Is there an easy way to tell wether a spring or shock is bad? my car is level most of the time unless ive been in it a while, then after i get out it looks like it has a sag to the drivers side......, like the next day its even again on flat ground. to me it sounds like a shock or strut is bad/ going bad.

 

Shocks control the dampening of the wheels as it goes over uneven pavement. If a shock is sticking it may stay compressed to long and cause the car to be low in one spot. Tech had a shock stick compressed once and he was driving home with that wheel / side of car really low. Also, when shocks are bad the car will bounce a lot and not feel good over bumpy and patchy roads.

Springs on the other had carry weight. They will help the car keep it's proper height and not sag under heavy trunk loads, etc. It's likely that you have a combination of both but I would start with the shocks.

 

it doesnt bounce a lot but it doesnt feel as smooth as it should over small bumps in the road

 

I would say check the shocks and struts.

 

thanks for the input, I just got a new set of bilstien tourings for the front still gotta get the rears

 

Man that was quick!!! How did you get your hands on a new set of struts in like... 30 minutes???

 

lol i ordered them 2 weeks ago from FCP

 

That made me laugh.

 

From my own experience the tires (psi, wall, etc.) have a lot to do with absorbing small, sharp bumps.

Testing the shocks the old school -- push down on the bumper/fender: a good shock will rebound the car quickly to the original position, without bouncing.

 

right, the wierd thing is is sometimes it will be smooth on the same drive into town and most of the time its a bit rougher and can feel small bumps more so then other times on the same road

 

do cheap 18 dollar shocks work i replaced one side with 18 dollar shock and it still sags

 

I would say the spring causes sags. Don't put cheap stuff on your car.

 

As rspi has stated a couple times here....springs control height, shocks control bounce