New shock or not?

pgj2015

Hi, I brought my car to a mechanic for a service, he told me that i needed a new shock, I brought the car to my main mechanic a day later and he inspected it and said no the shocks were fine and did not have to be replaced.

Both mechanics had the car up on a lift, my question is, is there ever any doubt about a situation like this or should all mechanics know if a new shock is needed or not.

CiniO

If a shock is leaking it is indication that it's gone and needs replacing.

If it's not leaking, it still might be gone.

What is the age and mileage of the car?

artanevilla

Would both shocks need to be changed at the same time also?

pgj2015

CiniO wrote: »

If a shock is leaking it is indication that it's gone and needs replacing.

If it's not leaking, it still might be gone.

What is the age and mileage of the car?

2011, about 50,000 miles on her. the shocks are not leaking.

pgj2015

artanevilla wrote: »

Would both shocks need to be changed at the same time also?

yes mechanic number 1 said if 1 shock is gone, both need to be replaced.

Alanstrainor

pgj2015 wrote: »

yes mechanic number 1 said if 1 shock is gone, both need to be replaced.

It makes sense to replace suspension parts in axle pairs.

If the dealer reckons it's okay and it's not leaking then just drive on I'd say.

pgj2015

Alanstrainor wrote: »

It makes sense to replace suspension parts in axle pairs.

If the dealer reckons it's okay and it's not leaking then just drive on I'd say.

neither mechanic were a dealer, just independant mechanics.

CiniO

On a 6 year old car with 80,000km it's a definitely good idea to change shocks in pairs.

If it was really gone, you would be able to feel that during driving. Car would be less grippy on poor surface and potholes.
Usually also f.e. if right front shock was gone, car would have tendency to dip more towards the right on left turns than dipping to the left on right turns.

Also good test would be to push the car down (when parked) on the corners, and see how it swings back. If it's just comes back to normal quickly, then shock is most likely good.
If it keeps swinging it's surely gone.

bazz26

Always good practice to replace shocks in pairs on the same axle. Replacing one could cause an imbalance which will probably result in the other one having to be replaced shortly afterwards anyway.

pgj2015

the first mechanic said it was a rear shock that was gone. car seems to be driving perfectly.