New Struts???

My family is still the original owner of a '92. I commute almost 100 miles each day in it and love it. However, I think it might be in need of new struts/shocks. Aside from sluggish cornering and a soft ride, how would I be able to tell if I need to replace the struts/shocks?

E

[SVXer95]

There is a pretty simple way to check for this. It is called a bounce test:

Push with your entire body weight (putting a knee on the vehicle can help) either the front or rear, and bounce it. When you let go watch to see how many times it bounces. If the car bounces 3 or more times before settling, you have bad shock absorbers aka struts.

[mbtoloczko]

The bounce test didn't work too well with my rear struts. One was leaking oil, and the car still didn't bounce more than once. My suggestion would be to jack up the car, get a flashlight, push up the dust boot and look for oil leaks. Oil leaks are a sure sign that replacement is needed. Another way to judge it is to see when other people have replaced their struts. One of my rear struts was leaking at 75K miles. The car rode more firmly after replacing the rears. Some poeple go well beyond 100K miles before replacing.

Worn struts are only part of the story. The SVX has very soft springs. Its amazing that the car doesn't lean more than what it does in a corner.

How many miles? Most struts don't last much more than 80-100,000 mi's tops.

-Mark

[svxsubaru1]

Yeah the bounce test doesent seem to work on subes that well, my dad had a legacy that had over 150,000 on the oem struts and the car would never bounce more than once, but when we took them off to replace one was leaking.

Perhaps this is a silly suggestion, but why don't you just take the car to be looked at by a shop? If the state you're in does not have a yearly vehicle safety inspection ... Places like NTB, Sears & Firestone will usually do a suspension and/or alignment check for under $20.00. Well worth it to identify problems that could leave you stranded (besides, you don't have to have parts replaced that instant, you can still shop around).
~Brenda

[svx_commuter]

I have found that struts can leak some of the oil and still work okay. It's when all of the oil leaks out that they do not work too well as a damper and the car will bounce like crazy.

Can anyone recommend a specific brand, type, etc?

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by erhoffman
Can anyone recommend a specific brand, type, etc?

Well, as far as I know you're pretty much stuck with OEM replacements unless you want to go for Koni struts from Porter.

Whwat are the cost differences and how does each of the brands ride?

[mbtoloczko]

Stock struts ride, well, like stock. :-)) The damping control is actually pretty good on the stock struts. They will provide a good ride, and are up to the job of handling somewhat higher rate springs if you want to install stiffer strut springs for better handling. A full set of stock struts are about $400.

The damping on the Koni's can be adjusted to ride anywhere from just a bit more damping than stock (say for stock springs) up to a damping rate that can handle springs that are 3x stiffer than stock. The ride quality will depend to some extent on what springs you use with the Konis. Porter sells the Koni's for around $650/set. These have to be installed into the old strut bodies. Requires a bit of cutting and drilling to do the job.