300te 1988 hydro shock
 

this is my first post.
i get an awful clunking in the back and my shop tells me i need a hydro shock.
the number they are quoting seems high.

what should the part and instal cost?
thank you
david

We own an '87TD which of course has the same rear suspension. What did your garage quote you for parts? I just looked it up through Fastlane (top of page) and the price is $452 a piece.
I had a knocking noise in my '83 TD, thought it was a bad shock, $$$$, but it turned out to be a worn out sway bar link.

Never heard of a hydroshock knocking, they only leak. Very expensive.

I'd suspect a bad sway bar bushing (the one on the body floor) or a bad torque link first.

Do check that the accumulators aren't bad -- suspension should be fairly soft. If the ride is hard, noisy, and bouncy, get new accumulators installed. If they have been bad for a while, you may need new bushings for the struts, too -- I think they are available separately, you don't need to replace the strut.

Peter

There's a little tie-rod in the back that is used to adjust the ride height. I found that if mine wasn't adjusted correctly the back end would clunk when going over bumps.