Shocks? Struts?

[bubba]

Sup all..Bought a '92 325is about 2 years ago. Car runs great but lately ride is a little rough. Starting to feel to bumps on the road pretty bad. It has H&R lowering springs and the car has about 120,000 miles on it. Any suggestion? Not sure if I need to change shocks or struts or whatever. All I know is something has to change so I can get a better ride.... ghead

[bimmerfan620]

It sounds to me like your struts are going out. Look down and inside the fenders at the spring/strut assembly, and see if there is any oil/fluid leaking down the side of the struts.. If so, that is one way to tell your struts are bad.

[bubba]

Thanks for the input..Didn't see anything leaking... Anyone know what approximate cost would probably cost to replace the struts ...upgraded..factory...any info appreciated...

[Furious]

where does it sound the worst? in the rear? because im thinking you might need some rear shock mounts. OEM shock mounts blow out very quick with a lowered ride,

[bubba]

A little rough in the rear but the front is starting to get a lot more noticeable when I hit bumps.....

[Autotechnica]

Pressing down on the strut to test it's compression won't work in the front. It's difficult to test it that way. You can either check to see whether there is any oil leaking from the strut as bimmerfan620 suggested, or you can remove the entire strut and compress it by pushing it against the ground. If it doesn't go all the way down, it's blown, if it goes all the way down, but doesn't come back up, it's also blown. It should come back up and be fully extended on it's own. Also, if it feels a little soft going down it's starting to wear, it should give a fair bit of resistance but should also be very consistant all the way.

Are you using stock struts/shocks? If so, I'd recommend upgrading them with gas pressure dampers. H&R requires that you use them whereas Eibach does not. Remember to replace struts/shocks in paris

Bry