The reason these components are sometimes thought to be the same thing is because they perform essentially the same task. Both shocks and struts work to dampen the movement of your wheels to inhibit any swinging or bouncing. Although these components perform the same task, you can never replace one for the other. As for the differences, a strut is a key structural element of your steering system while a shock is not. Your camber and caster angles are typically adjusted on the strut itself, and your strut and its characteristics will greatly affect your alignment.
A strut acts as a pivot point for the steering system and includes integrated coil springs. Because a strut is such an integral part of your suspension system, without it your vehicle would fall straight down to the ground. This is not necessarily the case with shocks. This depends on many factors. You can think of shocks or struts like tennis shoes.
If you only wear them on the weekends to go to the mall, they will last far longer than someone who wears them daily, rides a skateboard, and uses their shoes as brakes fairly frequently!
If you have really used your car like a workhorse, 5 years is probably all you can expect. This means that for the average driver, 7 or 8 years is the maximum life expectancy of most shocks and struts. The majority of cars and SUVs on the road today have struts on the front wheels and shocks in the back. Shock absorbers, or shocks for short, look similar to the shocks you see on the front wheels of bicycles.
Struts are encased inside a coil spring and are much more complicated designs. Additionally, they bear much of the side load placed on the vehicle's suspension. As a result, struts affect ride comfort and handling as well as vehicle control, braking, steering, wheel alignment and wear on other suspension parts. Typically, struts consist of a strut housing to provide rigid structural support for the assembly and a damping unit within the strut housing to control spring and suspension movement.
On most struts, the bottom of the body attaches to the steering knuckle, which in turn connects to a lower control arm through a lower ball joint. A complete strut assembly includes all the components needed for strut replacement in a single, fully-assembled unit.
It combines the strut housing, damping unit with a coil spring to support the vehicle's weight. Every wheel on your vehicle has either a shock or strut. However, your vehicle could have shocks on the front and struts on the back or some other configuration. The key takeaway is that each wheel has some sort of ride control part.
The content contained in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be used in lieu of seeking professional advice from a certified technician or mechanic. We encourage you to consult with a certified technician or mechanic if you have specific questions or concerns relating to any of the topics covered herein.
Under no circumstances will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any content. About Us. I have put new tires, ball joints, steering rod ends, shocks and struts. I recently bought a travel trailer with sway bar. What should I try next? Great post and thanks for sharing this educative and informative article with us. Keep up the good job.
I hope to set this leak sealed as I cannot afford a whole new strut. What do you think? I have a squeaky sound coming from drivers side when i go over bumps and turn the wheel.. My bmw f10 steering wheel is not going back to centre if I turn. If turn to left a little it follows to left.
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