Shocks question

[familyrig]

Hi guys

Can someone please school me and tell me if a good/new shock absorber once pressesd fully down should return back to top or stay down.

How do I know if a shockie is worn apart from the obvious. Leak, bent etc..
Also would you guys use 2 different brands at the same time? Ie. ome back and tuff dog front? Same diameter piston/ both second hand. Currently patrol suspension is stock.


Cheers
Muz

[growler2058]

The spring pulls the shock back up, but it should come back up some on its own I dont think it would fully extend

[grimace]

if the shock is out of the car, fully compress the shock. there should be an even resistance all the way down then let it go it should fully extend faily slowly on its own, do this a few times and if it feels the same every time then it is probably ok. hope this is of some help cheers......

[familyrig]

Thanks for the info guys.

[nissannewby]

Bounce the car if she stops bouncing straight away they are sweet if she keeps bouncing on they are tired. You can just do this in ya driveway just do it on each corner. Hope this makes sense.

[Richo460]

Its normal to use different shocks front and rear. I have different shocks front and rear in my old patral and in my street cars, both done by a professional. I don't think its nessasary to match the size though as there will be different characteristics for the front and rear. Especially if its a ute. Really depends what driving you are doing, what vehicle and how you like it to handle.

I would definately recommend adjustable shocks, i love em.

As for testing the shocks, do what nissannewby said or if the shocks are off the car, compress them with your hands, if they are very easy to compress or rebound then they are no good. I once bought a gq ute that was a horror to drive, when i did the suspension i found that 3 shocks had no compression and from memory 2 had no dampening at all. Was a very scary ute to drive, i'm not sure how long it was driven like that but i got it fixed the first week i had it.

[familyrig]

Thanks guys.
Just took the Factory shocks out and they collapse very easy and do not rebound back. Also is there an easy way of getting front shocks out? You have to back up the flat piece under the nut but it's a pain in the ass because of the steering arm.
Got the back ones done. They were easy.

Cheers
Muz

[Wizard52]

Just replaced shocks on my son's GQ leaf sprung ute with EFS. Unbelievable difference. Now rides almost as good my coil cab GU ute. When we got old shocks off they had no compression what so ever but was difficult to check while on vehicle as it is an ex Qld Rail ute with 2 inch lift and extra leaf to legally tow 3.5 tonnes. Think I'll check mine now as my coils have to be better.

[97_gq_lwb]

Thanks guys.
Just took the Factory shocks out and they collapse very easy and do not rebound back. Also is there an easy way of getting front shocks out? You have to back up the flat piece under the nut but it's a pain in the ass because of the steering arm.
Got the back ones done. They were easy.

Cheers
Muz

My front shocks were a nightmare to remove the top nut on i ended up using a pipe wrench to hold them.