What's the life expectancy for shock absorbers / struts? My low mileage '74 2.0L still has the original factory units installed.....even has the factory paint markings still intact. I have no intention of replacing the shocks unless they're unsafe. It has the factory ride height with no signs of sagging in any of the corners.

Jeff,

Dang! You could eat off any surface in that trunk bay!

It's possible that they're still good if the rubber dampers inside haven't deteriorated.

Try the ole "bounce test" - get each corner going up-n-down by hand, then release & if it doesn't reduce each bounce then stop at rest after about 3 bounces, you probably need new shock/strut at that corner (but always replace in L-R pairs).

PS - BTW, Congratz on your Eagles win!
... If my Steelers couldn't be in it this year, at least it's another team from the other end of the state!


Tom
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Don’t know how long any brand can last, but my friend just sent Koni the ones he replaced in his ‘72 911 back in 1980, and they determined they were worn out and sent him new ones as he had kept his receipt. I have both Bilsteins and Konis in my car, and they seem to still be working fine for over 20 years.

Jeff...that is one clean looking shock top and fuel tank area! Very Nice!

Is there anything in driving your 914 that makes you suspect a shock problem now?

Shocks are one of those things that on a street car unless abused, leaking, or some other damage will wear be very very slow. To the point where you hardly notice it at all.

The old timers first check is to push up and down on each corner rapidly...if there is no resistance and the car continues to buounce up and down then yes you need shocks.

If driving down the highway and you hit a bump/pot hole and your get a SLAM then maybe so.

If you have a correct alignment and when driving down the highway you get a rolling wallowing sensation then probably so.

So us some more pics of that beauty...John

If the ride is good, leave them. If the rear springs don't look like they are sagging, leave them. If you want to play, try some different shocks. Send your originals out for a rebuild, it's done all the time. It won't save you money but it's an option.

Sweet. Your car looks almost as clean as mine. Not to brag or anything. Keep it stock as long as possible. How does the car handle? Is there patchy wear on the tires?

The car drives as new.....my intention is to keep everything stock for as long as possible.

Is there a way to test shocks out of the car? I was just looking at my (I assume original) Boge front strut inserts and they seem to provide even resistance pushing or pulling through the full range. I'd also like to keep the originals as long as possible.

“shock dynamometer is a piece of equipment that allows us to diagnose and correct flaws in the damping capabilities of your forks or shock absorbers. ... When the “dyno run” is completed, the computer generates a graphical damping curve of the component's available damping force in both compression and rebound.”

Interesting. Is that something I should be able to find out here in the wilderness? What kind of shop would have such a thing? And I assume there are reference specs available somewhere for comparing the results?

Unfortunately, shock dynos are rather rare and not frequently used except outside of characterizing dampers for racecars, etc. You're likely not going to find one around you to test your shocks; if you do a run might cost as much as new hardware.

Okay, thanks. I guess maybe the best bet will be to just reinstall them, give 'em the bounce test and see how they ride? I think these OEM Boge/Sachs shocks are NLA so it would be nice to hang on to them if possible.

Use them until you feel like they are worn and then replace or have them rebuilt. Rebuilding usually cost as much as a new shock but you will keep your oem part. I think the shock dyno cost us $80 per shock. You will have to send it out to get the testing and or services done.