How long do dampers usually last?

[Genie47]

My suspension is already giving strange noises. Every time go over speed bump, goes "GROCK (front), GROCK (rear)".

 

Car is slightly over 1yr old. I heard 1.5yrs and pretty much how far they go if you travel much on those kinda roads Malaysia offers.

[Helix]

I do not know if you're referring to performace/racing suspension system. My stock ones on my sonata lasted for nearly six years liao. Only recently then starting to give way. Problem crept in when I realised all four wheels got ueven wear, bumby rides and car pulling to one side.

[Cool_jazz]

Don't think its your dampers. More like bushes, linkages, etc.

My stock dampers are still good after 2 years.

[York]

depends oso....in sum suay suay case....damper leaks within an yr...

 

chk ur udr carriage...see any sign of oil leaks boh lor....

[Panda]

Maybe not your dampers?

 

Perhaps its your springs? Cos I read somewhere before that the springs bounce bounce here there, then they'll turn slightly. Somewhat like misaligned, giving out noise.

 

Damper bottom-out don't give sounds, just gives you a horse ride right?

[Wrxblue]

It is hard to determine lifespan of dampers by no. of years.

 

a damper is a wear and tear item, hence from day 1, it would be wearing away..until to a point where it will be obvious to the car owner.

 

Normally from past experience and test, a reasonable brand damper would last about 60-80K km before any obvious sign of problem on it. a good indication would be, bumpy ride, uneven wear on tyres, unstable handling, longer braking distances etc.

 

As such we must also know that a suspension system is made out of NOT just the springs and damper, there is alot of other linkages, bushings, the spring and mountings that make it a working system and that includes your tyres and rims too.

 

So the best advice I can give you is to bring your car to an experience mechanic, jack up the car and look for sign of wear and tear of the WHOLE suspension system including of course the possibility of leaks from the damper.

 

"Noises" can come from alot of areas on the car and it is always hard to trace and determine the actual area. It is still very much a trial & error unless specifically it is a recurring noise and very obvious.

 

Good Luck.Hope you will solve your problem soon.

Edited July 29, 2005 by Wrxblue

[Nightfalls]

mine gave up on me 1 yr...with 60 000km clocked...

both leaked when checked...

going to replace rear ones in a week time

[Cool_jazz]

When springs misalign.... its a "bonnnngg" sound. Happened to me b4.

[Cool_jazz]

wah... that one hopefully one in a million type....

[Pisces69]

Yup. Agree with cool_jazz. I think the sounds r more likely the bushings & linkages making those sounds.

 

Try to pin point where the sound is actually coming from & apply some synthetic grease to that joint & see if it helps?

[Fiat124sport]

My suspension is already giving strange noises. Every time go over speed bump, goes "GROCK (front), GROCK (rear)".

 

Car is slightly over 1yr old. I heard 1.5yrs and pretty much how far they go if you travel much on those kinda roads Malaysia offers.

 

If the sound is from the front, I can almost guarantee you its not the suspension. I had a hell of a time trying to find that "grock grock" sound in my Aveo too.

 

In the end, I found that the sound was coming from the steering rack. Caused by excessive play of the rack within its housing. Brought the matter up to Starsauto and the answer was that the 'play' was within their wear and tear specification! Load of bullsh*t!!!

 

Be warned, the entire steering rack and tie rods come in one non-serviceable assembly. That is why SA doesn't want to rectify the 'play', because that would mean replacing the entire assembly.

[Genie47]

Guess I have to pay a visit to CK Motors in that case. I have completely voided the warranty by doing all the servicing myself.

[Elfenstar]

My suspension is already giving strange noises. Every time go over speed bump, goes "GROCK (front), GROCK (rear)".

 

Car is slightly over 1yr old. I heard 1.5yrs and pretty much how far they go if you travel much on those kinda roads Malaysia offers.

 

If its only speedbumps, then its more likely to be the subframe bushes than the shocks. If the dampers are royally screwed, you'll hear a constant knocking sound over uneven surfaces (doesnt even have to be a bump).

 

Try the pushdown test in which you push the corner of the car down and see if it comes up immediately without bouncing. Also jack the car up from both the diff and the sump and look at the wheelheight for the wheels on each axle to see if they drop down to an even height. If you're on aftermarket dampers, check to see if the bumpstops are cracked/broken as that was my problem (you can't see these on oem dampers as there is a rubber boot that hides them.

 

I wouldn't reccomend changing any of these parts on your own though, they're simple but extremly time consuming (especially those damn bushes), even if you have access ot a hoist.

[BMW320i]

I wouldn't suppose you take humps at 60kph so there wouldn't be any reason to expect accelerated wear and tear.

[Shui75]

might b the spring oso....

[Konspire]

last time i had that sound when i cut my fron springs, so everytime got hump, MSCP ramp, uneven road, got that grock grock sound. so i guess it's the spring if the suspension is not leaking. can try to send to CAS, they hv a suspension test...

[Lukie102]

hey! mine too. but only when after I moved off after the car was parked over night. After a while it goes off...mine's aveo too

[Fiat124sport]

hey! mine too. but only when after I moved off after the car was parked over night. After a while it goes off...mine's aveo too

 

Yes, the sound is more prominent when you first start the car from cold. It's like that one......