Hi guys, ordering a bunch of parts from ecas and trying to decide if i need new rear shocks for the acad.

The rear end bounces about like crazy going over a bump, but after taking the shocks off the van they seem ok - 99% damped movement except maybe the last 10mm at max extension which is a bit looser. I can hear what sounds like squelching of air/fluid as the shock is extended/compressed. Is this normal/acceptable? Both are the same.

Main reason I'm asking is that these are Monroe shocks and the replacements will inevitably be Record, which I'm led to believe aren't great. Is there anything else which could cause the back end to bounce so much if the shocks are ok?

Martin

Are they mounted correctly?
I've used Monroe in the past, first couple of weeks they were great, after that they became very soft.
You can test them by moving them in and out (at the correct angle), at the whole range they should feel the same, and should give direct resistance if you move them in and out, quickly at a small range.

I put them on the car 7 years ago, when my knowledge of A-series Citroens was limited to 'they look funny, but I like them'. I have no idea if i put them on correctly, to be honest, and now that they're off the car i can't remember which way round they were mounted.

As i said, they seem to be working great over the majority of their movement range except just before max extension. It was the sound of fluid/air moving through them that seemed odd to me.

I guess I'll try re-fitting them correctly and waiting another couple of weeks before i spend the money to see if there's any difference.

Thanks!

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=1924&start=10
download/file.php?id=2327&mode=view
testing has to be done in this position, move them completely in and out a couple of times before fitting, if you're not sweating by then, toss them in the bin

Don't forget that the range of movement when installed will be less than you can achieve with the damper off the car.
That internal 'bubbling' could just mean that you've extended the damper beyond its working range...

Ken

Thanks for the replies, guys - I'll fire them back on the van (correctly) and see how they are over the next couple of weeks.

Could anything else be to blame if the shocks are indeed okay? Could knackered front shocks affect the rear end? I can't think of much else in the suspension that can fail without it being catastrophic or very obvious...

Do the wheels patter over corrugated ground? Thats what most of the shagged out dampers I've had have done.

mounting points on chassis and arm can get loose, rubbers in the shocks can perish and wheel bearing can get loose and/or knackered.

Knackered front dampers will not have any effect on the performance of the rear dampers, despite advice to the contrary in a certain 2CV restoration book.

I tested and compared sets of dampers by fitting them to a car with a rear adventure bumper.
With no dampers fitted, it was relatively easy to get the bounce going to the point where the rear tyres were clear of the ground.
It proved to be impossible to do the same trick with Lipmesa/Allinquant or Monroe fitted, whereas those KYB ones may as well not have been there, for all the effect that they had...

Haven't you got some handles on the back of the Acadiane to pull it up and down, or just stand on the back of the load bay with the doors open and jump up and down?

Not quite sure what you mean by 'patter' but if i'm going round a corner at any sort of speed and the road surface is uneven i can feel the back end of the van jumping/sliding round the corner a bit.


When I try the 'corner bounce' test, they seem fine, but on-road performance leaves a lot to be desired. Maybe I'm just expecting too much.