Four bad shock/structs?

F

freeflight

New member
Sears told me today that all four shocks/structs are leaking! :shocked:

My 04 has only 73K miles, mostly on street and freeways. And I have a water pump leaking coolant. Maybe I got a lemon...:sad:

Pictures attached, please let me know if it is urgent to do the shocks/struts. Are they going to do bad things to my tires?

If they do need to be replaced, I am thinking about going with OME spring and shocks. Wondering how much I need to pay for labor?

Thanks.
 

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The fronts do look like they're leaking; not sure about the rears. How is the ride? As for Sears doing the work.....don't walk, run. Take it somewhere else, anywhere.
 
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only the fronts look bad but if youre replacing two you should replace all four. i would definitely avoid chains like the plague, no sears, midas, pep boys, etc
 
it looks like you dont have xreas. Judging from the pics only the front looks to be leaking, BUT like others have stated if you're going to change out the front you might as well do all four so you wont have to worry about the rears leaking later.

As far as them ruining your tires, most will disagree but I believe overtime they will have an affect on tires IF the shocks are blown. As far as labor that is all depending where you go and their prices, but most places will most likely charge 2-4 hours worth of labor.
 
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Change them all, if you can't afford something fancy like Bilstiens, get something cheap from AutoZone or something. Anything is better then busted, especially when your talking braking in wet weather.
Tires will eventually become damaged ("cupping") because of wheel hop on the highway. They will bounce up and down rapidly at speed (next time your on the highway, look for a late 80's, early 90's chevy or pontiac, probably missing a window replaced with plastic, has the "felon forest" dangling from the rear view mirror and an Obama sticker on the back, then watch that car when it hits the edge of a bridge... those tires will bounce up and down like mad as the whole car "floats" in every direction.) Thats what you want to avoid. Oh, and the busted shocks as well. Almost forgot that.
 
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V4Ind said:
Tires will eventually become damaged ("cupping") because of wheel hop on the highway. They will bounce up and down rapidly at speed (next time your on the highway, look for a late 80's, early 90's chevy or pontiac, probably missing a window replaced with plastic, has the "felon forest" dangling from the rear view mirror and an Obama sticker on the back, then watch that car when it hits the edge of a bridge... those tires will bounce up and down like mad as the whole car "floats" in every direction.) Thats what you want to avoid. Oh, and the busted shocks as well. Almost forgot that.
Click to expand...


The Obama sticker comment made my day, such an accurate description.
 
At 73k I can only imagine the ride quality and handling, not to mention the added wear and tear on brakes and tires. Replace all four to something of quality and your rig will feel almost good as new.
 
IRONLUNG said:
The fronts do look like they're leaking; not sure about the rears. How is the ride? As for Sears doing the work.....don't walk, run. Take it somewhere else, anywhere.
Click to expand...

Ride is okay. Got new tires from Sears yesterday. Old front left tire had 4/32-3/32 at the end of its life, front right 2/32 even wear
 
Most standard shocks (i.e not something like XREAS) typically start to degrade after 50 according to some reps from Tokico & Monroe I spoke with long ago. That's not to say they are junk at 50k on the dot, but that most manufacturers see that as the point at which they may degrade rapidly or slowly. You may not even notice as the effect is much a "frog in a warming pot vs. boiling pot of water."

I'd do all 4 for piece of mind.
 
Do hear any clunking when you go over a bump or anything?

I just bought an 04 with 107k on it and I believe that I need new struts. They are plenty cheap and not terribly hard to do by yourself.
 
V4Ind said:
Change them all, if you can't afford something fancy like Bilstiens, get something cheap from AutoZone or something. Anything is better then busted, especially when your talking braking in wet weather.
Tires will eventually become damaged ("cupping") because of wheel hop on the highway. They will bounce up and down rapidly at speed (next time your on the highway, look for a late 80's, early 90's chevy or pontiac, probably missing a window replaced with plastic, has the "felon forest" dangling from the rear view mirror and an Obama sticker on the back, then watch that car when it hits the edge of a bridge... those tires will bounce up and down like mad as the whole car "floats" in every direction.) Thats what you want to avoid. Oh, and the busted shocks as well. Almost forgot that.
Click to expand...

:lol:

Thanks for explaining tire bouncing and cupping
 
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Thanks all for providing insightful suggestion. I think I will go with OME 2.0" lift kit. What's a good price on these kits?

Totally new to fixes and mods, but here is my priority
1. replace water pump, belt and tensioner
2. OME kit, should I go with HD version?
....saving money...
3. A set of rims and M/T tires
4. front bumper, probably ARB; light; Wench and maybe 2nd battery
5. Rear bumper, need backup tire and jerry can carrier on it
 
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