Best way to know if it needs new struts is to press down or bounce on the bumper over the shock you want to check. When you let of (or get off), the car should raise up, then stop without further bounciness. If it goes up, then down, then up again on that corner, my guess would be that strut is bad. Check each strut in that method. If all seems ok, crawl under the vehicle to physically check for fluid leaking from them. No leaking, I'd say all is OK.
Shocks & struts generally last a long time without any trouble, unless the vehicle is prone to carrying heavy weights over a long period of time.
You can also park the vehicle on level ground and then use a tape measure to measure from the ground to the fender (comparing rear/side-to-side) and front/side-to-side) If one side sits lower than the other, that could be caused by the strut losing pressure.
I'd have someone you can depend on at a shop tell you for sure if you're not sure.
I'm sure others will chime in
Last edited by Ole-Boy : 06-23-2009 at 02:28 AM.
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