struts

[dr-wall2001se]

How do you know when your struts are shot? I know I have slight wear on my inner tie rods but of course the dealership says to fix those right away.....If I get the struts and inner tie rods done together I guess I'll save an alignment instead of doing them separately.Any words of wisdom?

[MinisterofDOOM]

There are a few ways to test. One of the more common is the "bounce test." Put your weight on the car, pressing it down, then let off abruptly. You could also rock the car up and down with your weight, then let go at the bottom.If the car floats back up smoothly and rests where it's supposed to be, your shocks are probably still good. If it bounces up and down a few times, you probably need to replace them. There's no real "rule" as to how many bounces are too many...just watch it and see if it looks acceptable to you.

Another way is to drive over a section of road (such as highway) that has a joint in the pavement that drops (overpass, bridge, etc). If the car keeps oscillating, you need new shocks. If it recovers smoothly, you should be okay.