I know what shocks and struts are but i don't really understand there purpose other than to make the ride softer. My car right now hits bumps pretty hard and bounces a bit . My rear end seems to pivot side to side on sharp corners .I was wonderin if these were all signs of bad shocks and worn struts my strut mount are bad too there is a slight thud noise up from when i hit bumps . And what kind of shocks would you guys recomend i was lookin into monroe sensatrac. If any of you have monroe describe thew ride your car has after you put them on. thanks and reply soon and what should i do?

 

Definitely sounds like your shocks are worn out. The shocks and struts absorb the roll and bumps in the car. Your springs are now taking all that load hence the rolling feeling and the "thud" is your shock sleeve or subframe bottoming out on larger bumps. Buy the shocks that fit your budget and driving habits. Any good base shock will do for everyday driving. Gabriel, Monroe and the like. For more performance driving like autocrossing and drag stripping consider stepping up to Tokico, Koni etc. Expect to pay 3 times for rears and 2 to 3 times for fronts when going performance. I just replaced all mine with Gabriel VST for about $110.00 total. Remember performance shocks generally are stiffer and will give you a harsher ride in everyday driving conditions. The most expensive shocks are adjustable for different road conditions, but now you are talking upwards or $400.00 for an entire set. Replacment is fairly straight forward with the two 15/16 inch bolts holding the front struts to the lower control arm being the hardest to get loose after years of corrosion. Heating the bolts with a propane torch will help to loosen the bolts. Also you will need to hold the top of the strut or shock with a pair of vice lock type pliers or use the special shock socket when loosening the top shock nut. There is no need to compress or remove the springs are they are not part of the struts or shocks on the 3rd Gens. Hope this helps. Good Luck!

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"35 yr old helo pilot
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shocks and struts are sealed cylinders filled with gas or air. There is a piston that traves the length of the cylinder. The air or gas within the cylinder abosorbs the vertical movements of the car. The more it absorbs the "stiffer" the car rides. When the shocks or struts don't work right anymore the gas or air give the piston no resistance. This is like having no shocks or struts.

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-Tas
'89 Formula WS.6

[This message has been edited by Tas (edited October 28, 2001).]

 

If you had no shocks or struts, and "perfect" (frictionless) suspension joints, then every time you hit a bump your car would begin boinging up and down like those mid 80s Chrysler products you see around all the time. Your car would act just like a weight hanging from a spring since that's basically what it is.

The purpose of shocks and struts is to provide some "friction" of sorts to damp the suspension motion. They provide resistance to suspension travel in very carefully controlled ways, to stabilize it.

The Monroe shocks are about the best of the OEM replacement grade ones, but that's not saying a whole lot. You can change out the back ones yourself in a matter of about half an hour with nothing but hand tools and a set of ramps. I'd suggest replacing your rear springs at the same time; if you have a floor jack, and you take the shocks loose and jack up the frame, the springs will fall out, so if you're doing shocks, they basically take zero additional time.

Front struts are a little more of a chore; if you have no experience with such thigns, they're best done by a shop (like a tire place or some such).

You can tell easily enough if you need shocks when you drive on the freeway or something; if when you hit a dip or something the car seems to bottom out and then sproing way back up and maybe even bounce some more after that, then your shocks & struts are shot.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

yeah my car does bottom out abit when i hit a good enough dip i was wonderin how you can tell if your springs need replacing?