Celica Forums General Discussion Engine and Performance how can you tell when your shocks are shot

I lowered my car about a year ago, I've herad that when you do that, it kills the factory shocks - how can you tell?

not neccesarily, specially a light car like ours, but you will notice a lot of bounce when its worn down.

Push down on the hood with some force.

If the car rises up and stops, they're fine.
If it comes up and keeps bouncing, they need to be replaced.

yeah or push on the back

dude, trust me ull know when ur struts wear out.
if you have a spring kit other than eibach or TRD, you have a good chance that ur struts will wear out. it depends how low the car was dropped, how stiff the new springs make the suspension, and wut road conditions you drive in.
its very noticable and simple to tell if struts are messed.
on bumps, ur car will just hump more than it would. push down the car from anywhere from the front or back and if theyre shot the car will bounce back up to u. the way you can definetly tell is put it in gear, drive till 4000rpm or 6000rpm or wherever you want it til and let go the gas. if ur car humps then you need struts. letting the gas go on a mid or high rpm will give you the downforce and if the struts are ok it will only bounce up once and then you can tell its stiff. if the struts are gone, then you would feel ur on a horse

sweet - mine are fine, thanks

when you hit a bump and you hear a 'bang' from your bumpstops...that's a pretty good indicator

i hate when that happens...usually the bang i hear is from me hitting the subframe

^^^Take it easy on the car!

When you're driving highway or freeway and it bounces alot, your shocks are done.