OEM shock question - hand compressible?

[mcbru]

Hey all, wanted to confirm something with some 5th gen OEM front shocks I have. Playing suspension legos with my 4th gen and now have a spare set of 5th gen OEM low mileage front shocks.

They are compressible by hand without extreme difficulty, and immediately and slowly return to fully extended length. Does this mean they are blown or is this normal for good oem shocks? They are sub 20k miles off a 2019. All good shocks I have messed with in the past (car shocks usually TBF) cannot be compressed by hand easily. Blown shock = compressible by hand and either doesn't extend or extends extremely slowly. Since these return to extended length fairly quickly I have hope.

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[honda250xtitan]

they sound fine. thats about right for a twin tube shock.

 

[fkheath]

Hey all, wanted to confirm something with some 5th gen OEM front shocks I have. Playing suspension legos with my 4th gen and now have a spare set of 5th gen OEM low mileage front shocks.

They are compressible by hand without extreme difficulty, and immediately and slowly return to fully extended length. Does this mean they are blown or is this normal for good oem shocks? They are sub 20k miles off a 2019. All good shocks I have messed with in the past (car shocks usually TBF) cannot be compressed by hand easily. Blown shock = compressible by hand and either doesn't extend or extends extremely slowly. Since these return to extended length fairly quickly I have hope.

Thanks for any feedback.

Over the years, it has been my experience that new shocks need most of your body weight to compress them very fast. They have valving that returns them to normal faster. This is based on the Koni and KYB shocks I have used on various higher performance cars.

However, the Toyota 4Runner has a soft suspension, so I can imagine their shocks would be easier to compress, and return quicker.

Modern shocks have a gas charge that provides the return force (i.e no internal springs); sort of like the hood struts. Returning quickly is a sign that the gas charge is still good and has not leaked out.

Thus I would say you are good to go.