Thread: Expected shock absorber life

The people who revalved my Konis that had done 30K said that all seals and valves should be replaced as they will have deteriorated considerably from new condition. My shocks are normally sloppy by 60K regardless of brand so a half-life of 30K seemed reasonable.

It's important to remember that dampers are a hydraulic unit with seals, fluid etc.

If they sit or are used infrequently, you can encounter issues of seal hardening and leaking of fluid past the seals. The hydraulic fluid itself also degrades over time.

I recall being told that your dampers should be changed about as often as you do a set of tyres as a rule of thumb. Obviously we should factor in the nature of our use with that guide.

I'd take them up on the offer of the $100 off the next set and add in a replacement set of suspension bushes if the budget allows.

Originally Posted by Graeme

The people who revalved my Konis that had done 30K said that all seals and valves should be replaced as they will have deteriorated considerably from new condition. My shocks are normally sloppy by 60K regardless of brand so a half-life of 30K seemed reasonable.

You should be getting a bucket load more than 30,000km out of a set of Koni's unless one is doing something like the Gibb River Rd heavily loaded all the time. (hell, they may not last that long there......)

Koni's can be 'refreshed' by adjusting them, that's what the adjustment is for before needing to be rebuilt.

The Koni's in our Patrol have done well over 200,000km now.

Do I need to give them a freshen up ? Yep.

Are they so far shot that they float over undulations, crash and jump over bumps ?

Nope, and this is from someone that was employed at one time a (very long) time ago to setup suspension, including shock valving.

The quality of the fluid, the tolerances employed, the quality of the seals and the internal working pressures (ie. the damper type) all conrtribute to the working life, as well as the actual conditions they are subjected to.

My Bilsteins are 15 years and 200k km old. Including the CSR, Gibb, etc, etc...
They are only now starting to show theirr age.

However on the CSR we also had a RRC which had a 4 yo (known brand big bore shock) fail completely (no damping at all).

I don't know how to list a link but have a read of the site that does Len beadell tours (google)
Great write up of shocker and bush life on a deefer that does more than half it's work off road and off track
Good results from the big Konis and superpro bushes
Dc

My rear koni have also done over 200000 km.
Had an eyelet unscrew itself once. Loctited it back together and that is all.

Originally Posted by rick130

Koni's can be 'refreshed' by adjusting them, that's what the adjustment is for before needing to be rebuilt.

I beg to differ. The adjustment is to set the rebound as required whereas worn seals will affect both bump and rebound.

I didn't state that the shocks were worn-out by 30K, rather that by 30K the seals have worn enough to not re-use them if the shock is being dismantled for valving adjustments.

The life of shocks is very dependent on the work they have to do over their travel length. D2s have a long rear overhang and quite short travel with standard length springs so the shocks have to be set firmer to stay off the bumpstops. Add desert travel with a full load and see what happens with Konis on a D2.

I think Koni Raids are in a category all on their own.

My gas shocks are more main stream in the $300/pair price range.

I never expected them to last 200,000km.

I later bought a new set of tyres which have done about 30,000km. They probably have about 20 - 30,000 km left. So these shocks probably didn't last as long as the tyres will. The rear end has been bouncy/bottoming out for at least the last 7,000km ie the start of the last trip.