Shocks and Struts at our Sandy shop
Shocks and struts keep the tires on the road, and they wear out gradually enough that most people adjust to the change rather than noticing it. At McNeil's Auto Care in Sandy they are inspected properly instead of assessed from the driver's seat.
They are different components. A shock absorber damps suspension movement. A strut does that too but is also part of the suspension structure, which is why strut replacement normally calls for an alignment afterwards while shock replacement often does not.
Sandy runs its own safety and emissions testing lane, and worn dampers and leaking struts are the kind of thing a safety inspection flags. If something is found during a test it can be repaired and the vehicle rechecked here, with DMV renewal handled on site.
Diving under braking, a floaty ride, roll through corners, cupped tire wear or fluid visible on the damper body all point the same way. Worn dampers also increase stopping distance, which matters more than the comfort people usually complain about first.
You are shown what the inspection found and given a price before anything is authorized. Sandy is an AAA Approved Auto Repair facility and the designated number one NAPA shop worldwide, rated 4.6 from 1,161 reviews, open Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Questions
Shocks and Struts in Sandy, answered
- What does an inspector actually look at on the suspension?
- Fluid on the outside of a damper body, play in the mounting points and bushings, corroded or damaged components, and whether the vehicle sits level. It is a visual and physical check rather than a performance measurement, so a damper can pass an inspection and still be well past its useful life.
- Can you tell how worn they are without taking anything apart?
- Largely, yes. Pushing the body down tells us whether it settles in one movement or keeps going, and we look for fluid, for play in the mounts and at the wear pattern on the tires. Cupped or scalloped tread is a damper problem showing up somewhere else.
- Are aftermarket dampers worth it over the original part?
- It depends what you want from the vehicle. A quality aftermarket unit matched to the application rides much as the original did and often costs less. Firmer performance options exist and genuinely change the character of the car, which is fine if you chose it and unwelcome if nobody mentioned it.
- Does towing or carrying loads shorten their life?
- Yes. Towing, roof loads and a vehicle that regularly runs heavy all work the dampers harder and put more heat through them, and heat is what breaks down the oil inside. Say so when you book: the right replacement for a working vehicle is not always the standard one.
Speak to the Sandy shop