How often to change shocks

[ovlovpumpkin]

I have an 01 xc70 with about 64,000 miles on it, and i'm wondering if anyone has changed their shocks by that point. I haven't done it yet, and was wondering if that would be a good idea or just to wait until they get completely worn out.

[JRL]

I have an 01 xc70 with about 64,000 miles on it, and i'm wondering if anyone has changed their shocks by that point. I haven't done it yet, and was wondering if that would be a good idea or just to wait until they get completely worn out.
Newsflash, they ARE worn out.
Most struts are (worn) by these miles but 01 shocks were particularly weak

[philosophicaldreamer]

I have an 01 xc70 with about 64,000 miles on it, and i'm wondering if anyone has changed their shocks by that point. I haven't done it yet, and was wondering if that would be a good idea or just to wait until they get completely worn out.

There is a simple way way of determining whether your shocks are shot or not:

1. Grab hold of the corner of your vehicle’s bumper and push down on it as hard as you can. The bumper should drop down, jumped back up and gone down again. If, on the other hand, it continually moves up and down, then that particular shock is dead. Do the same test on the remaining three corners of your vehicle.

Sometimes your shocks can leak although a leak is not always indicative of wear. If you have your tires balanced you can also tell whether your shocks are dead or not by observing tire wear patterns. It is not necessary that your shocks are dead by now. It all depends on the quality of roads you drive.

Ta-ta, j.

[JRL]

Naw, that's the old way.
Newer shock can be bad and not necessarily pogo stick

[slowflyer]

For what it is worth, I just replaced the front shocks on our 01 at 150K because of a leak. They seemed to be working OK- no unusual tire wear in 3 sets. The ride is slightly better, though (or I am imagining it to justify the high cost).

Also had to replace some bushings so that may have been what improved the ride.

[skibo]

Naw, that's the old way.
Newer shock can be bad and not necessarily pogo stick

OK - so, what is the test then?

How can a worn shock be diagnosed?

[JRL]

OK - so, what is the test then?

How can a worn shock be diagnosed?
The easy way is to go over some bad bumps in familiar roads, knowing how it used to be.
If the front end has lost some control, is shuddering around (and perhaps pogoing (sp?) around a bit, they're probably worn.
It really doesn't matter ALL shocks even "good ones" and Volvo OEM shocks are just average, start to wear out at 20-30K miles and at 50-60K really are worn out fairly well.
You may not realize it as you get used to your car or... you may live in FL or somewhere else where the roads are smooth but they are wearing out more than you may think.
I had my front struts replaced under warranty at 31K miles on my 01 for wear.
Nothing wrong with your test but that will only show a completely worn out shock, it won't pogo on a shock that is loosing its capability slowly

[volvoshad]

OK - so, what is the test then?

How can a worn shock be diagnosed?

Hate to say it, but the only way to be sure that the shock is bad is to remove it from the car and compare its resistance to movement to a new one. Then it's obvious, but it is a PITA to remove the strut/shock just to test it. The traditional bounce test isn't very good, as there is enough friction in Volvo suspensions that it won't pogo stick even with very worn shocks.

JRL is right - ride and handling characteristics are the best way to tell the shocks are toast. Particularly if it gets twitchy hitting bumps in a turn, the shocks are probably weak, although other things such as alignment can affect this.

[Willy]

Not that it will help much, but for the sake of the discussion I would like to share something about shock testing.
Here in Belgium, all cars have to be tested yearly by an independent company
from the moment they are 4 years on the road (some hate it, but I feel it is a good thing).
Among the tests is an interesting one concerning the shock absorbers. The test is run per axle,
the wheels are each placed on a vibrating surface (up-down) and basically the system
measures how much of the weight of the car stays on the test surface (the car has to be
presented empty, the technicians say that the software can see if an extra weight is present,
probably because some dead weight will not oscillate in phase with the rest of the car).
Left to right wheel balance is also taken into account.
The result is a figure (in percentages, I think) and has to be above a certain limit.
The test is intelligent enough to allow a Ferrari or a Rolls Royce to pass the test!
Greetings,
Willy

[JRL]

Not that it will help much, but for the sake of the discussion I would like to share something about shock testing.
Here in Belgium, all cars have to be tested yearly by an independent company
from the moment they are 4 years on the road (some hate it, but I feel it is a good thing).
Among the tests is an interesting one concerning the shock absorbers. The test is run per axle,
the wheels are each placed on a vibrating surface (up-down) and basically the system
measures how much of the weight of the car stays on the test surface (the car has to be
presented empty, the technicians say that the software can see if an extra weight is present,
probably because some dead weight will not oscillate in phase with the rest of the car).
Left to right wheel balance is also taken into account.
The result is a figure (in percentages, I think) and has to be above a certain limit.
The test is intelligent enough to allow a Ferrari or a Rolls Royce to pass the test!
Greetings,
Willy
Interesting but the US would have no provision for its 200 or so million registered cars

[Willy]

I wouldn't think that testing cars is a problem of absolute figures, the ratio of test stations/cars would be about the same anywhere.
Does it mean that there are no obligations to have cars tested in the US?
If I am not mistaken, such tests are done in the UK (and in the Netherlands as well, but I think they are done by the dealer)
Willy

[JRL]

I wouldn't think that testing cars is a problem of absolute figures, the ratio of test stations/cars would be about the same anywhere.
Does it mean that there are no obligations to have cars tested in the US?
If I am not mistaken, such tests are done in the UK (and in the Netherlands as well, but I think they are done by the dealer)
Willy

Nope.
In the states that have a state inspection, visual check only.
What IS checked is the rest of the front end; tie rods, ball joints, steering rack, etc.

[philosophicaldreamer]

I wouldn't think that testing cars is a problem of absolute figures, the ratio of test stations/cars would be about the same anywhere.
Does it mean that there are no obligations to have cars tested in the US?
If I am not mistaken, such tests are done in the UK (and in the Netherlands as well, but I think they are done by the dealer)
Willy

Car testing varies from state to state in the United Sates. In Tennessee, for instance, they test only for pollution.

Ta-ta, j.

[Willy]

The differences between states remind me that the US is not just one country, something often assumed here.
In Belgium, about everything that affects road safety or environment is tested, even including the "decent" look of the car!
But, as is the case in the US, different EU countries have (very) different regulations.
Is the pollution test done by examining the OBD memory?
Willy

[skibo]

...The differences between states remind me that the US is not just one country, something often assumed here...
Willy

Willy -

It's even more complex than that - even within a given state there can be differences.

In Pennsylvania, for example, all cars get an annual safety inspection (tires, brakes, exhaust, body integrity, suspension, glass, lights, controls, wipers, etc). In the areas around our 2 big cities they do an emmisions inspection by measuring the gases at the tailpipe. In my area (small city) they do a visual emmisions inspection to ensure that none of the hardware has been disabled or modified (converter, EGR, air-pump, etc). In the rural counties, there is no emmisions inspection at all.

[Willy]

Wow, and I thought Belgium is complex :D (actually it is, having 4 communities in the federal state of Belgium,
I think 5 governements - might miss one though- while the whole of Belgium has about the same number of citizens as London!)
The tests you mention for Pennsylvania plus the ones for the 2 major cities is about the same as the tests over here.
I do find it a bit strange that the pollution tests become "lighter" as the region becomes more rural. I understand that
vehicles in rural areas are less of a pulluting factor, but car by car they produce the same emission (perhaps somewhat
less due to better driving conditions).
Willy

[BillAileo]

I think part of the reason different standards developed for rural versus urban areas in states like Pennsylvania was because of the early focus of clean air requirements on limiting the presence of ozone in urban areas where the levels of that gas had become very troublesome rather than on the more general air pollution matters such as global warming.

Bill