What Do Ya'll Think Of These Shocks?

[Delmarco]

I gotta replace my rear shocks & springs asap/There is way too much noise coming from my rear when i go over bumps in the road and my ride comfort is getting harsher every day!

I don't need anything fancy like bilstens (lack of extra funds)

These are OEM boge shocks for the E36...being offered to me for $100 for the entire set!

They are off a 1997 328i with 38,000 before the owner upgraded to bilstens and lowered...

The pictures of them..are making me curious whether the shocks are still good or not...
what do you'll think?

[nukeduster]

looks like the right shock is shot.

just buy some KYB GR2's. inexpensive and good. a bit stiff for some, but i love kybs in general. they are what are going on my next vehicle again(tried tokico last car, had kybs on my last 5 and loved them) @ ~$60 /shock cant go wrong.

[Delmarco]

never heard of those brands, I will check it out...

so the right shock in the pics seems busted huh?

[///M Power]

I have KYB's on my s13. Too soft for my liking but they function.


Those pictures look like at least one of the shocks is wasted. Are you goign to install these yourselves? The rears are really not that difficult to do.

[dvmotorsports]

I would be very cautious of buying used OEM parts. With the exception of non-moving parts. i.e. Wheels, hoods, lights, etc....

[Dudesky_E36]

Del, they look fine. Don't stress over the rough spots on the right shock, that's not abnormal. It's just the result of the plastic cover getting stuck in one position sometimes. When that happens, the dirt buildup doesn't wash off as well during normal usage, causing the discoloration. If both compress at fairly the same tension, and there's no oil leaking out, they should be fine. If they were blown, the piston rod would be sunk into the cartridge and would be hard to pull out. Shocks can last up to 100k, so you probably still have some decent mlieage to go with those.

OEM Boge's will give you the best as far as a cushioned ride and least amount of harshness. If the springs and spring pads weren't part of the deal, I'd tell you to just buy new shocks. However, if you're still unsure about using these used shocks, you can get new ones at AutohausAz for $67 each. What's hard to tell in the pictures is the condition of the rear shock mounts. I don't recommend reusing them, and at the very least, do not reuse the gaskets. Either buy new ones, or make new ones out of cardboard (lots of people do this, including myself), they're pretty easy to trace and cut.

[///M Power]

My idea was the discoloration was due to oil seeping out and sitting for awhile before being wiped off. And people often lie on ebay. 30,000 miles could aswell be 80,000 miles.

[Dudesky_E36]

^^ If that was so, the oil stain wouldn't stop in a perfectly straight line as shown in the photo.

[BMWjesterFAN]

NEVER BUY USED SHOCKS!!!!! EVER!!!!! You have no idea of how the guy drove his car. He could have taken the bumpy way home...every day. It's just not worth it to go sheap on this. Are your current shocks broken, or just worn out? If they are worn out, just deal with the crappy ride for a bit, save up some cash, and get a decent set of shocks when you have the cash. I bet someone around here would send you their old shocks that they swapped out for new, better ones. Hell, if I had already swapped mine into the project M3, I would send you mine for just the postage. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get around to doing that swap yet. Nuke's right, but I would suggest the KYB AGX shocks, as they are adjustable. AGX has been making suspension for decades. They manufacture the shocks used on very heavy-duty equipment, such as backhoes, bulldozers, etc. Pretty good deal for the money. And pick up a set of TEIN springs (Got mine for $164 shipped). Another good deal for a killer price. Also, I just thought of the fact that you probably should go pop your trunk and see if your rear shocks shot through the rear end into your trunk. The upper rear shock mounts are really weak and have a tendency to do that if not reinforced.
-Tim

[LongHairedHippy]

why not take this as an excuse to upgrade to Bilsteins? a PSS system costs aout 1k.