Shocks and duration/degradation.

at 130k miles, I'm seriously wondering how long a set of shocks should last for us with majority highway driving. This ride was a former engineering company truck doing at least 20k a year. I have full records and it appears it has all orig. shocks. None of the typical signs of shocks going bad exist but I suppose they could just be getting stiff in old age? What I don't know, is what a fresh set should feel like on a truck that rides like a truck...

I suppose It is getting to that time to start watching bushings too. If I do shocks, might as well do a full bushing and shock overhaul.

 

Shocks are either good or bad; I have never seen them harden up or get worned to the point where they feel different. They either work or don't work. I replace them when I see them leaking really bad or either the truck starts to bounce around on bumps.

The bushings however do wear out over time. My old man's got 265k miles on his OEM shocks in his tundra and they still look and perform great, all hwy driving.

 

I’ve always wondered how you can tell if shocks become bad. Our trucks bounce on road bumps even when brand new.

 

The factory shocks aren't great to begin with. Easiest way to test a shock is to bounce the truck by pushing down on the fender or standing on the bumper if you have one. Get it bouncing and then stop. The truck should come back up and stop. If the truck keeps bouncing after you stop, even a little, the shocks are getting weak. Repeated bouncing after a speed bump is another sign. Leaking fluid is a physical marker, but leaking gas is not detectable. Most shocks don't last past 50k, but for all street driving they could last 100K. The shock's only purpose is to control the oscillations created by the spring.

 

I can promise you a case of Diet Coke that your dampers are well past prime.

They have to be off the vehicle to 'hand test', or optimally tested on a specialty testing device (which most of us don't have ready access to).

Call Marie @HeadStrong Off-Road and get her recommendation on a replacement set. You'll be surprised at the refreshed ride you have.

 

Frankly, if I bought a brand new truck, the first thing I would do is drive it home, put it on stands and rip out the entire suspension system. The difference in ride and handling with quality suspension is transformative. As far as I'm concerned, it's broken right out of the box.

 

Yeah, I hear you, badger, that’s pretty much what I did. I think I put about 2500 km on the truck while I ordered the parts and got set up to mod it . It’s sure nice to drive when there’s a good suspension on it.

 

Luckily the shocks are very easy to replace in our trucks. Some people have said you don’t even need to jack up the truck to replace them.

 

Well in this case of the replys, it appears my shocks are good but not great anyway and the bushings will get checked here today.

Since a nice ride is a nice ride ill plan a fix. The deal is its the commute vehicle and family go camping truck. The mileage is 90% highway with 10% gravel roads and trips to see the occasional ghost mining town on a low grade state trail or two but really nothing id need an 8" lift and 33s for...im rolling stock size wheels n tires. 17" summer 16" winter.

Besides 51xx 'steins and bushings, what else to do while under there fits that bill?

 

If you're on the factory coils still, I'd replace those too. If you're not looking to lift it, another set of stock coils with the Bilsteins set at 0 will work fine. Not sure if OME or Eibach make springs that don't provide lift but they might.

 

When they’re bad the truck doesn’t stop bouncing. My Jeep got this way, bouncing slightly still 5 seconds after a speed bump.

 

Thank you so much @Clearwater Bill

 

I just hit 90k on my truck and think I may have finished mine off out in Wyoming on all the washboarded dirt roads on a hunting trip.

 

To replace the struts (not shock) you have to remove the coilover, compress the coil, and remove the strut.

Would love to see someone attempt to do this without jacking up the truck. Heck I’d just like to see someone replace them without taking off the wheel. That would be impressive.

 

Hold my beer..

 

Highway driving may not drive the shock all the way through its travel, but I would bet it is just as hard or even more on a shock than off-road use (and I mean slow off-road use, not driving fast on washboard gravel roads). Bumps are smaller, but coming on faster, driving the shock up and down at a much higher frequency.

On pretty much all my Toyotas, the stock (non-Bilstein) shocks worked fine up to about 50k miles. The Bilsteins may last a bit longer, but I still replaced the yellow stock ones with 5100's at 50k. And the ones on the 4Runner. A very noticeable difference on the 4Runner, less so on the Tacoma but still better. Even if it is not fully blown, there are multiple circuits and oil inside (and sometimes a gas charge) that stop working optimally over time. Longest I would expect decent performance on any shock would be 100k miles. But I am picky -- I hate cheap/worn shocks and tires and tend to replace earlier rather than later.

 

at 180k miles my original shocks are doing ok for me

once they leak or bounce too much, its time to replace

 

My truck has all highway miles and i changed all 4 at 100k miles. The front were fine but the back were shot.

 

101k on mine and original shocks and struts seem fine, no bounce at all.

 

To each his own, but I don't think bouncing is a true test of whether they are working like they should. Obviously it is an indication of complete failure, but not a real test. Regardless of the way the truck is used, I have a hard time believing a shock will still be performing optimally past 100K miles. I think the Bilsteins may last longer than the standard shocks, but it's a cheap way to restore performance even if you go with Bilsteins.

FWIW, I've tried the cheap ones like Gabriel and Monroe, and they are terrible. Spending just a little more on KYB or Bilstein is the way to go.