I am having the shocks "bottom out" on their bumpers with that horrible sound when traveling a bit too fast on desert dirt roads. It seems to be happening more often than 20K miles ago, but the mechanic keeps saying there is no indication of leaks, and the old "push 'em down" test seems to give good damping quality. I don't want to spend the money and get no real benefit, but I sure would like to get better ride performance when I fail to see a dip in the road. What is a proper test to perform in order to know when the shocks are spent and should be replaced? And what shock absorber would you recommend for a 1995 Cherokee with 200K miles, used as an "every day" vehilcle, as well as a "one weekend a month" desert dirt road Jeep? Thx

 

http://www.shocksandsuspension.com/showitems-dc-1.htm
I love these. i run the 8000s. i avereage 400 miles a week on my junk

Are your bump stops still there? if not fix them, they are there for a reason

 

1) Go to the suspect corner
2) Press down sharply on the bumper. Use as much of your weight as possible, but do not hold the corner down.
3) Release.

The corner shouldn't bounce more than about twice before it seriously dampens - if it keeps going, the shock damper is shot and wants replacing.

The bumpstops are there for sudden shocks that the dampers can't dampen, or for when the dampers begin to fail.

Those tubular things aren't actually "shock absorbers" - that's what the springs do. They're more properly "shock dampers" - they slow down the spring articulation, and dampen off the oscillations of the suspension in a controlled manner (so you don't lose control.)

When the shock dampers begin to fail, they don't do their job as well - which means that the oscillations will continue for much longer than they need to. It won't get as bad as removing the shock dampers entirely would make it, but it can get pretty bad.

Check the dampers, replace PRN. I've done a couple of "four-corners" jobs on the shock dampers on the XJ - and it's usually been good for about a couple of hours (just be careful with the upper rear shock mounts - they can be seized, particularly in "salty roads" areas.)

 

Thanks for your advice....

 

They leaf springs on my '01 xj are sitting a kind of flat, is it time to replace the shock absorbers?
It's go 70k miles of mostly north east US city driving, but now it lives in the desert and we do a fair amount of off-roading. It also makes a lot of creeking noises

 

The shocks do nothing for the leaf spring arch. If your leafs are flat best course is to replace them and shocks, since after that many miles your shocks are probably toast

 

Creaking noises? Welcome to owning an XJ...

Anyway, time to replace your leaf springs.

 

i was afraid that was the answer. thanks guys

 

LOL my jeep creaks and moans like an old arthritic spinster sometimes. I've just come to accept it as an XJ thing.