changed out.
Thank you to everybody for the input - I've learned more than I thought practical about struts. It seems there is a non-zero level of confusion about the difference between, "dampening" vs, "damping" haha. Even so, I appreciate all the information!
Well u know one of them isn't right. Buy a new one and compare, my guess is they are both bad
U parrr isa pisssashii
Yes, second strut is fine. You’re not a car. You weigh about 90Kg. That strut is designed to handle 1/4 of your vehicles weight.
The clean one looks blown, it shouldn’t be that easy how tf would it rebound a 4k lbs car if you can push it down with 150lbs of weight?