When do struts and shocks need to be replaced

Steering Problems Poor steering response is another tell-tale sign of worn shocks or struts. The steering wheel may be still or difficult to turn, or it may be exhibiting strange noises.

Mileage Depending on vehicle, many cars require shock and strut replacements sometime around fifty thousand miles. Tires This is usually not a clear indicator, but sometimes if your tires show unusual wear patterns it may be time to replace your shocks and struts. Visually Damaged Struts While strut damage is usually felt and not seen, you might notice visibly damaged or dented struts or shocks.

Fluid leaks in the area are also a possibility when a car needs replacements. How can you tell for certain? The following are 5 sure-fire signs. When you go over a speed bump or if you hit the brakes a bit harder than normal, does the front end of your car dip down like a curtsy before the queen? Alternately, when you back out of a driveway and the rear wheel hits the dip at the curb, does the rear of the car bottom out? Does it scrape the pavement?

These are signs the rear shocks have met the end of their useful life. If you get a flashlight, you can take a look at your shocks and struts. Do you see fluid usually brown in color leaking down onto the bottom part of the shock or strut? While you might have a leak elsewhere that is splashing on the shock, this has a different look to it.

This fluid leak should come straight down and not have a splash of fluid on one side only. Ask them to clean it off with a rag and drive home.

They help keep the tires in contact with the road instead of bouncing up in the air after a bump. A strut combines the shock absorber and coil spring components into a single unit. In addition to absorbing bumps and jolts, struts also provide structural support. They take the place of the upper control arm and upper ball joint that are required in conventional suspensions. Each wheel will either have a strut or a shock. They come in pairs; if you have a shock on the rear left wheel, you will also have a shock on the rear right wheel.

However, your vehicle may have shocks on one axle and struts on the other axle. In fact, most modern vehicles have struts on the front axle and shocks on the rear axle. You might have struts on both axles, but it is rare to have only shocks. Generally, shocks and struts wear out every 50,, miles. Because of this, you may not notice that your suspension is going bad until things go from bad to worse!

When you hit a bump in the road, do you feel like you could lose control of the vehicle? Does your vehicle bounce more than once or twice? A rough, bumpy ride is one of the easiest symptoms to notice. Cupping—scalloped, wavy dips on the tire tread—is a tell-tale sign of worn shocks and struts.