Leaking Shock Abosrber
 

My car is currently at around 5400 miles and I noticed some sort of leakage coming from the rear driver side. At first I thought it might've been a leaking exhaust but it turns out to be from the shock absorber.

Has anyone else experienced this issue?

rule out leaking exhaust vs leaking shock absorber

wut?

I'm not too technical of a person when it comes to cars so bear with me. What I first noticed on the drive way were wet stains. My initial conclusion was that it might be coming from the exhaust (as the stain was near the area). Anyway, I wiped it with my finger and it was this rather clear oil. I had a friend of mine come over to take a gander and he confirmed that it was coming from the shock absorber.

Anyway I'm going to be taking this to the dealership tomorrow but I wanted to see if anyone else had similar issue(s) with this.

Thanks for your reply, however.

If it is actually an oil there is no way it is from the exhaust, I agree with taking to dealer if it is an oil and not just water

I haven't read about any leaking shocks on these cars.

However, whatever is leaking back there ..... it shouldn't be.

Yep, best have it checked out.

I hope it's minor.


humfrz

If your shock is leaking, you should be able to tell pretty easily. Lift up right rear corner of the car, grab a white paper towel, wipe the shock as best you can through the coils of the spring. Do you see oil? If yes, go to the dealership and get a new one. If no, it's likely not your shock.

Are you lowered on springs?

Hello, yes I am. I have the eibach pro kit installed. I've had it installed for well over 3 months and never had an issue.


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In that case you are SOL dealer isn't going to replace that for you. Buy some konis or bilsteins to replace

I dropped it off this morning and am waiting to hear back from them. Hopefully the Warranty Gods will grace me with their presence.

You do now!! An upgrade is in order, I anticipate this when I lower my own! I'd like to put KYB adjustable struts on, if they make them for our cars...

I was hoping the stock would at least last more than a few thousand miles.. I am still waiting for the dealership to give me a call back on the status. :(

Definitely let us know if they warranty the shock w/ the Eibachs installed.

If they warranty it you better go play the lotto :thumbsup:

They will blow if the install was done improperly. It's a common issue.

As expected, they will not. FYI, OEM cost per shock is $114.75.

Yeah I hear you cant let the shaft spin when you tighten the top nut, that is what makes the seal fail. Seams odd to me but that's what I read.

I guess this gives me another reason to get a coilover instead. :sigh:

Coilover will set up back around 1g. I bought used oem shock for $100 on eBay and come with oem spring but I don't care I'm lowered on eibach pro kit. This save me money for now.

Upgrade to Bilstein B6 or B8 dampers?

And this is why I tell people to skip the lowering springs and go straight to coilovers.

Do it right the first time !

Says Confucius.

Mine blew on the stock suspension at 700 miles on the car :confused0068:

Sadly, unless you have a REALLY cool dealer, this fix is going to be on your dime because of the springs.

I've decided to go with a coilover. Will be reselling my Eibach springs as soon as it arrives.

I want to thank everyone that gave me their input and educated me in the process!

This doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
The Magnusson Moss Warranty Act requires the dealer to honor warrantees IF they cannot prove the aftermarket item caused the failure of the warranteed part.

I just ran into the same issue on my 2013 BRZ...
A local shop was installing springs and called to let me know the front strut was leaking.
Good news, I have documented proof that the leaking strut was occurring before the suspension upgrades.

Which dealer was this? Diablo Subaru or Livermore?

Coilovers aren't some magical beast that springs + shocks aren't related to.. coilovers as we view and use the term now signifies a spring+strut combo that is adjustable for height (and commonly dampening and rebound as well). Thats >ALL<. They're still springs and struts. Don't forget that part.

The most significant thing about coilovers are usually, the critical system is already installed. Most, if not a huge majority (no info to back this one up- just decades of auto enthusiasm) of improperly done installs are the culprit for blown shocks before 'their time'. The set seals in struts are NOT meant to be turned, and thus, detrimental to mcpherson style struts when an installer lets the shaft turn around while assembling or disassembling the strut and spring system. Not simply because the person chose to go springs and struts over coils. Just some food for thought.

Been riding on Koni's + Espilers on my WRX for going on 6 years, and just got Bilstein B8's with sportlines for my twin last month... don't see any problem here ;)


And how does this not make sense? Dealers usually have the advantage if you approach them with a strut that has been altered. The install process could have done it- the spring rate could have done it (highly doubt it). You and I both know Eibach Pro springs don't go blowing out everyone's stockers, but dealers have the upper hand here. Balls in their court. Everyone and their mom quotes Mag Moss as some kind of ultimate shield for those to go out and mod whatever they want but in reality, it's not so simple. Your story is the exact opposite of this guys- your problems happened BEFORE the install. You had an agent document the findings. He installed it himself (or had a shop that did it "correctly")

It makes perfect sense. The dealer refused the warranty claim. Then it was up to the OP in this ridiculously old thread to sue for it under Magnusson Moss. He didn't. So they didn't have to honor shit.

Wrong. You'll just blow those out too. It's the crap Eibachs. I don't why people buy these. They are too soft. Get a stiffer higher quality spring or go back to the stockers and add Konis..

This is the first time I've heard that Eibach is crap, any links to others who aren't satisfied with the quality? Maybe some evidenced comparison?

I'm not trying to call you out, I'm just genuinely curious as to the basis for this, we loved Eibach when I was racing, they were the most consistent in our ghetto testing (use a scale and drill press, compress and measure). Of course those weren't for big cars and it was many years ago, would love to hear the latest.

They are crap for performance applications.
1. progressive rate.
2. too soft=too much travel=bottoming out=blown shocks.
2.5, too low for given spring rates. sportlines especially.

They are made/marketed more towards the person who wants a semi-sporty ride and mild lowering without much compromise in comfort.
They aren't bad. They just aren't "race" spec'd. Sporty style at most.

ERS are good though.

That sounds more like a problem about the product they chose for the application and less about the quality of what they sell. If they recalibrated or spent more time on initial testing a progressive rate spring would be a great choice for a lot of street driven cars.

It's not an excuse but that doesn't prevent me from being satisfied with the correct spring sold by eibach, and yes, all my experience has been with the ERS line (Eibach Race Spring-System).

I assume the problem is with these where they don't even tell you what you're getting:

http://performance-suspension-eibach...f-4-springs-10

Edit: Yes with initial soft and then hard spring rates I can imagine that being awkward at best on track or AutoX, but it's probably good fun for the guy who commutes to work in the same car he goes for Sunday drives in.

I didn't want to go with them for my old RSX, but the springs I wanted weren't avail. so I did. They blew out my konis in 4 mos. Also, I saw "Do NOT use with Eibachs" on the Tire Rack website so I called to inquire. The guy said we've had 4000 returns! Luckily, I went with Neuspeeds for my old Prelude and they were wonderful, stiff and perfect no matter the potholes, etc--200K no probelms. Eibachs don't even feel like you're lowered unless you're really cooking, but the Neuspeeds were progressive too. It's all in the quality of the wind and the rates. Both were 1.4" lowerings.

http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/S...ar=&brand=KONI