VIDEO: What Happens When Shocks And Struts Lose Their Oil And Gas
What wears out on a shock or strut is the fluid and gas inside and the seals that keep the ingredients inside. Andrew Markel explores how the fluid and gas can escape and what happens to the stability of the vehicle.
Active Ride Control: Diagnostics And Replacement Options
So, what makes a shock or strut “active?”
Matching The Components To The Application: Ride Control System Protocol
A shock absorber is designed to dampen oscillations in leaf or coil springs by enclosing a piston and rod assembly inside a cylinder filled with oil. The shell or casing generally mounts on the axle or control arm while the piston rod assembly mounts to the frame.
VIDEO: Inspecting Ride Control Components The Correct Way
In this video, Andrew Markel covers why the old-fashioned knee test is not valid for late-model cars and trucks when inspecting shocks and struts. Modern shocks and strut have valving that can sense low- and high-frequency movements that can create problems for technicians who test these components with their knees.
Undercover: Why Shocks And Struts Fade And Fail
Most shocks and struts today are “gas-pressurized” with nitrogen to minimize fluid foaming when the piston is pumping back and forth.
Electronically Adjustable Dampener Diagnosis
Electronically adjustable shocks and struts use conventional mono-tube and twin-tube oil-filled dampeners. The rods, gas chambers and piston have the construction of passive units.
VIDEO: Shock Wear Maintenance
Andrew Markel goes over what can wear out on a shock assembly and why it is important to check the inside of a shock as well as the outside.
How To Prime Twin Tube Shocks And Struts
Occasionally, light-vehicle twin tube shocks and struts are misdiagnosed as faulty when removed from the box for installation. On the initial stroke of the product you may notice a dead band or erratic damping at the top of the stroke of the twin tube shock or strut. This is a normal occurrence and the shock will function properly once it has been primed.
Raising Awareness: Monroe Brings Attention to Undercar Inspections
#EverythingGetsOld What’s more impacting than a television or radio ad? More visible than hundreds of roadside billboards? More jaw-droppingly memorable than a blimp fly-over? How about the 25-foot-long, 10-foot-high, translucent Monroe OESpectrum shock absorber that will be driven to more than 50 North American cities this summer and fall? Tenneco’s Monroe Shocks and Struts brand
Tips on Choosing the Best Ride Control for Customers
Shocking Evidence During the fall of 1989, when I was working as a mechanic for an off-road desert racing team, we raced the famous Mint 400 held in Las Vegas. At that time, the 400-mile road course consisted of bumps, jumps and basketball-sized rocks just waiting to break a suspension system. About 50% of all
