Rear shock absorber is leacking, so i MUST replace both sides?

Hello,

I was told that my rear left shock absorber is leaking and that i must
replace it. But the technician is suggesting that i MUST replace both
rear sock absorbers (left & right)?

Does that make sense? or they out for the money?

> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hello,
>
> I was told that my rear left shock absorber is leaking and that i must
> replace it. But the technician is suggesting that i MUST replace both
> rear sock absorbers (left & right)?
>
> Does that make sense? or they out for the money?

Usually, if the shocks have a bit of age on them (maybe counted as
mileage...greater than about 30-40,000)
it would be advisable to replace both.

Who is going to do this for you, and how much do they indicate they will
charge?

Of course you don't have to change both sides if one goes bad, but
it's probably a good idea. The assumption here is that both shocks
have undergone the same stresses and that both share the same level of
wear. In other words, from a prevention viewpoint, it's a good idea
to change both. Recently, I had the same problem... i.e., one shock
went out while on vacation. I decided to change only one of them
because I was on the road and I had to change the offending shock in
an Auto Zone parking lot in Mississippi. About a month later, the
shock on the other side began to give its "death" signals. I decided
to change out all of the shocks at that point. I hate getting stuck
out in the middle of nowhere.

Al Kondo

I had one go out on my old 83 Camry. I replaced only that one.
jor
>
> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hello,
>
> I was told that my rear left shock absorber is leaking and that i must
> replace it. But the technician is suggesting that i MUST replace both
> rear sock absorbers (left & right)?
>
> Does that make sense? or they out for the money?
>

writes:

>I was told that my rear left shock absorber is leaking and that i must
>replace it. But the technician is suggesting that i MUST replace both
>rear sock absorbers (left & right)?

You don't have to replace both, but the ride quality and/or handling will be
poor if you do not - one side will be tight and the other side will be bouncy.
If one has gone completely already and both have a good amount of mileage on
them, the other probably isn't far behind.

I would only consider replacing just the one if this was a premature failure
(i.e. within 30,000 miles of installing new struts). In that case it may have
been caused by contamination rather than wear, so the other one may still have
plenty of life in it. If you think the price is unreasonable, by all means go
get a second opinion.

> wrote:
>
>I was told that my rear left shock absorber is leaking and that i must
>replace it. But the technician is suggesting that i MUST replace both
>rear sock absorbers (left & right)?
>
>Does that make sense? or they out for the money?

If he wanted the money, he'd only do one of them. Then he could charge
again when you came in a short time later to get the other one done because
of the goofy handling (and because if one is leaking, the other one will
soon be on its way). Definitely cheaper in the long run to replace them
both if there is any mileage on the shocks.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On 24 Aug 2005 06:32:17 -0700, wrote:

>Hello,
>
>I was told that my rear left shock absorber is leaking and that i must
>replace it. But the technician is suggesting that i MUST replace both
>rear sock absorbers (left & right)?
>
>Does that make sense? or they out for the money?

It makes sense - just call around and make sure the price they want
to charge is realistic.

Both sides of the car go over the same bumps and wear at about the
same rate, so you normally change them as a pair. (Exception being if
the shocks are almost new and you got a defective or damaged one.)
And the mechanic has the tools out and your car up on the lift, which
is why you save a bit of money on labor doing it that way.

If you just change one, it will cost you a lot more to do it all
again when the other side starts leaking in a few months or a year.

And also have him check the front shocks/struts now, if you can
afford to do them all in one shot. They wear out, too.

--<< Bruce >>--
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I was told that my rear left shock absorber is leaking and that i must
> replace it. But the technician is suggesting that i MUST replace both
> rear sock absorbers (left & right)?
>
> Does that make sense? or they out for the money?

Yes, at least both the left and right rear ones should be replaced. I
would replace all four under the assumption they are of equal age to
get the most uniform ride.

I agree with the technician, you should replace shocks in pairs, or axle
sets is how they are termed. I'd even go the extra step to suggest that if
the rear shocks are gone, the front shocks can't be far behind, and they
should also be replaced.




> wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hello,
>
> I was told that my rear left shock absorber is leaking and that i must
> replace it. But the technician is suggesting that i MUST replace both
> rear sock absorbers (left & right)?
>
> Does that make sense? or they out for the money?
>

"J Strickland" > wrote in message
...
>I agree with the technician, you should replace shocks in pairs, or axle
>sets is how they are termed. I'd even go the extra step to suggest that if
>the rear shocks are gone, the front shocks can't be far behind, and they
>should also be replaced.
>
>
>
>
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>> Hello,
>>
>> I was told that my rear left shock absorber is leaking and that i must
>> replace it. But the technician is suggesting that i MUST replace both
>> rear sock absorbers (left & right)?
>>
>> Does that make sense? or they out for the money?
>>
>
>

My brother has a bad bearing in the rear axle of his Mazda Miata and I'm
trying to get him to replace the whole rear set as a group.

Charles of Kankakee