Bouncing down the road one day it
occurs to you that things are just not what they should be. The road you are
riding on is as smooth as glass, yet your car is jostling up and down like
nobody’s business. You enter an upcoming curve in the road and quickly learn
that the control you had over your car was lost just moments before. Suddenly,
the vehicle careens off the road, goes down through a ditch and up an
embankment before coming to rest against a fence adjacent to Tony’s garage. You
are in luck: you aren’t dead and your car is at Tony’s, who happens to be your favourite
mechanic.
Yes
this story is ridiculous, exceedingly so. All joking aside, your shock
absorbers [or struts in the case of some cars] plays a vital part in your
vehicle’s suspension system. When certain signs of wear and tear become
apparent, you must replace your shocks or otherwise you can put yourself in
danger and/or damage your car.
A
shock absorber works by damping the compression and extension of the vehicles suspension springs to prevent ongoing
movement. Shocks work to diminish road impact, prevent excessive bounce back,
reduce sway, and improve general road handling. When your shocks are
functioning properly your vehicle grips to the road whether you are breaking,
negotiating a curve in the road, driving on uneven roads, or experiencing
powerful side winds. When worn out, shocks can play a part in you losing
control of your car putting you and everyone else in harm’s way.
How often should you replace your
shocks? One manufacturer suggests no less than once every 50,000 miles, but
that depends on whether you frequently drive on coarse roads [in this case it
will need to occur sooner] or it could even be much later if you do mostly
local driving, the roads are well maintained, etc.
There
is a simple test you can perform on your car to establish whether your shocks
need replacing. It isn’t absolute, therefore you may want to take your vehicle
to a garage to make certain
Take
hold of a corner of your vehicle’s bumper.
Press
down on the bumper with all of your strength and then let go.
Your
shocks are probably okay if the bumper drops down and returns in place without
rebounding again. Slight movement is okay, but if it continually moves, then
that particular shock is no longer effective. Duplicate the test on the
remaining three corners of your vehicle.
Other
telltale signs of shock wear can be observed through leakage [although a leak
is not always indicative of wear] and by observing tire wear patterns. Finally,
if you are simply experiencing motion sickness every time you go for a ride,
then that can be the best indicator that your shocks or struts need replacing.
No kidding here!