Quick question, although I think I may know the answer.

When I had the front shocks out to replace the spring seats and bearings, I noticed the pistons on both sides (driver and passenger) were slowly self-compressing/receding into the shock housing. I thought it was odd as I had never seen a shock do that before, but then wondered if it was supposed to when the other side did it as well.

I assumed both shocks were toast, but it was very difficult to push/pull the piston any given length into and out of the shock body, leading me to believe that this is how Volvo shocks are designed.

Still, I think it's weird, so - does this mean the shocks are blown, or is this what OE Volvo shocks do?

 

They are bad.

 

those are 2way shocks, they don,t push up. new ones will do the same. but if you have everything out,why not replace them for better?

 

They should still not just collapse on their own. They should hold up with no spring on them.

 

I'm actually in the middle of doing a complete suspension overhaul and have gotten quite adept at taking apart the front suspension. The manual camber gauge that I have makes it easier to make the alignment close, short of the professional alignment once everything is replaced and in place.

I was just concerned about the shocks. They seem to be functioning okay as far as difficulty in manually compressing/decompressing the piston - but when standing up straight without any support they just slowly creep into compressed position. In all the suspensions I've messed with, I have never seen that before unless the shock was blown, in which case it would be extremely easy to compress/decompress the piston by hand.

I would think that, by nature of design, all shocks are 2-way, no? Not 2-way as in adjustability, but 2-way in the sense that they modulate the compression and rebound of the the suspension spring. Otherwise, cars would spring up unmodulated over every bump in the road.

In the end, I just want to get a general consensus on if a known good/new shock piston on an OE shock would sink down if not supported. Any and every response is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

If you are doing the front struts, I just installed mine yesterday. I also noticed they did the exact same thing. They were brand new OEM ones. The rear shocks did not do this.

 

I have only seen worn ones sink never any new ones.

 

I think sinking of shocks is normal in case of front ones because they are simple hydrolic pistons with a small orifice for the the oil to travel in either direction but with some tight friction for dampening the inward and out ward movement during driving conditions. Having said that, when you have the shocker sitting upright without springs the weight of the saft makes the piston travel down slowly because of the oil at the bottom side making its way to the upperside through that narrow hole(orifice).

The rear ones are normally gas filled shockers that always maintain a tendency to expand. - - - Just my opinion with no offence please.

 

None taken - I think, as tech mentioned, that I'm of the mindset that shocks should never do that, unless blown or well on their way out, but your explanation makes perfect mechanical sense to me, as well - that's why I'm confused as to whether or not the shocks are actually blown.

@dan2286, it is the front shocks that I'm referring to, and your experience with the new (and assumed good) OE shocks confuses me even more.

At any rate, some time in the near future, I'll be replacing the shocks with aftermarket - here's to fixing stuff that ain't (or maybe is) broke! I appreciate all of the replies and discussion.

 

If it helps you anymore, my old front shocks just stay where they are and don't move at all.

 

Funny, that just confuses me even more. I have come to the conclusion that the front left shock is toast as the piston refuses to "turn" freely, making my new strut mount bearings and spring seats do a "rubber friction dance" noise while turning, so that pretty much solidifies the "honey, I need new (aftermarket) shocks" argument for me.

As a side note, do you feel any noticeable difference in ride handling after you replaced the OE shocks with new OE shocks, particularly NVH?

 

I haven't really tested out the handling yet, but the ride feels better. I don't know if you are looking for a soft or firm ride, but these felt pretty firm, in a good way. It is not firm enough to be annoying I guess you could say.

 

My son took his struts off and they did the same thing. With strut sitting with the piston upward the piston would slowly retract. I pulled out the set I took mine a few weeks earlier and they did not do that at all and none of the new ones did it. We both put Billstein Touring on our cars. My son also put lowering springs on his which lowered it about 1 1/2 inches.