A Shocking Picture!
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- Ben Harris
- 480 Is my middle name
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A Shocking Picture!
Sorry about the title!
Hmmm - maybe these should have been replaced a while ago! ... and this was the better side of the two! I haven't done the fronts yet - that's tomorrow evening's job.
The worrying thing was... I thought it was probably only the fronts that needed doing, as when I bounced the suspension before doing it, it seemed nice and tight - not wallowy (spelling?) at all! It's just a good job that I decided that I might as well replace all of them, and not just the fronts.
Ben.
New vs Old, Rear Shocks:
Hmmm - maybe these should have been replaced a while ago! ... and this was the better side of the two! I haven't done the fronts yet - that's tomorrow evening's job.
The worrying thing was... I thought it was probably only the fronts that needed doing, as when I bounced the suspension before doing it, it seemed nice and tight - not wallowy (spelling?) at all! It's just a good job that I decided that I might as well replace all of them, and not just the fronts.
Ben.
New vs Old, Rear Shocks:
Last edited by Ben Harris on Wed Apr 14, 2004 6:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1998-2003 ... 1981 Austin Mini City
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
- Ben Harris
- 480 Is my middle name
- Posts: 1163
- Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 5:18 pm
- Location: Cambridge, UK
- Contact:
Probably the same age as the car - 10½ years.... and you can clearly see they weren't working, as there is no pressure pushing them out to full size!
Ben.
Ben.
1998-2003 ... 1981 Austin Mini City
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
- Ben Harris
- 480 Is my middle name
- Posts: 1163
- Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 5:18 pm
- Location: Cambridge, UK
- Contact:
Just jack up the rear suspension. You should be able to see the condition of them without having to remove the wheel. Unfortunatly you can't really test them (other than doing the bounce test - and see my comments above about that!), without removing them from the car and then seeing if there's any pressure in them.
If they look anything like mine did though, then they're almost certainly knackered! ... and I'm expecting to find that even though the fronts look OK (appearence wise) on mine, I suspect they'll also have very little or no pressure left in them, when I replace them tomorrow.
Ben.
If they look anything like mine did though, then they're almost certainly knackered! ... and I'm expecting to find that even though the fronts look OK (appearence wise) on mine, I suspect they'll also have very little or no pressure left in them, when I replace them tomorrow.
Ben.
1998-2003 ... 1981 Austin Mini City
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
- chris1roll
- Friend of Club 480 Europe
- Posts: 3927
- Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:50 pm
- Location: Using LOTS of petrol!
I thought they weren't supposed to push out to full size. They need to damp the movement in both directions. if they had pressure in just the one direction they would be just like a spring. My old 480 had dampers like that, before i changed them.
There should be a great deal of drag when you move the damper through its stroke, but they shouldn't shoot out to one end or another.
What are the new ones like??
There should be a great deal of drag when you move the damper through its stroke, but they shouldn't shoot out to one end or another.
What are the new ones like??
2001 V70 XC 2.5T
1989 744 GL Auto
1989 744 GL Auto
- Ben Harris
- 480 Is my middle name
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The new ones seemed to push out to full length on their own. The front ones actually have a clamp holding them down, to stop them forcing their way out through the box - I've just undone the clamp, and there's a LOT of pressure needed to push them back down again! ARRGH - GET BACK IN THE BOX!
Ben.
Ben.
1998-2003 ... 1981 Austin Mini City
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
- chris1roll
- Friend of Club 480 Europe
- Posts: 3927
- Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:50 pm
- Location: Using LOTS of petrol!
hmm, praps i is wrong then.
just doesn't seem logical like that. Are they uprated/stiffened at all? that might make sense. If you push them right in and try to pull them out, is there resistance agaainst the outward movement?
When i lowered the front of mine, the struts would gradually sink back into themselves.
just doesn't seem logical like that. Are they uprated/stiffened at all? that might make sense. If you push them right in and try to pull them out, is there resistance agaainst the outward movement?
When i lowered the front of mine, the struts would gradually sink back into themselves.
2001 V70 XC 2.5T
1989 744 GL Auto
1989 744 GL Auto
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- Ben Harris
- 480 Is my middle name
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No - they're definatly trying to push out to full length. You don't need to pull them out - they do that on their own! I tried to take a video of the front ones on my camera to show you, but it came out too dark. Here's the bruise that I got on my hand pushing them down instead though - That should show you how much pressure they're under! - Nothing compared to your finger, mind!
They're the Bilstein shocks from EuroCarParts. It doesn't say if they're uprated or not, but I thought all Bilsteins were slightly uprated - I didn't think they sold standard shocks?
Ben.
They're the Bilstein shocks from EuroCarParts. It doesn't say if they're uprated or not, but I thought all Bilsteins were slightly uprated - I didn't think they sold standard shocks?
Ben.
1998-2003 ... 1981 Austin Mini City
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
- chris1roll
- Friend of Club 480 Europe
- Posts: 3927
- Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:50 pm
- Location: Using LOTS of petrol!
- Ben Harris
- 480 Is my middle name
- Posts: 1163
- Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 5:18 pm
- Location: Cambridge, UK
- Contact:
They're the same as I fitted to my lowered red, 1.7ES. (These are going in my standard springs, black 2.0ES!). They certainly work fine on that - that's why I bought the sames ones again!
-----
They were 29.95 each for the front, and £17.99 each for the back:
Front: £29.99
Front: £29.99
Back: £17.99
Back: £17.99
P&P: £8.50
VAT: £18.29
Total: £122.75
-----
They were 29.95 each for the front, and £17.99 each for the back:
Front: £29.99
Front: £29.99
Back: £17.99
Back: £17.99
P&P: £8.50
VAT: £18.29
Total: £122.75
1998-2003 ... 1981 Austin Mini City
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
- Ben Harris
- 480 Is my middle name
- Posts: 1163
- Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 5:18 pm
- Location: Cambridge, UK
- Contact:
Hmmm - I've just done a quick bit of reading on shock absorbers now, and one of the things it said to check to see if they're worm out or not, was the speed that they take to "return to an extended position" - which sounds to me that that's how they should naturally be (and is the case with both the front and back new ones that I've bought).
Ben.
Ben.
1998-2003 ... 1981 Austin Mini City
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
- JohnTurbo
- Friend of Club 480 Europe
- Posts: 4135
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- Location: Fixin' Engines NR Burnley
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Mr Bat is right. An oil damper should resist movement in either direction at every position on its stroke, whereas a healthy gas assisted strut will slowly extend.
Ben's ugly shocker may well function correctly, that outer part is nothing more than a dirt shield anyway. Its pretty common to have oil shocks as standard on cars.
Still for 18quid its worth getting rid of just on the aesthetic reasons, plus obviously gas assisted dampers are better.
John
Ben's ugly shocker may well function correctly, that outer part is nothing more than a dirt shield anyway. Its pretty common to have oil shocks as standard on cars.
Still for 18quid its worth getting rid of just on the aesthetic reasons, plus obviously gas assisted dampers are better.
John
Past:
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94 Turbo - Black (Converted from NA 2.0)
92 Turbo - Red
90 Turbo - Silver
Now:
00 Exige
15 GKD Legend
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94 Turbo - Red
94 Turbo - Black (Converted from NA 2.0)
92 Turbo - Red
90 Turbo - Silver
Now:
00 Exige
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16 Skoda Superb
- Ben Harris
- 480 Is my middle name
- Posts: 1163
- Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 5:18 pm
- Location: Cambridge, UK
- Contact:
Thanks Mat and John!
I was assuming that because it didn't extend, it was worn out. It's too late now to find out if it was really worn out or not, because I don't feel like going and fishing it out of the bin! I was sure I'd read somewhere that the Volvo 480's were fitted with gas shocks from the factory, but unless mine had been replaced previously (which I doubt), maybe that isn't the case. I was only replacing the rear ones, because I was going to do the front ones anyway - as you say, for the sake of £18 each, they're worth doing. I've got them fitted to my other 480, and the road handling after fitting them was considerably better!
I realised that the exterior part was just a cover, and not really functional, but thought it worth the picture, just to show how long it had been on there to rust like that! Interestingly, it was obviously made of metal on the old one, hence the rust. On the new one it's plastic, so cosmetically, should at least appear to last longer in the years to come!
Is there a recomended milage that shock absorbers should be replaced at, or life expectancy in terms of years?
Ben.
I was assuming that because it didn't extend, it was worn out. It's too late now to find out if it was really worn out or not, because I don't feel like going and fishing it out of the bin! I was sure I'd read somewhere that the Volvo 480's were fitted with gas shocks from the factory, but unless mine had been replaced previously (which I doubt), maybe that isn't the case. I was only replacing the rear ones, because I was going to do the front ones anyway - as you say, for the sake of £18 each, they're worth doing. I've got them fitted to my other 480, and the road handling after fitting them was considerably better!
I realised that the exterior part was just a cover, and not really functional, but thought it worth the picture, just to show how long it had been on there to rust like that! Interestingly, it was obviously made of metal on the old one, hence the rust. On the new one it's plastic, so cosmetically, should at least appear to last longer in the years to come!
Is there a recomended milage that shock absorbers should be replaced at, or life expectancy in terms of years?
Ben.
1998-2003 ... 1981 Austin Mini City
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)
2003-2005 ... 1989 Volvo 480 ES (B18E)
2004-2006 ... 1994 Volvo 480 ES (B20F)
2006-2008 ... 1995 Mitsuibshi FTO GPX
2008-2008 ... 1994 Volvo 480 Turbo Auto (with RichMod)
2009-Onwards ... 1991 MK1 Eunos Roadster
2013-Onwards ... 1997 Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000 (Wagon)