[Rocket55]

I've got a 2010 GU with 52,000km on it. Its got a steel Nissan bar, dual batteries and the other week I put a winch in it. It's now sitting quite low at the front. (515mm centre of hub to flare) When driving over speed bumps at Woolies at about 7-10km/hr it bottoms out and bounces off the front bump stops. It generally tends to bash and crash through bumps on the road as opposed to soaking it up.

Anyway I'm going away in a couple of weeks and didn't orgainise my new suspension in time, so I'm just throwing in a set of 30mm spacers in the front to give me a bit of travel back until I do a full suspension upgrade.

Upon undoing the bottom bolt on the front shocks, I found I was able to compress these quite easily with one hand (and I ain't no gym junkie, just a normal Joe Blow) and when I let them go, they just stay in a compressed state they don't wont to extend back to full length, even with gravity helping them.

If I can compress them with one hand, I'm sure the weight of the front end (1T plus) won't even feel them. I'm thinking they are kaput, am I right, or am I missing something?

Cheers

 

[Jamie4800]

They sound pretty buggered.

 

[ZORDO]

Yes they are buggered

 

[Burra boy]

Completely buggered, in fact.

 

[Rocket55]

3 from 3, that sounds pretty definitive. Thanks guys.

I've left it apart as I need to get some spring conpressors so I can get the spacers in (brake line pull tight) and after a couple of hours, they are both still sitting in the SAME compressed position. Surely the shocks should last more than 52,000km.

It'll be interesting to see how the rear ones are tomorrow.

 

[Jamie4800]

Just unbolt the break line from the diff and you can stretch it up easy as. Don't need spring compressors for such small springs.

 

[sim79]

Surely the shocks should last more than 52,000km.

For a 4x4 and just your cheap average shocks around 40,000 is normal, they can die a lot quicker if you drive in corrigations or drive hard.
I fitted new pedders shock a week before going up the Cape , half way up all four were stuffed after 1500klm. Pedders replaced them straight away once back from the Cape.
If you spend more money they last a bit longer.
Most owners drive around on shocks that well past rooted.

 

[grumpyone]

Factory shocks just do the job,barely,yours are history and the rears will be too,do the full

set,unless you plan hard core rough traveling,lean toward the touring type for a smoother

overall ride

Cheers,G.

 

[Rocket55]

The car was owned by QLD Health and ran around outback as a mobile nurse/doctor car, so probably seen its fair share of dirt roads. When you pull the door trims off you can certainly tell it's been on the dirt.

Oh well, spacers for now to give me back a bit of height I've dropped from the accessories, then looking at a 3" lift with adjustable Profenders. Should feel like a totally new car after that, I hope. I guess any shock that works would be an improvement over what's in there.

 

[Michael (Moss Vale NSW)]

From memory original shocks are not gas so the probably will stay at the position as you leave them. That's not to say they are not dead, they probably are. Your main problem seems to be the springs are not up to the weight you have applied to them. As you have mentioned, your heavier 3' springs should hold it up better than standard springs. Michael.

 

[flexgq]

The car was owned by QLD Health and ran around outback as a mobile nurse/doctor car, so probably seen its fair share of dirt roads. When you pull the door trims off you can certainly tell it's been on the dirt.

Oh well, spacers for now to give me back a bit of height I've dropped from the accessories, then looking at a 3" lift with adjustable Profenders. Should feel like a totally new car after that, I hope. I guess any shock that works would be an improvement over what's in there.

You won't be disappointed with the profenders Rocket.

 

[03gallagherj]

No good mate having the shocks buggered, but yeah that's about the right amount of kms for a std shock. Provably been rooted for a long time too if the car was used outback Qld roads

Cheers Jackson,

sent from the GU somewhere in this great country