Is shock absorber bad?

[Hair]

If I take a shock off the truck (rear 1/2 to 2wd) push it completely collapsed with my hands using about 5 pounds of pressure, and then the shock sits there and does not return for at least 30 minutes, literally, maybe longer... and I'm not sure it ever comes back all the way... Does that mean that shock is bad? I think "yeah, it's bad" my buddy says "nope, that don't mean nothing". Am I wrong? A new one is so stout they tie it down with a wire in the box.

[Southcity]

Sure sounds like a bad shock to me and if it's bad it's likely the other three on the vehicle it came from are also bad. But providing more info would be helpful, what kind of shocks are they? how long has it been on the vehicle? did something occur while driving that made you remove shocks to inspect? etc., etc.

[mongocanfly]

I would also say bad...like you said ,the new ones are tied for a reason..
Never seen a good one that wouldnt fully extend on its own
Give the old ones to your buddy to put on his truck

[Hair]

150 k miles, 23 years old, original shocks that came on it. They weren't giving any trouble, that I was aware of, we just had it off to get it out of the way to work on something else and so I picked it up and mashed it in like nothing and it just stayed in, laid it on the counter and like an hour later it opened some, I said "Dude, the shocks are bad." ... and that's how this started. I think they're bad, I'm pretty positive, I just wanted a sanity check. Thanks

[Richard]

Not all shocks are gas charged. Gas charged shocks will do what you said. There is truth to what your buddy said. I do not believe the original shocks on these trucks were gas charged.

[mongocanfly]

Hmmmm....interesting....I've never seen one that wouldnt fully go out on it's own if good, but Richard may be on to something I havnt seen
If they're 23yrs old, its probably time for a change anyway

[Redneck Rydes]

Gas charged will extend on thier own,oil bags won't,

[Hair]

Ahhh, see, my buddy is talking like Richard. And my buddy ain't no dummy either, so that's what got me to thinking. Shoot, I'm lost then, I don't know how to tell a good shock from a bad one. I do the old bounce trick, where you get the truck to bouncing up and down and let loose and see if it stops bouncing immediately LOL, it passes that test and they don't make any noise. Maybe they are ok.

[Hair]

Now, I got to make sure he doesn't see this post and find out that I questioned his knowledge and found out he was right... I'd never hear the end of it.

[Redneck Rydes]

Lol,the best way to check is like you did,if a gas shock is good it will rebound,push down by hand and it will spring back,if not it is bad,now take a oil shock and do the push pull test,grab each end of the shock and push and then pull as hrd as you can,you should have a fair amount of resistance,if it moves in and out with no or very little resistance it is probally bad,or push it all the way in put it on the floor,grab some beers and see how long it takes to pop out,good excuse to sit back and relax! Lol

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Richard

Not all shocks are gas charged. Gas charged shocks will do what you said. There is truth to what your buddy said. I do not believe the original shocks on these trucks were gas charged.

x2.

The auto extension only occurs when it's a gas charged shock. Hydraulic only shocks are still out there.