On the late 80's 4wd EA82 wagons (mine is a 1987 4wd turbo wagon) do the rear "shocks" need to be replaced in kind with what I'm assuming is a stock coil-over setup, or does someone make a standard replacement "shock" that would work? No off road use, strictly street driving.

Thanks.

They must be struts - otherwise, you don't have anything to hold the car up. Just a shock will fully compress under the load of the vehicle, and be VERY dangerous to drive - not to mention look very weird.

 

GD

They are coilover shocks. And yes, they do need to be the same as stock. They support the vehicle.

a coilover is a shock with a spring outside of it. A strut is similiar but acts as an upper link in the suspension. in the rear ea82s have coilovers. I would think that you would order the coilover minus the spring, and then swap the old spring over. Most ea82 wagons I've seen have had good shocks, so I would just go snag some new coilovers off of the newest and nicest wagon at the local junkyard. Just remember that 2wd and 4wd coilovers are different lengths.

And what exactly is the upper link of the rear suspension if the "coilover" isn't?

 

I can see no real difference in the design, other than the way they mount. The strut is a clamp style mount, and a hard bolted mount on the top, and the coilover is a bolted mount that can pivot both at the top and the bottom. They function exactly the same tho - a spring wrapped around a shock absorber.

 

This has been discussed before as I recall, and as far as I'm concerned they are the same thing. Only difference is the usage. In the front, it's called a strut because it's allowed to turn I guess. The rear's don't turn, so to differentiate it's called a coilover. Seems silly. Maybe there's a reason for the terminology, I'm not sure..... I guess I'm just making the point that the function is the same, and the principle of operation is the same as well.

 

GD

I believe the difference between a strut and a coilover is that a strut holds the suspension in place, while the coilover merely travels up and down. That's why the strut is considered the "link" in a suspension.

a strut is a strut if it serves to take sideways bending stresses from the suspension, and acts as part of the geometry of the suspension. A coilover pivots on both ends and only takes stress longituditonally, along its axis. A strut needs to be built much stronger to take these side loads. It may be silly, but thats the way it is considered by the majority, no harm in going along with it.

as a mechanic I would call it a strut for the simple fact that calling it a coil over makes the parts guy think you have some funky aftermarket set up on there.

 

 

 

so to actually answer the question at hand. yes you can buy replacment struts. KYB makes good ones that ride well and last.

 

you will need a strut spring tool to compress the spring and replace the strut.

Does anybody market a rear unit complete with new springs, or do I need to swap my springs over? How likely is it that the springs are fatigued? Should I be thinking of new springs as well? Is there a test I can do on the springs?