[Arnold M. Astro]

Just bought a 97 Astro AWD that was well maintained by the previous two owners. When I was working on the interior I found a receipt for the shocks and struts being replaced back in 2019 when the van had about 68k miles.

It's currently sitting at 70k miles and we've been replacing various things to refreshen it. Oil, transmission fluids, even the radiator's been flushed. But I wasn't sure when we should replace the shocks? Even more specifically, when should we replace the bushings and ball joints be replaced? I'm fearing that all of this stuff is cracked so I haven't looked underneath yet.

Any thoughts on when this stuff should be replaced would be greatly appreciated!

 

[bryancraftyhands]

Simple answer, When the owners maintenance guide tells you.
Less than simple answer, when your inspection guy tells you.
Complex answer, When you push on the corners and that corner bounces more than twice. Really it should just go down and come up once. When you hit a hump in the road that sends you bouncing, especially erratically, you are either going too fast, or your suspension is done, or both.
Bushings will start making some noise as they get old dry and brittle. Often a clunking sound or maybe something that sounds like you are stroking a plastic straw through a plastic cup lid. When they are cracking it's definitely about time. When you hear metal scraping you're over due. Often this just sounds like little squeaks in suspension. Bigger parts, like in control arms, may make a much more grating sound.
Ball joints are typically determined by lifting the wheel off the ground and attempting to rock the wheel, not the suspension, top and bottom. It shouldn't move. There are some tolerances for play, but if it's moving make plans to replace. If you are going around corners and hear a wheel clunking without hitting any kind of bump, replace before you go around the corner and the wheel goes straight.

 

[AstroWill]

When they stop performing their job or are visibly leaking.

 

[tungtide]

You should be good for a while on those shocks. Mileage and time are what wears them out. I replaced my stock originals with KYB my van had 114 k at that time.

 

[Mmusicman]

When they stop performing their job or are visibly leaking.

^ THIS IS THE CORRECT SIMPLE ANSWER ^

 

[tinworm]

Related to the ball joints, greasable front end components on these vans can last forever if they are consistently maintained.

I have an 89 which had well over 200k on the original ball joints, which had been religiously greased.

 

[Arnold M. Astro]

Simple answer, When the owners maintenance guide tells you.
Less than simple answer, when your inspection guy tells you.
Complex answer, When you push on the corners and that corner bounces more than twice. Really it should just go down and come up once. When you hit a hump in the road that sends you bouncing, especially erratically, you are either going too fast, or your suspension is done, or both.
Bushings will start making some noise as they get old dry and brittle. Often a clunking sound or maybe something that sounds like you are stroking a plastic straw through a plastic cup lid. When they are cracking it's definitely about time. When you hear metal scraping you're over due. Often this just sounds like little squeaks in suspension. Bigger parts, like in control arms, may make a much more grating sound.
Ball joints are typically determined by lifting the wheel off the ground and attempting to rock the wheel, not the suspension, top and bottom. It shouldn't move. There are some tolerances for play, but if it's moving make plans to replace. If you are going around corners and hear a wheel clunking without hitting any kind of bump, replace before you go around the corner and the wheel goes straight.

This is great, thank you for the detail! Sounds like I need to change the shocks but thank god the struts and bushings are set for now.

 

[Arnold M. Astro]

Related to the ball joints, greasable front end components on these vans can last forever if they are consistently maintained.

I have an 89 which had well over 200k on the original ball joints, which had been religiously greased.

This makes my wallet and me feel a lot better 😎