Correct strut operation questions
 

I took my rear passengers side Tokico HP Blue strut out last night and I have a question as to how a strut should operate because of some weird sounds I am hearing in the cabin over small bumps at speeds up to 50mph. Im in the process of determining if its the RSB bushings or strut because ive already replaced the endlinks.

Anyhow, I removed the coil spring and lubed up the top hat to try and get rid of any noise. In the process noticed that I am able to compress the strut by hand by using my body weight to compress the shaft. I have read conflicting information on the net as to if when released, the shaft should push back out SLOWLY or FAST? (I would assume slowly because this is how it would dampen spring movement?) And just to make sure, it is normal to be able to compress a gas strut by hand, correct?

Also, since the HP blue is a gas strut, there would be any way to tell if the strut was leaking? Or is there a considerable amount of oil in there as well? I ask this because I can hear the strut make a "gurgling" sound when the strut is both commpressed and released by hand - although operation is smooth, its just "slow."

I took a video of the strut being compressed/released when I had everything apart. I'll post that tonight after work.

Thanks to anyone who can help with these questions.

OK, so doing a better search of the internet I found out that gas shocks simply used compressed nitrogen gas in combination with oil. This just reduced the "foaming" effect seen with oil which makes the valving less efficient in traditional oil struts.

this answers SOME questions :thumbsup:

wow, anyone?