Minneapolis Shocks & Struts Repair

Your Car’s Handling Depends on Them

Improve your vehicle’s performance and prevent abnormal wear by repairing your shocks or struts. If left unchecked, a damaged or worn suspension system can put you and your vehicle at risk.  If your car’s clunking, rattling or not handling the way it’s designed to, bring it in to Alexander’s.

At Alexander’s we have the tools, honest service, and know-how to get the job done right. If you’re having suspension problems, make an appointment or stop in today.

Shocks and Struts Replacement

Shocks and struts are an instrumental part of your vehicle’s suspension system. The shocks and struts work with the springs to absorb vertical motion, like going over bumps, while you’re driving. They also help keep your vehicle level while braking, accelerating, and turning.

When to Replace Shocks or Struts

Many strut manufacturers recommend struts be replaced after 50,000 miles. While we don’t strictly recommend this service, it’s a good idea to start thinking about strut and shock replacement as your vehicle ages. After 100,000 miles the struts and shocks are worn, regardless of how the vehicle drives.

On some vehicles it’s very common, as the vehicle ages, for the strut tops to make a clunking noise over bumps. When the strut tops are replaced we recommend replacing the struts at the same time.

Worn struts or shocks may also make a clunking noise when going over bumps. You might also feel like the car has gotten bouncy or rolls more while driving around corners.

The most notable symptom of worn shocks and struts is when the ride quality begins to suffer. The car may feel bouncier, roll more through corners, and bottom out over bumps. While many people believe they can live with these symptoms instead of replacing the worn parts, this can be dangerous.

With worn shocks or struts, a vehicle will take a longer time to stop. Worn struts and shocks can increase your stopping distance in an emergency situation by over 20%! That can be the difference between missing the wreck in front of you and adding yourself to the wreck. Worn shocks and struts don’t allow the vehicle to perform the way it was designed, and this is dangerous for both you and the people around you.  

Shocks and Struts Inspection

There are a few steps to inspecting the struts and shocks in your car. The first is to test drive the car. Our experienced technicians will note if there are any drivability problems related to the suspension, including the shocks and struts. We’ll then bounce each corner of the vehicle. A worn shock or strut will allow the vehicle to bounce more than a few times.

Another tell-tale sign that struts or shocks need to be replaced is if they’re leaking. Struts and shocks function by using hydraulic fluid. Without this fluid they won’t function properly.

When replacing shocks the vehicle is lifted and supported. Many times the suspension must be unloaded, and the shocks will be unbolted and replaced.

Struts are a bit more complicated. The strut assembly must be removed from the car, followed by the coil spring being compressed to remove the strut top. Many times the strut top or strut mount will be replaced at the same time due to normal wear and ease of replacement. The coil spring and strut top are mounted on the new strut and it’s reinstalled on the vehicle.

We recommend the alignment be checked and adjusted after replacing shocks and struts because they may change the ride height, in turn changing the alignment.

Here at Alexander’s we’ve replaced thousands of shocks and struts throughout the years on a wide range of vehicles. We have the specialty tools needed to replace the shocks and struts on virtually any import vehicle.

You can be sure that Alexander’s can identify when your shocks and struts require replacement and can make the repair. We hope your shocks and struts are in good condition, but if they’re not, we hope to see you soon!