Engine shocks, how to tell when they're bad

[rickjordan]

Just curious but, how do you know when the engine shocks/stablizers are in need of replacement. I figure the ones on my car are original, as are the motor mounts. I was thinking of replacing both to maybe gain some smoothness. My neighbor has just bought a car like mine, except his engine, at idle, shock like hell. Upon a closer look we could see the both eng. shocks had literally came out of their respective mounts. It was suggested to change the mounts, because for the mounts to rip apart, the mount were probably shot. Well we changed the eng. mounts and eng. shock mounts and it was a 100% improvement. Since changing out his eng. mounts made such a difference, I was thinking of changing mine, but was wondering about the shocks. Also as a side note, are engine shocks just used on diesels? Before this car, I have never heard of a car's engine having it's own shocks. Also these are small 5 inch shocks, but are expensive for their size. I believe Fastlane wants $32 a piece.

These shocks seem to be quite long lived. To test merely disconnect one end and extend then retract the shock to see that there is smooth resistance.

The condition of the motor mounts seems to be more important than these shocks.

Good luck,