What mileage is it normal to have to replace shocks/struts and bushings?

 

jjones, shocks/struts normally tend to last about 80K miles or so. The actual life that they will last is dependent on how you drive. The test I would recommend doing is what is called the "3 bounce" test. With the car parked on a flat surface, push down on a corner of the car and see how many times the car will bounce up and down. The car should stabilize out after 3 or less rebounds (don't count an up and a down as 2 bounces, only count the ups). Repeat this for each corner of the car. You may also notice when driving down the road the front/rear end of the car will tend to continue to bounce after hitting a bump of some sort. This would be another indication that the shocks/struts are in need of replacement. Under severe cases, you may even see abnormal tire wear due to the rebounding.

 

The issue I'm having is I hear a "chirp" coming from the rear when going over harsh bumps. Could that be the bushings? I didn't know if those tend to need replacement before the actual shocks/struts?

 

jjones, it could be the shock rubbing on itself, could be bad bushings. hard to say. If you have a lot of miles on the car, replacing the rear shocks is pretty easy and will help eliminate potential sources. If your bushings are wearing, you will be able to see this by simply looking at the rear wheels. As the bushings wear, they will cause the wheel to lean. The tops of the wheel will start to lean in normally. If you are seeing this, then it is definitely bushings (more than likely the lower forward arm).

 

okay, great thread, i think, on my car it sounds like the bushing on the passenger side rear is gone, and my wheels leaning abit, how much will this run me

 

I have 58K miles on it. I bought it with 32K so I'm sure they are original equipment for the shocks and bushings. I'll take a look at the tires and see if there's a lean or anything. Thanks for the info.

 

For members who have changed their shocks, did you use OEM parts, or did you go aftermarket? What was the pricing of the shocks like?

With 24,000 miles on my X-Type, I'm a long way from having to change mine. But I'm curious because on another car I owned, the Nissan dealer wanted $400 per shock (!) so I went with higher quality aftermarket shocks for ~$80 on each corner.

Are aftermarket shocks readily available for the X-Type? With the AWD system and fairly unique suspension system, I'm wondering if the shocks are special/weird in some way.

 

it depends, theres a few lowering ones out there, but those are the only ones i've seen. Im not sure about oem, or orginal ride height ones that are offered.

 

Disco, I have been finding the lower control arms (forward ones that run between the frame and the spindle) for about $100 a side. I haven't been able to get it much less than that. The big thing is you have to go to a foreign car parts place. The standard shops don't carry the parts.

 

Had all bushings and one shock replaced at a Dallas dealer for about $480.

 

480, thats cheap
and yeah i have to look outside the dealer for parts from now on