[335okc]

long story short, i hit one deep pothole when i was going 40.
got stock suspension
when i get home, i jacked up the car and found that the dust cover /protection tube isn't covering the shocks.
i never seen it like this before, maybe because i have never paid attention to it? or is my shocks blown? i'm not seeing anything on the bottom of the shocks.

is this normal? help!

[acdHQK713K]

Originally Posted by 335okc

long story short, i hit one deep pothole when i was going 40.
got stock suspension
when i get home, i jacked up the car and found that the dust cover /protection tube isn't covering the shocks.
i never seen it like this before, maybe because i have never paid attention to it? or is my shocks blown? i'm not seeing anything on the bottom of the shocks.

is this normal? help!

What do you think happens when you put the car back on the ground and compress the suspension?

[335okc]

Lol ok, i think i'm over panicking. I tried wiggling the wheel, no slack, wiggled the front and rear control arm, steering link, and sway bar, all firm.
I am noticing vibrations around 50mph tho, im crossing my finger that its just my wheel (which i just got fixed a month ago).

[CubanJJ09]

Thats normal.so long as the car drives straight your ok

[JunkStory]

Yes that is normal. When the car is lifted up it looks like that. I personally think the boot is designed too short and doesn't provide good protection against dust and water seeping into the shaft. Anyways it is good that you took precautions and make sure everything is ok after you hit a pot hole.

[VMRWheels]

Looks pretty normal to me. Hitting a pothole at 40+ MPH would likely knock your car out of alignment rather than damage suspension components like that, in my opinion. If you busted a shock going over a pothole at speed though, you probably have other parts that are broken or have bigger things to worry about haha.

[335okc]

Originally Posted by VMRWheels

If you busted a shock going over a pothole at speed though, you probably have other parts that are broken or have bigger things to worry about haha.

that's my biggest worries really. how can i tell everything is OK ? my thrust arm isn't bent, even slightly? would the bushing absorb the impact and get destroyed before my thrust arm bend?

Thanks to everybody for all the inputs/opinions/2cents!

[anerbe]

metal suspension components can bend during impacts. bushings typically wear out/crack due to age/environmental conditions.

has anything changed in driving characteristics? a new noise? pulling? vibrations, etc...?

to be safe, it could be a good time to get an alignment done to make sure none of your settings were changed. typically, a shop at this time can tell you if a component is bent

[stratplaya06]

Originally Posted by 335okc

how can i tell everything is OK ?

Get your alignment done and your wheels inspected/balanced if needed. That will tell all.

[VMRWheels]

Originally Posted by 335okc

that's my biggest worries really. how can i tell everything is OK ? my thrust arm isn't bent, even slightly? would the bushing absorb the impact and get destroyed before my thrust arm bend?

Thanks to everybody for all the inputs/opinions/2cents!

Honestly I'd say your wheels and tires would take much more of the force than your suspension components from what I've seen. If you hit a bump hard enough to bend metal components like your thrust arms or your shocks, your wheels are likely bent or cracked, along with your tire being damaged. I suppose anything is possible when it comes to things like this but my suggestion would be just to get your wheels rebalanced or check the run out on them.

If you are concerned with arms being bent just take it to any shop that specializes in suspension components or even an alignment shop. They should be able to inspect everything visually and tell you if they notice any worn bushings or bent/broken parts. Getting an alignment is what I would also suggest, as doing this in combination with checking the wheels would be the cheapest and most cost effective way to make sure that nothing is 'out of place' so to speak.

[335okc]

I get to drive a bit more today, higher speed, so far everything feels about the same, just slight vibration, which is annoying. Car is still straight as an arrow.
Im gonna take your advices and start with balancing my wheel. Since its my stock 17 with my summer tires, it should absorb the impact quite a bit. Got appointment setup tomorrow, fingers crossed

[335okc]

got my wheels rebalanced. i just fixed them and now they're quite crappier. roadforce reading 2 weeks ago is 0.001, now 0.032.
they did balance out the weight, take a little less weight now.
vibration is mostly gone. car still straight. i wonder if i should go ahead do alignment ?

[fdriller9]

Alignment normally has to do with the car tracking straight, it has little to do with vibrations.

FYI, bent wheels can balance on the machine, but that won't always get rid of vibrations.

If you're running a square setup, move the fronts to the back. You won't feel the vibration in the steering wheel anymore if the fronts were bent....granted the rear wheels are ok.

[VMRWheels]

Originally Posted by 335okc

got my wheels rebalanced. i just fixed them and now they're quite crappier. roadforce reading 2 weeks ago is 0.001, now 0.032.
they did balance out the weight, take a little less weight now.
vibration is mostly gone. car still straight. i wonder if i should go ahead do alignment ?

There's a possibility that one of your front wheels could be slightly bent, in which case you could balance it out but may still experience very slight vibrations like you are describing. Also, you may just be feeling some road imperfections in the steering wheel a bit more than normal because you're looking for vibrations. Sometimes when people suspect that their car is vibrating at highway speeds they interpret road feel through the steering wheel as the wheels being bent or out of balance.

Since you hit the pothole though I'm going to guess that the wheel may be slightly bent, considering you mentioned that the Roadforce was different between the two times you balanced them.

[335okc]

yeah i'm very familiar with bent wheels. i used to have a balanced wheel but out-of-round. i had that wheel fixed and it was perfect right after it was fixed. the tire shop said the impact might've affected the thread layers of the tires too, i should've made them rotate the mount.

i've been always critical when it comes to my ride, but i know i'm hyper critical at this point, so i asked my fiancee if she can feel anything different, and she couldn't, so i know it's barely noticable at best.