Was driving today when I heard a loud whistle. Rear driver-side shock was sounding off like a firework! Barely made it home with "car too low" warning.

​​​​​​Anyone else hear that same sound? Top seal? Loose hose fitting? Torn bladder? I'll be checking it out in the next day or two, just wondering if this whistling failure is common.

I'm pretty sure it's gonna need replacing. About 1000$ for the Arnott, or 1700$ for the Bilstein, in pairs. Are the Arnott still a toss up or have they improved? The company says their shocks are better than the Bilstein...

Anyone have experience with the Arnott AS-2889 comfort rear shock?

 

I feel your pain. Not sure how to determine a air line, strut or other failure in the rear. If it's anything like the front, then blank the suspected strut at the air line termination. Run the car up to pressure and see if it holds. If it holds pressure, then you can be fairly sure it's that strut. If not, it's likely elsewhere in the rear air line. If money was no object, I would just go Bilstein. The only other struts I can comment on is the rebuilt RMT's I bought that both failed in my case. It's no big deal to replace fronts with a floor jack and stands. I imagine it's kinda the same deal for rear, but I'm sure someone will chime in with more info.

Either way. Have patience.

 

The rears are slightly more difficult to replace, simply because the top of the strut fits into an inverted "bucket" in the bodywork, and you can't see where the bolts are going. It takes two people to guide it, one up top and one underneath. The fronts are a straightforward 1-man job.

 

I replaced both rears on my own. Just followed the Bilstein video that I found online. Don't remember it being too difficult.

 

rear is literally a 1 minute job

 

Different cars, or what? (I know it's the same car,) but I couldn't get the bolts into the holes because I couldn't see how they lined up. I was by myself, so i had to prop the strut up with a jack, go up top and see where the bolts were relative to the holes, then go back underneath and try to wriggle that correction in. It took 2 or 3 tries per side.

The fronts were easy, except for having to go buy a T60 bit which I'll never ever have any need for ever again...

 

Well I looked at the rear air shock today. I lifted the rear, pumped air into the shock, then began raising up the tire to pressure the shock. It started pissing air and hydraulic fluid from the weep hole in the bottom of the accordion boot. So it looks like it not only blew the air bag but the piston rod seal too. In fact, I bet the leaking fluid is what compromised the bladder.

Now comes the hard part: Bilstein, Arnott, or coil conversion...

I'd like to hear everyone's stubbornly bias opinions.

 

LATE UPDATE

I found a used original shock on Ebay for 100$, it looked clean so I went for it. I put it in and the car went back to normal performance, no leaks. Let it sit for several days and had no lowering. I test drove it and noticed a smoother ride than before, specially when going over speed bumps. I'm guessing that the shock that went bad had a bad hydraulic seal and had been leaking fluid for a while, because the rear would bounce and clunk over speed bumps. With the replacement used rear shock it feels smoother over bumps and smoother in general.

 

I have had multiple shocks fail, on each corner. Never heard a whistle.
But now sold on the Arnott. They ride great. Gave up on RMT. Not springing for Bilstein.