I have a suspicion that my rear struts are bad, but it is not very easy to tell. On my previos car, it was obvious because the car would bounce on the springs, but my MINI has such a stiff suspension that I cannot tell. The only reason that I think they are bad is that the back sits (to me what seems) much lower than before. I'm going to pull them off tonight to get a better look.

Anyone have any ideas of what to look for or how to test?

Thanks,
Matt

 

Can someone move this to 'beneath the bonnet'...i accidentally posted here somehow...sorry.

 

I was gonna say... the Mini doesn't have struts. Rubber cones, man. Wave of the future! :D

 

look for signs of oil dripping down the shocks, that's a sign that the seals are shot and without oil, a shock doesn't work. Also, when going over bumps, the wheels should go up then down with no extra motion. If they keep going up and down a little after the bump, your shocks are bad. Bad shocks shouldn't affect the ride height of your car, unless you use gas charged shocks but even then the effect on ride height is minimal.

 

Sagging springs will affect ride height not the strut.

But to address the “how do you know” question here are a few tips for the stock Delhi strut. You’ve already experienced the obvious signs of poor rebound while driving. Another test, take the struts off the vehicle and remove the springs. Compress the piston rod, if it moans on the way down and feels rough, or rebound is non-linear or stuck, or no resistance in either direction, then there is a good chance it is a bad or going bad strut. The chance for all struts being bad at once is small so compare the action of all and single out the odd ball. And, as stated before, a leaking seal is a tell tale sign.