When I first bought the car I noticed a slight bumping sound in the left rear that progressively became worse. I easily diagnosed it as a busted shock when I found that it was leaking fluid while its passenger side twin was not.

I decided to buy two KYB Gas-a-Just shock absorbers and installed them both. Needless to say, this was my first time replacing shocks on a Jag so this was a learning experience that took the better part of a weekend. My father and I managed to get everything back together and the noise was gone!

After about two months of driving I hit a rather nasty bump or pothole that I did not see and heard something break (rear left again). After that there was a jingling sound and the familiar bumping noise had returned. I removed the tire and confirmed that the jingling sound was a washer and that the entire shock had become detached from the body and is now just resting inside of the coil spring. I do not see any fluid leaking from this new shock.

Before I decide to compress the spring and go through that dreaded process again, is there any way to check the mounts to see if something broke, or does this sound like a defect in the shock?