A Shocking Picture!

Does your 480 have tracking-problems? Does your car pull to one side? Or is your steering wheel vibrating? Read the posts in this category to find out what's going on.

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Ben Harris
480 Is my middle name
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A Shocking Picture!

Post by Ben Harris » Wed Apr 14, 2004 6:38 pm

Sorry about the title! :D

Hmmm - maybe these should have been replaced a while ago! :wink: ... 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:
Image
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)

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kingrichy
Can tell where the 480 was built
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Post by kingrichy » Wed Apr 14, 2004 6:42 pm

Hey :o , mine look like that too.
:shock:
My baby`s

1990 Red ES Automatic 145000km
1990 Lavendel metalic 223000km
1988 Grafite gray metalic Turbo 185000km Sold

http://img20.photobucket.com/albums/v60/kingrichy/

Joolz
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Location: Durham

Post by Joolz » Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:06 pm

how old were they??
Volvo 480 Celebration 466 Dark Grey Metallic (PUS)
previously
Volvo 480 2 ltr Paris Blue
Volvo 480 2 ltr Peacock Green
Volvo 480 1.7 White
Volvo 760 GLE Saloon 2.8 V6 Blue

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Ben Harris
480 Is my middle name
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Post by Ben Harris » Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:09 pm

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.
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)

Joolz
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Location: Durham

Post by Joolz » Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:16 pm

erugghhhh its a horrible thought...how can i check to see if mine are in a simiilar condition?
Volvo 480 Celebration 466 Dark Grey Metallic (PUS)
previously
Volvo 480 2 ltr Paris Blue
Volvo 480 2 ltr Peacock Green
Volvo 480 1.7 White
Volvo 760 GLE Saloon 2.8 V6 Blue

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Ben Harris
480 Is my middle name
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Post by Ben Harris » Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:20 pm

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.
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)

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chris1roll
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Location: Using LOTS of petrol!

Post by chris1roll » Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:39 pm

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??
2001 V70 XC 2.5T
1989 744 GL Auto

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Ben Harris
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Post by Ben Harris » Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:43 pm

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! :D

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)

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chris1roll
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Location: Using LOTS of petrol!

Post by chris1roll » Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:51 pm

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.
2001 V70 XC 2.5T
1989 744 GL Auto

john hotchkiss
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Post by john hotchkiss » Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:54 pm

how much are they
it drains my pocket but i cant help doing it..
black 480 turbo

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Ben Harris
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Post by Ben Harris » Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:56 pm

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! :D

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.

Image
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)

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chris1roll
Friend of Club 480 Europe
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Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:50 pm
Location: Using LOTS of petrol!

Post by chris1roll » Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:57 pm

hmm, maybe mine are knackered then!!

Well, see what it feels like when you get them in
2001 V70 XC 2.5T
1989 744 GL Auto

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Ben Harris
480 Is my middle name
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Post by Ben Harris » Wed Apr 14, 2004 7:59 pm

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
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)

User avatar
Ben Harris
480 Is my middle name
Posts: 1163
Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2003 5:18 pm
Location: Cambridge, UK
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Post by Ben Harris » Wed Apr 14, 2004 8:12 pm

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.
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)

MatBat
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Post by MatBat » Wed Apr 14, 2004 8:35 pm

remember, there is a differance between Gas and OIL shocks, I believe oil shocks do not self return, but gas shocks do.
1996 Mini Classic 1275.

Joolz
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Location: Durham

Post by Joolz » Wed Apr 14, 2004 8:41 pm

acute trauma to palm of right hand. complete bed rest. :lol:
Volvo 480 Celebration 466 Dark Grey Metallic (PUS)
previously
Volvo 480 2 ltr Paris Blue
Volvo 480 2 ltr Peacock Green
Volvo 480 1.7 White
Volvo 760 GLE Saloon 2.8 V6 Blue

MatBat
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Post by MatBat » Wed Apr 14, 2004 8:54 pm

Joolz wrote:acute trauma to palm of right hand. complete bed rest. :lol:
Sounds to me like a fancy term for 'Wankers cramp' ;)
1996 Mini Classic 1275.

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JohnTurbo
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Post by JohnTurbo » Wed Apr 14, 2004 9:53 pm

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
Past:
94 Turbo - Red
94 Turbo - Black (Converted from NA 2.0)
92 Turbo - Red
90 Turbo - Silver
Now:
00 Exige
15 GKD Legend
16 Skoda Superb

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Ben Harris
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Post by Ben Harris » Wed Apr 14, 2004 10:36 pm

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! :D 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)

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JohnTurbo
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Post by JohnTurbo » Wed Apr 14, 2004 10:42 pm

YES!! Actually there is! Kwik-fit guidlines state that a damper should be replaced every 100miles or 48hours, whichever comes sooner.

(or 50miles for a woman)
Past:
94 Turbo - Red
94 Turbo - Black (Converted from NA 2.0)
92 Turbo - Red
90 Turbo - Silver
Now:
00 Exige
15 GKD Legend
16 Skoda Superb

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