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Shock absorber in boot of car!

3K views 8 replies 7 participants last post by  russcoop 
#1 ·
I was driving at around 30mph when I hit a crater of a pot hole, and at the time didn't really think too much of it aside from 'that was a big one'.

Around 20mins of driving later, and I started to hear a banging noise from the boot. I pulled over to discover my shock absorber was in the boot the the car! I assume that my shock mount has given up, but it was definitely a surprise!

I've attached some photos of the damage. Does anyone know how much of an arse it is to replace the shock mount?
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#4 ·
Yup, I've had that happen, too. Had reinforcement plates installed when it happened. It was enough of an impact with a degraded enough bumpstop that it pushed the rubber right out of the metal plate of the rear upper mount. The bumpstop wasn't even still on the shock, it was just gone. I had this issue with whatever brand of mounts ECS Tuning supplied in their basic cup kit installation kit. I switched to some Meyle HD mounts, which appear to be bonded to the metal, and made sure to install fresh bumpstops and haven't had any issues since. Mine never pushed the whole rubber through the interior trim, but definitely poked the top of the shock through. Happened on the Tapenzee Bridge coming out of NYC in summer of 2014.
 
#6 ·
I think you have the wrong lower washer installed on those shocks.
The original washer is very much so oversized. This way should the rear shock mount "blow out", the oversized washer will rattle like hell, but will NOT enter the trunk.

Better a noisy mount VS: a shock absorber that is NOT connected and now the car has very little control!

Should be mounted as pictured; cupped edge DOWN!
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#7 · (Edited)
In taking a closer look at your 2nd. photo; it seems as if the oversized washer is still there.
However it is leaning over to the side. This suggests that the hole in the center was rusty (?) and has worn through.

If you look at the washer I showed above, the center hole is larger than the first step on the shock, however SMALLER than the 2nd. step. This will prevent any RSM blowout from letting the shock punch through.

Get new washers & mounts and inspect the step on the shock to make sure it's not rounded in any way.
I just have to believe that had to have made some noise prior to blowing out?

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