Question on shock/strut.
 

Revised my question on front shocks...

Taking off the top strut nut, grab the strut cover, pull it down, and out of the mounting's hole. It wasn't too easy to compress the shock by handsbut I can be able to do it slowly.

When it was all the way down, it didn't like to raise up by itself. It took a while for the strut to slowly raise up (couple mm).

When installing it back into the upper mount's hole, I had to pull it up by hands and it wasn't too easy either, but it's still easier compare to pulling it down.

Are they gone or they still have some life left? If they do have some life left, I don't want to replace them right now.

Thanks.

When I had some clicking noises at the front of my car it was due to the torsion bars. Some new torsion bars and the clicking went away. Of course, I had just replaced the shocks with Bilsteins so I figured it couldn't be them.

So you meant the T bar itself making noise? Or maybe the worn teeth making noise with the bar housing under load, or???

anyone know?

The shock absorber did not expand on its own? It should.

dave,
So mine still good. I assume that's what you meant? :) hehe, I know this car is different.
Just saved couple hundred bucks. Thanks.

The noise was from the t-bars being rusted in place and the bushings etc. being completely worn.

ChkbookMechanic,
When I jack up the car, really stick my head in there, try to move the suspension up and down to recreate the noise, sometimes I could. To my ear, the noise sounds liek it's from the shock/strut.
When you have that noise, did you really look into it? If so, do you think the noise can be transfer from the t-bar to the shock area for some reasons?
Thanks.

You should have fight to compress (and keep compressed) a good working insert, not to expand it. They ship with a rather stout wire on them to keep them compressed for a reason, as soon as you cut it they extend.

If you have to work to get it to extend, it's probably wasted.

If the shock is gas-filled, it will extend on its own.

If the shock is hydraulic only, it will not extend on its own.

Determine what type you have and proceed accordingly.

If you can easily compress and extend a shock manually, it's probably worn, but the term, "easily" is relative.

Sherwood

When I try to compress it by hands, I hear noise in the inside. The noise sounds like oil. So I guess it is oil.
It is not very easy to compress it by hands but not too hard, and I don't have a set superman type of arms.
So, maybe they are kind of weak, but not dead yet?

sounds like they are dieing

if brand = Bilstein, then you can send them back and even have custom revalving done

Best way to tell is by dynamically testing; that is, while driving. Does the car seem to "float" at high speed? Make sure the tire pressures are up to spec first.

Sherwood

if they compress easily by hand and rebound slowly, they are generally spent.

Now I am confused, as usual. There are multiple opinions. Base on my experience on other cars, if it's doesn't extend by itself (it does, but very slow), it's weak. If it compress easily by hands, it's bad. But according to Sherwood, hydrolic shock doesn't extend. And my car is not that floaty at speed. In fact, it's a little harsh since the car is very lowed.
What is correct? Does hydrolic shock extend by itself or does not? If I can compress by hands, not too easy, is it still ok?

Yes. You're receiving conflicting info. What kind of shock is it? All Bilstein shocks are gas-charged and thus will automatically extend. Koni shocks can be pure hydraulic or gas-charged. Not sure if red or yellow Konis differentiates hydraulic and gas types.

Sherwood

The housing is black and said boge, so it definitely original. On the shock, I can't tell what is the inside shock because I didn't take it off the housing. What I did was just taking off the top nut and pull down on the cover. While pulling, I can hear noise like the oil movement (or pressure) in there so I guess it is hydrolic.

could still be gas - they often (always?) have oil in them too.

sounds like a weak, worn out gas pressurized shock - as Sherwood noted.

You likely have Boge inserts that are hydraulic and NOT gas charged. Therefore they won't return to the extended position easily. Another thing to add is that your shocks are likely the kind that are "guts and oil" as I like to call them. This means that the strut tube itself is the housing/reservoir for the shock oil, and there is no self-contained "insert" inside the strut tube. What happens when you take the collar/gland nut off and pull the shock out is a bunch of seals, washers springs, a shaft, lots of oil come out- NOT a sealed shock insert. This is an example of a hydraulic shock absorber assembly.

Boge Insert Pictures

Boge Front Shock Insert Discussion

If your shocks are hard to compress, I think they're still good. When my Boge hydraulic shocks were replaced, I could push the shock shaft down with no problem. They weren't damping much at all

"And my car is not that floaty at speed. In fact, it's a little harsh since the car is very lowed."

Could it be you didn't remove the oft-mentioned metal spacer that normally resides between the upper shock mount and the strut? The recommendation is to remove the spacer if the ride height is lowered. The harsh ride results from hitting the bump stops because the spacer reduces the shock travel during suspension compression. Every fraction of a mm (or inch) removed from the ride height reduces the shock/suspension travel by an equivalent amount.

Sherwood