How long do rear shockies last.

[Cruisertod]

Hey fellas. I have a 100 series with the height control suspension and I do tow a trailer a fair bit. I am wondering how long the rear shockies should last and the ways I can tell if they are buggered. I feel I'm getting a bit more body roll of late but when at a standstill I rock hell out of it but appears pretty stable , but I'm assuming it's the height suspension stopping it. I have owned for 4 years. Thanks

 

[Wilsil]

I don't think you can give a number as it all depends on the driving the car have done.
Lots of off road will shorten it, only city driving will extend it.

 

[Cruisertod]

Any idea how I can tell when they shot? Must be someone on here that works in the suspension industry. Thanks

 

[Kigiin]

At least 188k mikes.

 

[TXLX100]

With AHC there are different things to consider. The "shockies" on your truck are actually hydraulic rams. The accumulators perform the bulk of the damping function. If the shocks aren't leaking a ton of fluid, they are probably still good, you may have another issue.

 

[2000 LC]

Took mine off at 150k however I do not have AHC but I'm assuming you could easily get that kind of mileage on them if not much more. Mine probably had a decent amount of life in them.

 

[cruiser03]

Hey fellas. I have a 100 series with the height control suspension and I do tow a trailer a fair bit. I am wondering how long the rear shockies should last and the ways I can tell if they are buggered. I feel I'm getting a bit more body roll of late but when at a standstill I rock hell out of it but appears pretty stable , but I'm assuming it's the height suspension stopping it. I have owned for 4 years. Thanks

Depends on how frequently you change the AHC fluid. Toyota has an add package in it to make it very slippery for the seals in the AHC shocks(hydraulic rams actually). When the AHC shocks heat up the fluid loses its protective properties and the seals begin to wear. The seals are black in color and dissolve into the fluid in a very fine black powder that makes its way into the plastic AHC reservoir eventually and sticks to the walls. Under the hood temps are high enough that the dissolved black seal will stick to the reservoir walls and you will not be able to view your fluid level. Safest approach is to change it at 15k, 30k at most. Make sure you let the 100 sit all the way down on the stops two times to get all the fluid flushed out. You will not be able to get all the fluid out, however two flushes will provide enough clean fluid to protect the seals. There is virtually no guidance in the FSM about this - and IMHO the weakest maintenance part of a 100 series. With proper fluid changes they should last as long as the 100.

 

[stonepa]

At least 188k mikes.

I second that. Hard to believe but 311k miles this evening. I've never changed the shocks on my rig and it seems to drive like it did when I bought it 16 years ago. Of course, my memory could be failing. Now, before I get flamed, this is highly unusual for me. My 60 and my 4Runner get regular shock changes, every 40-50k miles. But the 100 never seems to need them. They haven't leaked, they haven't rusted out (but they are plenty rusty), they haven't broken, and they haven't failed. Maybe I have a set of miracle shocks but I tend to believe that the stock LC shocks are just better built than others.

I will tell you one thing. If they ever do fail I will head to my Toyota dealer for the standard OEM replacements.

 

[stonepa]

Any idea how I can tell when they shot? Must be someone on here that works in the suspension industry. Thanks

This is a tough one. Other than some back end hop (tough to tell from the driver's seat in a vehicle this heavy) the easiest way is to drive at highway speed with a friend driving a separate vehicle behind and to the side. They need to watch the rear wheel as you drive over bumps and see if the front and rear wheels react to the bumps the same way. Same side to side on each axle. A bad shock will show itself very quickly as an exaggerated dampening motion after impacting bumps.

 

[dustbowl]

according to my service history. the previous owner replaced the rear shocks at 147000 miles due to bumpy ride and leaking rear shocks. i can see a fluid change in the near future for my LX 470