Failing shock absorbers

[Vyse]

I had some Eibach springs fitted to my car a few weeks back and it felt great. But things have been getting worse as of late. The back end of the car feels bouncy when on the motorway. I haven't had a chance to jack the rear of the car up yet but I did have a quick glance when kneeling down.

Anyway, can shock absorbers show signs of failure without actually leaking?

[andyiley]

You might need to give us a bit more information to help us stand a chance, car, age, circumstances etc. etc.

[HustleRussell]

The short answer is yes, certainly.

The old well-used shocks have been pushed beyond their design limits by the stiffer lower springs.

Edited by HustleRussell on Sunday 31st May 18:01

[Vyse]

Its a FN2 and has done about 25K, I had the Eibachs fitted a few months back.

[phumy]

If they are gas shocks you wont see any leakage, its almost 100% that your rear shocks need changing if your rear is more bouncy now.

[Mr2Mike]

phumy said:

If they are gas shocks you wont see any leakage, its almost 100% that your rear shocks need changing if your rear is more bouncy now.

Do you realise that "gas" shocks still use oil as the damping medium? They can leak oil just the same as non-pressurised dampers.

[Vyse]

I changed the rear shocks as I found some quite cheap and it seems to have sorted the problem out.

Also is it possible to knock the rear suspension out of alignment on a car that has rear torsion beam suspension? I accidentally kerbed the rear left when I turned a into a left hand corner a bit early.

[Mr2Mike]

It's quite possible to bend a torsion beam if you hit a kerb hard enough.

There is no built in adjustment as such, but you can buy shims that can be fitted between the torsion beam and the hubs to correct the toe and camber.

[Vyse]

Thats good to know. Slightly less chance of knocking something out of alignment unlike the front end.

Mr2Mike said:

It's quite possible to bend a torsion beam if you hit a kerb hard enough.

There is no built in adjustment as such, but you can buy shims that can be fitted between the torsion beam and the hubs to correct the toe and camber.