Front shock needs replacing? '98/1MZ

[camrydud3]

Hey all,

'98 Camry, ~130k miles, 1MZ-FE.

I noticed when doing an oil change, the rubber boot on the front-right shock was broken. I'm sure this means the shock will eventually fail. The shocks/struts definitely feel old.

Just wondering what "fail" means, and how serious this is. Should I replace it, if-so, what brand/model might be best?

My car is stock and is a daily driver, it's not a "performance oriented" vehicle for me.

Thanks!
-camrydud3

[toyomoho]

Struts rarely fail as in break. The typically wear out and fail to dampen the chassis oscillations properly. A strut can leak fluid out of the strut rod/body seal.

Push down on a corner of the car to get it oscillating then release, if it stops oscillating in under 2 cycles that corner strut is still OK but may have degraded in performance. The faster it stops the better the condition of the strut.

Check for oil leaking where the strut rod comes out of the strut body. A very small amount of oil/dirt film is OK.

For suggested strut brand names do a TN search, this subject is often discussed.