front shock absorbers

[Shane]

hi guys!! just wanted some of you guys' advice.

went for a full car check up at Honda Chiswick recently and they've said my car's in good condition minus the leak in the front shock absorber.

now what I wanted to know is:

1) what shocks should I get? the dealership offered me ones at £117 each whereas ECP offer some at £90 each? would there be much of a difference between the two?

2) would I be able to install them easily? I'm not exactly a handyman nor do I have the tools that id possibly need.

thanks for reading.

 

[SayamaAccord]

Personally if it's only a few pounds difference I'd go with the Honda part for ***ured quality and peace of mind, but just replace the leaky one.

You need spring compressors for this job and it is potentially dangerous if something goes wrong compressing the spring so if you're not sure it's probably best left to a garage.

 

[Swobber]

Personally if it's only a few pounds difference I'd go with the Honda part for ***ured quality and peace of mind, but just replace the leaky one.

You need spring compressors for this job and it is potentially dangerous if something goes wrong compressing the spring so if you're not sure it's probably best left to a garage.

Always change shockabsorbers in pairs!

Its a bit like changing only one side brake disc/pads....

After all, they are what controls Body movement, so should always be in tip-top condition!

 

[SayamaAccord]

No point wasting money replacing good parts...not the same thing as brakes which wear thinner....we'll have to agree to differ :lol:

 

[exec]

Much better off with original parts that dont cost much more, you can get a discount with Holdcroft too, I would get a mechanic to fit them if you are not familiar with DIY work.

 

[TheHole]

Always replace shocks in pairs.. Its like replacing one shoe and not the other. Both have seen very similar wear

 

[SayamaAccord]

I replaced one side only on my old 6th gen when it was five years old....the other was still fine when I sold the car by which time it was twelve years old....

 

[freddofrog]

yeah it depends why one of them has failed, these days it's unusual to find a shock that leaks, and if one of them is leaking, then as Cliff says, it's ok to replace just that one.

about 25 years ago (before I married her) my girl-friend had a Fiesta which she took to one of those quick fitting places for two new front tyres (it might have been a different brand of fitters, I can't remember). When she came back they had also fitted two new rear shocks because they told her the ones on it would cause an accident and that the insurance would be invalid if they found out that the quick fitters had told her about it. They charged £70, which was a lot of money 25 years ago. So I read the printed receipt, and found some small print (required a magnifying glass to read) which said that if you weren't satisfied that newly fitted parts had fixed the problem, then they would refit the old parts and refund, within 24 hours. So next day I went back with her and stood glaringly outside, while she went in and pointed at me, and they took the car in and quickly refitted the old ones and gave her back £70. With the car outside, I looked underneath to make sure that the shocks they had put back on looked ok, and they were.

So it is very commonplace to fit shocks in pairs, whether they're required or not

 

[SayamaAccord]

I had the same thing happen to me about 20 years ago - but I wasn't as quick on the uptake as Brian was - I swallowed the "must change both sides" thing hook line and sinker.