Shocks&struts...help! What Is This?

[Delmarco]

So the local shop is telling me my shocks are okay...for now.
in fact, they all bounce very well...my rear drivers side creaks a little...but the creaking has taken a vacation. used

Anyway I looked at the front drivers side shocks myself this morning I find this little loose piece and dirty crusty cushion foam thing...
and it sort of looks not too good to me...

What is this and what exactly do I need to do? or replace?

[Ljk619]

When you say they all bounce very well what do you mean? Because the shocks are supposed to stop the car from bouncing, so if it is bouncing a lot and the mechanic is saying it's ok for now, then your local shop needs new mechanics.

And that crusty foam thingy, I'm going to take a guess and say it's in case your shocks bottom out it'll stop the shock from hitting the tower metal to metal which would be bad.

[Dudesky_E36]

^^That's called a bump stop, but it does very little. Don't worry about its condition, unless you're planning on doing a couple of 3ft drops with your car It takes a hell of a lotta force to bottom out your struts (they're struts in the front, not shocks). It can't be replaced anyway, unless you remove the whole strut assembly and take it apart.

The sleeve however, should be attached to the bump stop; it just snaps on to the bump stop. Together, they form a cover over the seal at the top of the strut housing, where the rod slides in and out. It keeps debris from damaging the seal.

[thekid]

^^ damn early risers, he beat me to it. Nothing to worry about, I don't even have them on my car any more.

[cloaked95]

Originally posted by Dudesky_E36@Aug 18 2005, 06:05 AM
^^That's called a bump stop, but it does very little. Don't worry about its condition, unless you're planning on doing a couple of 3ft drops with your car It takes a hell of a lotta force to bottom out your struts (they're struts in the front, not shocks). It can't be replaced anyway, unless you remove the whole strut assembly and take it apart.

The sleeve however, should be attached to the bump stop; it just snaps on to the bump stop. Together, they form a cover over the seal at the top of the strut housing, where the rod slides in and out. It keeps debris from damaging the seal.

[snapback]370474[/snapback]

Nice Post Dudesky!!!!