[Vwdiesel] Re: struts and strut bearings

[Roger Brown]

Nate Wall wrote:
>
> The KYBs are "gas" shocks (nitrogen, I think). I used
> to think that the "gas" replaced the hydraulic oil,
> but that's not the case. The oil is in the
> shock/strut, just like always. The gas fills the "air
> space" and is under a little pressure. The gas (helps)
> prevent the oil from foaming under sever use. A little
> tidbit I read somewhere. I put KYBs on the rear a
> couple years ago.

I find the KYBs are decent shocks, I've had them on the rear of my pickup for probably 10 years and even that old, they are
still as good as new.  The same can't be said for their strut inserts, had a pair in my '81 pickup and they were fine for about
6-12 months then they went soft (I think that's when they lost the gas pressure).  When I finally removed them a few years ago,
they were nearly bone dry, all the oil was in the strut housing.  I replaced them with some Bilstein HD A1 inserts and they have
worked a lot better.

--
    Roger