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  #1  
Old 01-01-2022, 12:36 AM
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Blown front strut?

400kms from home on a 2,000km road trip and I spot this...




Pretty sure it's a blown strut - and I know exactly where it happened too (shitty roads... ) - subsequent bumps felt wrong after that point... front right "rattled"...

Nothing I can do about it on New Year's Day so I'll limp it home....
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Last edited by wpoll; 01-30-2022 at 04:25 AM.
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  #2  
Old 01-01-2022, 03:29 AM
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All that weight from the steel motor. (in jest of course) better than a deer.


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  #3  
Old 01-09-2022, 12:49 AM
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The images above resulted in this...



OE units - Bilstein B4
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Old 01-09-2022, 03:10 AM
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Oh nice! I'm pretty sure OE is the B4 Bilsteins.

I'm gonna guess and say you'll be re-using the springs, ya? Do you mind reporting back how the old ones behave once you release the springs? Like...can you easily tell they're shot by not having the fluid in them in comparison to the new replacements...
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Old 01-09-2022, 04:03 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RocketyMan View Post
Oh nice! I'm pretty sure OE is the B4 Bilsteins.
Yep, the B4 are the OE fitted shock/strut. That's why I went with them.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RocketyMan View Post
I'm gonna guess and say you'll be re-using the springs, ya? Do you mind reporting back how the old ones behave once you release the springs? Like...can you easily tell they're shot by not having the fluid in them in comparison to the new replacements...
Correct - will re-use the original springs but adding new secondary absorbtion (bump stops) - got some Febi-Bilstein units on order.

Will I be able to tell how bad the old shock/strut is? Heck yeah!! I can already tell... the oil is a giveaway... if all the oil is out (and it all is - no further leaking, so no oil left!), then the gas is gone also. This leave a piston and some air. That isn't going to absorb squat - nor will it rebound... but sure, I was planning on checking and I'll report back.
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Old 01-10-2022, 12:12 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wpoll View Post
Yep, the B4 are the OE fitted shock/strut. That's why I went with them.



Correct - will re-use the original springs but adding new secondary absorbtion (bump stops) - got some Febi-Bilstein units on order.

Will I be able to tell how bad the old shock/strut is? Heck yeah!! I can already tell... the oil is a giveaway... if all the oil is out (and it all is - no further leaking, so no oil left!), then the gas is gone also. This leave a piston and some air. That isn't going to absorb squat - nor will it rebound... but sure, I was planning on checking and I'll report back.
I'm just trying to figure out if the shocks and struts are shot on my X3. I don't notice any misting nor oil leaking. It seems to go over bumps fine. But with the vehicle on jacks and the shocks/struts fully extended, I can easily lift up on them a little bit.
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Old 01-10-2022, 01:02 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RocketyMan View Post
I'm just trying to figure out if the shocks and struts are shot on my X3. I don't notice any misting nor oil leaking. It seems to go over bumps fine. But with the vehicle on jacks and the shocks/struts fully extended, I can easily lift up on them a little bit.
Shocks can be worn out long before they show any external signs of failure.

The reverse cannot be said!

It's likely that any spring pressure will "hide" any forces from the shock's damping operation, at least when testing it by hand, since the spring extension forces are many times those of the shock.

I'm surprised you can move the wheel by hand, against the spring. That doesn't sound normal. Maybe there is a bit of slack in the suspension...

Anywho... you cannot easily determine the state of the shock while it is installed in the vehicle, beyond judgements based on re-bound testing and general driving/handling impressions. Or horrible noises...

Some auto shock service shops may have shock testing rigs that can simulate real-world road loading and give you a report. Cheaper to simply replace them based on your own judgement, along with mileage.
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Old 01-10-2022, 02:44 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wpoll View Post
Shocks can be worn out long before they show any external signs of failure.

The reverse cannot be said!

It's likely that any spring pressure will "hide" any forces from the shock's damping operation, at least when testing it by hand, since the spring extension forces are many times those of the shock.

I'm surprised you can move the wheel by hand, against the spring. That doesn't sound normal. Maybe there is a bit of slack in the suspension...

Anywho... you cannot easily determine the state of the shock while it is installed in the vehicle, beyond judgements based on re-bound testing and general driving/handling impressions. Or horrible noises...

Some auto shock service shops may have shock testing rigs that can simulate real-world road loading and give you a report. Cheaper to simply replace them based on your own judgement, along with mileage.
Yeah...good point. It only has 114k miles on the vehicle, and I think it was used for towing quite a bit by the PO.

Well I hope your replacements will be night and day noticeable.
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Old 01-10-2022, 03:01 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RocketyMan View Post
Yeah...good point. It only has 114k miles on the vehicle, and I think it was used for towing quite a bit by the PO.

Well I hope your replacements will be night and day noticeable.
Pretty sure they will - compared to the current state of the factory units!

That said, they were still pretty good before one blew out, with over a quarter of a million kms on them.
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Old 01-10-2022, 11:59 AM
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I'm pretty sure that the OE Bilsteins are different from the B4s. That said, I'm very happy with my Bilstein B4s. You definitely want to do the rears when you get a chance. Hopefully they come off backorder sometime soon.
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