Quick Shocker Test?

[Inland_Sailer Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Inland_Sailer]

Hear that you can test if you shockers are past their use by date by simply feeling to see if they're warm or cool after you've driven on them for a bit.
Warm/hot = Still working; Cold/cool = gone!!1

Is this Correct ?

Cheers

[pcm_120 Member Find all posts View Profile Close pcm_120]

You've been watching 4WD TV :wink:

I have not tried it, but it makes "some" sense. A shock works by displacing oil within the shock body to restrain the natural bounce/oscillation of the springs.

In theory the shock will warm up due to the friction of the oil as it passes through the valves within the shock. How much is the big question though.

On your average sealed road the heat generated (in my opinion) would be negligible where as travelling down an undulating track at speed would generate more heat.

I tend to think it would be very subjective as a basic Old Man Emu is very different to a high pressure Bilstein, and then there is the difference in shock rates and how warm the day is.

Sorry not to give you a clear answer, but I think a better test is to see how the vehicle performs on a loose dirt track etc.

Paul.

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[yetiboy01 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close yetiboy01]

Try touching a shock that has had a good work out on long distance corrugations, it will get that hot that it will burn you, most good hydraulic oils have a working temp around 110deg C, once the oli gets too hot & airrates the shock will fade & stop working until it returns back to normal operating tempretures

If the shock is already dead will it be cold :?: not if it has run out of oil the the piston is scraping up & down inside the shock causing friction & heat

If the valve or seals are letting th eoil bypass without any restriction it would be fare enough to presume that the shock would stay cool to touch

The easiest way to check would be to compare all the shock temps on your vehicle as they should be similar