Rear shocks...replace springs also?

Alanstrainor

So I think I may need a new shock in the near future, nothing too extreme on cornering I get some rubbing on the rear passenger side and with a passenger in the car I get rubbing in the rear going over bumps. Nothing too severe just yet.

The car sits fine stationary, the car is even. So my question is, if I replace the rear shocks, should I also replace the springs while I'm at it? I don't particularly want to have to fork out that much cash, but since this is something I'll be putting on the long end of the stick most likely I could potentially scrape some money together!

dharn

Sounds to me like your springs have weakened if a load causes the car to sit down too much, the shocks only act as dampers to stop too much bounce

Alanstrainor

dharn wrote: »

Sounds to me like your springs have weakened if a load causes the car to sit down too much, the shocks only act as dampers to stop too much bounce

Yeah, I'm really not sure! The car is on a H&R cup kit, and has been for 50k+ miles, as far as I remember. I have inspected the shocks, and can't see anything obvious to my eyes. The springs look okay, some corrosion but again, I'm a complete amateur so I just don't know. If it's just the springs, they could be replaced handy enough.

bbbaldy

Yup a bad shock wont make it sit lower (just makes it bouncy nstuff), a bad spring will. I have seen a section of coil missing from a spring which can be hard to see.

CJhaughey

Bad shocks will cause a car to sit lower, Shocks usually have some amount of pressure in them if they are gas shocks and even oil types have stiction which tends to hold the shaft up.
I have noted it several times where new shocks level out a previously leaning car on the same springs.

Alanstrainor

The car doesn't lean on the flat. While stationary all is well. However going over bumps (especially with a passenger, since it affects the passenger side) I will get the rubbing. Going to see if I can get my gopro and make a moving vid of both sides to see if I can see anything!

CJhaughey

Check the bump stops are still present and OK, if they are worn/gone then the travel will be greater leading to rubbing.

Alanstrainor

So I have some pictures for you guys to see if it helps anything. I'm hoping to get a video of this later so I can see myself just how bad it is!

I have pictures of the driver/passenger side with and without a relatively heavy passenger in the car. And also the general look of things with the wheel off, including the rubbing that can be seen.

EDIT: I should note that I checked both top mounts and they look fine on both sides. Nothing has failed there. I wasn't smart enough to take a picture of this however...

https://imgur.com/a/yihqH

Interslice

https://i.imgur.com/3CbK4jC.jpg

You sure that coil isn't snapped at the top?

Alanstrainor

Interslice wrote: »

https://i.imgur.com/3CbK4jC.jpg

You sure that coil isn't snapped at the top?

Now that i look at it again...perhaps that's it. Yeah, it doesn't exactly look too good now does it! I should have compared the other side as well to see.

Interslice

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Now that i look at it again...perhaps that's it. Yeah, it doesn't exactly look too good now does it! I should have compared the other side as well to see.

Maybe it's just hidden from view in the pic but it doesn't look right.

Alanstrainor

Interslice wrote: »

Maybe it's just hidden from view in the pic but it doesn't look right.

More pics of the spring in detail. It seems like it's sitting low...but I'm not sure, as the other side looks similar without having this issue with scraping etc over bumps.

And here is a vid of the car going over a bump:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG8oMWdPs_g

This may not show too much, as it is short/passes too quickly, but it sits down a lot when it hits the bump.

Alanstrainor

Other forums are saying shocks with the new pics/vid, I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone has!? Or if there's anything else I can do to better diagnose this one...

Interslice

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Other forums are saying shocks with the new pics/vid, I'd appreciate any thoughts anyone has!? Or if there's anything else I can do to better diagnose this one...

It's hard to be sure over the net, mis-allignment/worn bushings could be another cause. Any uneven tyre wear at the rear? Have you done an NCT recently, what does the suspension performance look like on it?

If all that looks OK and the springs look fine I would chance replaceing the shocks first and see how you go. Looks a handy enough DIY with the separate springs and shocks. I'll ask a mate of mine tonight too and see what he thinks.

dgt

Compare both sides. Generally weak/broken springs will cause the car to sag.

Assuming they have long since settled, that's the likely cause

Alanstrainor

Interslice wrote: »

It's hard to be sure over the net, mis-allignment/worn bushings could be another cause. Any uneven tyre wear at the rear? Have you done an NCT recently, what does the suspension performance look like on it?

If all that looks OK and the springs look fine I would chance replaceing the shocks first and see how you go. Looks a handy enough DIY with the separate springs and shocks. I'll ask a mate of mine tonight too and see what he thinks.

Here's an image of the test sheet:

http://imgur.com/jvRdZwO

Test was done in April! And not a huge amount of mileage done since then. Maybe 2000 miles or so.

And thanks a lot! I'm tempted to just order a set of Koni shocks and see how I fair, as the job should be a piece of cake. It's just the cost of the shocks (I reckon 270 all in for both shocks and all parts.

dgt wrote: »

Compare both sides. Generally weak/broken springs will cause the car to sag.

Assuming they have long since settled, that's the likely cause

Both sides sit fine. No difference when stationary, and it all looks like it has for a long time in that regard. Springs look fine (if a bit corroded), but aren't split.

biko

I assume you're doing it DIY?
It's unlikely both springs are bad so I'd order shocks only. If you can, remove one shock and inspect spring?

Alanstrainor

biko wrote: »

I assume you're doing it DIY?
It's unlikely both springs are bad so I'd order shocks only. If you can, remove one shock and inspect spring?

Cheers Biko, and everyone else.

Took the plunge on a pair of Koni shocks. The springs on both sides look identical in terms of where/how the sit. And the issue is only on one side. It's a bit of a gamble, but from my reading online, I would expect the shocks to give in at around this mileage (40k miles) on my H&R shocks. I'll have to order a set for the front in the near future too.

And definitely a DIY, it's a piece of piss on this car, should be done very quickly.

Chris_Heilong

Just to say going over speed bumps at that speed would not be good for shocks anyway.

Alanstrainor

Chris_Heilong wrote: »

Just to say going over speed bumps at that speed would not be good for shocks anyway.

Trust me, that was purely for the benefit of the camera. Usually I crawl over at 2km/h!!!

Alanstrainor

Job done. New koni sport (yellow) shocks installed on the rear. And it seems the diagnosis here was correct! Once I had the passenger side shock off, I could immediately see it was not rights. When depressing the shock, I could here squelching, which I presume means a seal had failed in it. The other side (which hadn't didn't have much issue) wasn't far off.

I've just been for a couple of test runs in the car and all seems great. Very planted around corners, and no real roll noticeable, and definitely no rubbing. Cheers guys! Another DIY first for me, and I'm delighted it went well!