Questions about Shocks and Springs for my '97

[cooltouch]

I would like to do something about my car's ride. It's too mushy, often bottoming out when I hit even moderate bumps in the road. I don't know if this is because the shocks and struts are worn out or if this is just normal for my car. I can tell you this, however: my '98 Volvo V90 wagon, which has shocks and struts of indeterminate age, absorbs bumps easily that cause my Aurora's suspension to bottom out with a bang. So it's an aggravation just from this point alone.

So, what I'd like to do is firm up my car's ride considerably. Are there available aftermarket kits that will get me there?  So far, I've been checking around at places like rockauto.com and Summit Racing, and all they're offering, near as I can tell, are OEM-equivalent replacements.

I noticed my car has air shocks in the rear. So this has me wondering -- could at least part of the problem I'm experiencing be due to insufficient air in the rear shocks? I'm thinking there's probably an air pump somewhere. Maybe this is not working? What sort of symptoms would I be experiencing if my car's air pump wasn't working?

It appears that the front struts are probably worse off for wear than the rear shocks, though, because I get more bottoming out in the front than I do in the rear.

Also, do y'all recommend replacing the springs also, or do you find that they last for quite a while? Any chance of my finding stiffer springs, or am I stuck with the OEM variety?

Thanks in advance for any perspective you'd like to offer.

[tigger]

Here's your rear set up. I'd say the most common failure is a blown (leaking) air shock, which will eventually take out the compressor (It burns itself out trying to keep the leaking shock inflated). But failure of any of these system components renders it useless, you're basically riding on the springs. Rides like a buggy, not good for the springs long term...




From your description of the front suspension, I'd guess your struts are also toast. Depending on how long they have been shot, possibly your springs as well. A few manufacturers make "strut assemblies" for our Auroras, new strut, spring, mount, etc. Not sure if there is a direct fit for the '97, but there are ways around that, haha! Worth a search...

[Toronado3800]

If yours bottoms out easily there is definately a problem. Mine does not.

[sall]

I would definitely throw a new pair of MA882 on there as long as their is no other issue with the air ride in the rear. For the front I would get a pair of KYB struts and some new coil springs. Follow all that with front and rear poly sway bar and end link bushings. You can also do a strut tower brace and upgrade the rear sway bar to 22mm. Just depends on how far you want to go!

[cooltouch]

Thanks for the info, guys. Sall, I'm guessing you meant MA822 . . . I see where I can buy just the shocks, or I can buy the set that includes all the air lines and fittings/adapters, etc. What do you think, should I buy the kit, or will just the shocks be sufficient. I guess I should crawl around underneath the car and check things out. I pretty much don't like crawling around under cars anymore.

Tigger, thanks for the chart and the info. Yes, I'm definitely leaning more toward a performance-oriented setup, so whichever would be better for this is what I'd be interested in. The KYBs, I guess? I like the idea of going with a 22mm sway bar too. A strut tower brace is an easy and relatively cheap way to improve handling -- if I can find one.

The issue with this car will be age-related more so than mileage-related. Currently the odometer is at 40k miles. So if items like the sway bar and end link bushings are susceptible to age-related deterioration, then they'll probably need to be replaced as well.

[cooltouch]

I finally looked through the repair receipts for this car, and come to find out, the rear shocks were replaced 6,000 miles ago, albeit it was five years ago. Still, I don't think five years is all that long of a time, so I suspect the rear shocks are still within spec. Unless an air line has developed a leak or the compressor has gone out. So I guess I'll still need to check things out, make sure they're working right. But the price she got charged makes me wonder if they might have replaced the entire air shock system, including the compressor. They charged her $371 (plus labor, of course).

It sorta makes sense, though. Most of the bottoming out I've been experiencing has been coming from the front and not the rear. And there were no repair invoices for front struts, so the ones on the car are the originals.