Blown Shock?

TheRoyalDoyle

TheRoyalDoyle

New member
I just installed a brand spanking new set of Bilstein 5160 the dual resevoir shocks that come with the AEV lift kit, and walking up to the jeep in the parking lot after dinner it looked like it was leaning to one side. I looked at the grade of the lot and figured it was just that, then we got home. Jeep still looks like it is leaning to the passenger side. So I get under it. Front looks good. Everything looks normal. Rear driver looks good. Rear passenger is covered in what looks to be oily dust. All the other shocks are a bit dusty but not coated like this one was. How do I tell if the shock is bad or blown? Do I need to take it off of the Jeep to do so?
 
should NOT be leaking anything. if they are new, I would either take it where you bought the lift/shocks OR call bilstein and have them replace it!

andrew-
 
paychex.308 said:
should NOT be leaking anything. if they are new, I would either take it where you bought the lift/shocks OR call bilstein and have them replace it!

andrew-
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I cant see a distinct leak, but it feels like is covered in oil. >< This BLOWS. The jeep pulls to the right a bit also, so I think that a right rear blown strut would cause that? I will call northridge tomorrow and see if they will over night a new one.... Really sucks I wanted to go wheelin this weekend.
 
A lean to the passenger side is totally normal on a JK and a blown shock would not be the cause of it.
 
The shock is there to take the bounce out of the spring. Push down hard and release the corner of the Jeep. If it moves no more than one smaller movement the shock is working. If it bounces more the shock is blown. Compare it to the opposite corner.

It leans because the shock will resist compression and help the coil lift the frame. A blown shock puts all the weight on the coil.

The oil will most likely be leaking from the seal where the rod comes out. It could have been improperly installed but fully compressing the shock hard will cause it to fail also. Improper size bumpstops will allow the shock the compress hard and blow it out.
 
TheRoyalDoyle said:
SO how do I tell if the shock is good or not. Oily substance would point to it being blown yes? Why do they lean?
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All JK's lean to the passenger side due to the location of the gas tank. If you want to correct this, you can do so with adjustable swaybar links that are purposefully set at uneven lengths.

Oily substance doesn't necessarily mean that a shock is blown. It could have a leaky seal but, that in and of itself is not that much of a problem and wouldn't cause a lean. If you want to know if it's still good for sure, pull the shock and cycle it by hand. It should offer considerable resistance if it's still good, none if it's blown and if it doesn't move at all, it's seized up.
 
Skirmish said:
The shock is there to take the bounce out of the spring. Push down hard and release the corner of the Jeep. If it moves no more than one smaller movement the shock is working. If it bounces more the shock is blown. Compare it to the opposite corner.

It leans because the shock will resist compression and help the coil lift the frame. A blown shock puts all the weight on the coil.

The oil will most likely be leaking from the seal where the rod comes out. It could have been improperly installed but fully compressing the shock hard will cause it to fail also. Improper size bumpstops will allow the shock the compress hard and blow it out.
Click to expand...

Well the bump stops are from AEV that they package with this kit, I would assume that they did their homework, and everything is fit properly. As far as a bad install, possible but highly unlikely, though I did it on my drive way, I have been installing suspension on race cars for several years. The hard part is dealing with lifted vehicles. Never done one. I know what failed shocks look like, the only issues is the ones that I see fail, fail in a huge way. Blowouts. Never slow leaks. I will keep an eye on it, and put a call into Northridge just to keep them updated. Its still really weird to me to see the Jeep lean like it does and assume its ok. lol oh well guess I have to learn.
 
wayoflife said:
All JK's lean to the passenger side due to the location of the gas tank. If you want to correct this, you can do so with adjustable swaybar links that are purposefully set at uneven lengths.

Oily substance doesn't necessarily mean that a shock is blown. It could have a leaky seal but, that in and of itself is not that much of a problem and wouldn't cause a lean. If you want to know if it's still good for sure, pull the shock and cycle it by hand. It should offer considerable resistance if it's still good, none if it's blown and if it doesn't move at all, it's seized up.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys, I appreciate all the feed back. I will take a look.
 
TheRoyalDoyle said:
Well the bump stops are from AEV that they package with this kit, I would assume that they did their homework, and everything is fit properly. As far as a bad install, possible but highly unlikely, though I did it on my drive way, I have been installing suspension on race cars for several years. The hard part is dealing with lifted vehicles. Never done one. I know what failed shocks look like, the only issues is the ones that I see fail, fail in a huge way. Blowouts. Never slow leaks. I will keep an eye on it, and put a call into Northridge just to keep them updated. Its still really weird to me to see the Jeep lean like it does and assume its ok. lol oh well guess I have to learn.
Click to expand...

Not your failed install, the manufacturer. Sorry for the confusion.
 
Well its official. Did a little driving today annnnd......



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