How do I know if my struts and/or shocks are kicked? My 1992 lx 5.0 has originals still on. It's hard for me to tell by the hardness of the ride since I've been driving it for 10 years and its always been a hard ride...
i would bet they have seen better days. upgrade when you do it....
i always push down on a corner, and if the car dips, rebounds, and then settles without bouncing again, i assume they are not totally shot (i.e., if it bottoms out on its own after your initial push and rebound, they are bad).
but remember, stuff can pass this test and be functionally shot. most wear occurs in a very small range of travel. that range will develop a dead spot, while the rest of the range, like tested above, will be ok this is since that range is not used much compared to the initial off-rest range.
Makes sense to me...must be spacey too. They definitely don't bottom out or bounce around when compressed. If anything they feel like they're getting firmer over the years giving a harder ride over the bumps.
I just put a set of shocks on mine a couple of weeks ago. Mine still had the stockers and if I pushed down on the hatch the car would bounce a good three times before settling. My ride seems alot stiffer with the new shocks. I just got a set of monroe sensatrac shocks at the local parts place.