OEM Shock question...shelf life (1 Viewer)

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FirstFJ60

SGT. Lincoln Osiris
Joined
Oct 16, 2017
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Location
virginia Beach
Question. I purchased a lot of stuff in 2017 for my 84 FJ60. One of which were Rear OEM shocks new in the packages. I kept them in my garage. I decided to take them out of their packages this week and noticed there is NO resistance...meaning they dont expand. There were no plastic restraints to keep them compressed. When I tried to expand them...there was resistance; however, they compressed rapidly with No resistance back to their compressed state...I mean it felt like no oil or nothing in chamber for resistance. I took pictures of shock being New in Package before taking them out...I did this hoping to post on here for " what did you do to your 60 this weekend".
I called the people on Monday and they said someone would call me back that day...did not receive a call back. I called yesterday morning and they said someone would call me back...again no return call. Im waiting back to hear back from which they said someone would call me back...but no has returned my calls. They said the owner and shop are looking into it. Im not going to call them out and give them the benefit of the doubt and I know how busy business can get. My questions are:
1) Do shocks loose their resistance and/or go bad over time....or have a shelf life. The pkg date was 2017, the year I bought them in Dec that year.
2) Since they were NIP, never dropped or mishandled and have this problem, what are your opinion as to what happened to the shocks?
3) Your thoughts on what should this place should do (if anything) since both shocks are defective apparently but bought back in 2017. Am I &@!* out of luck?
 
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Some shock designs do not have a gas charge and these types of shocks won’t extend on there own. I feel like because of the resistance trying to extend them that they do have oil in them. I would try and cycle them a bunch and see how they start reacting. Then try to push them back down fast and see if you can feel resistance in that direction.
 
Some shock designs do not have a gas charge and these types of shocks won’t extend on there own. I feel like because of the resistance trying to extend them that they do have oil in them. I would try and cycle them a bunch and see how they start reacting. Then try to push them back down fast and see if you can feel resistance in that direction.
I tried recycling them about 4 times but still no resistance. I will try a few more times.
 
It might be hard to notice by hand. Compression is usually super fast. I’d try and throw them on the car and see how they drive.
 
It might be hard to notice by hand. Compression is usually super fast. I’d try and throw them on the car and see how they drive.
Ok...so I recycled them (pulling them up) until they were nearly at the top of extension ( and they had a major resistance) and push them back down...not much resistance. You know when you take off a shock and you can compress them with your hands...it feels mushy like that. Once I push them down there is no recoil. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but shocks should have some rebound...correct?. Because of this, how would they act differently if I put them on the truck?
 
I think those are non-gas shocks, as mentioned. If left on their side, shocks can get all funky. Be sure they are vertical when you are cycling them to get the oil back to where it belongs. If after 10-20 cycles in a vertical position) they are limp and lifeless (alright, hold the jokes), I'm not sure what to suggest. You might let them sit a couple days (again, in the installed/vertical position) and see if they recover. It's hard to believe that OEM Toyota shocks would die just by sitting on their sides.

Re-read this, and @LazarusTaxa may be right in that (especially with a leaf spring) you don't want a lot of compression resistance since that's the part of the bump you feel. You can also just say 'screw it' and install them and see how the truck rides. If you like it, you're good.
 
Ok...so I recycled them (pulling them up) until they were nearly at the top of extension ( and they had a major resistance) and push them back down...not much resistance. You know when you take off a shock and you can compress them with your hands...it feels mushy like that. Once I push them down there is no recoil. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but shocks should have some rebound...correct?. Because of this, how would they act differently if I put them on the truck?
When you hit a bump driving you will compress that shock faster than you will ever be able to do by hand. When that compression happens, I am almost 100% certain the shock will perform as they should. Then on the rebound stroke, the shock will slow the spring down. You want the rebound slow but not too slow to where you're not getting your travel back before another bump. If you didn't have oil in your shock, it would not have the resistance that it has on rebound. I honestly think your shock is normal.
 
Did you try holding upper and lower ends of shock and twisting them? I had shocks once. I thought they were dead until twisting them. Boom they came right to life. Good luck
 
Well, I found out that there was nothing wrong with the OEM shocks. The older OEM shocks are Hydraulic not gas. I stopped by and asked an old mechanic at the garage I take my cars to get inspected. He said Hydraulic shocks act this way regarding rebound...as some on you have mentioned. With advice of @CarterTheFarter, I cycled them and a few more times and they are acting the way hydraulic shocks work. In my lifetime, I've always changed out Gas shocks for which I'm use to there action of rebounding on their own. This might sound stupid, but ignorance is a lack of knowledge. I learned and I'm good with that...gaining knowledge. The old mechanic also said, older cars that are designed for hydraulic shocks with leaf springs should stick to them and not put gas shocks on them as they might make the vehicle more bouncier. I don't know but I will put them on this weekend and see. BTW, that business never called me back.
 
Glad to here everything is ok with them and I wasn’t giving you bad info! As far as not putting gas shocks on leaf sprung vehicles, I think as long as your valving is set up correctly (vehicle weight, spring rate, etc) you’ll be good to go.
 

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