Hi, I've had my 98 Disco LE for about 14 months now and I've always wondered why my Disco sways so much. Ever since I bought her, I waited to see if the shocks get any worse but so far, they're the same.

So, how can I tell if the shocks need to be replaced? Any tips will be much appreciated.

Doug

 

Pull the shocks. They should offer a fair amount of resistance when you push them down, and should extend back on their own fairly rapidly. I bet there's about 100 YouTube videos on this.

 

Yuo probably need to look at more than just the shocks. How about the front bushings. Try pushing the front of the truck either to the left or right. If there's much movement you probably need to inspect the panhard bushings and radius arm bushings. If you push the front or back of the truck down and it bounces more than once or twice you probably need shocks. My bet is you could probably use springs as well. The truck is 16 years old. If it's still on any original suspension components, they should probably be replace.

 

It's time to replace them when you begin asking when you should replace them......it never hurts to start fresh and then your sure you don't have a problem. I'm not saying to spend all your money on the Rover but take care of the small maintenance items and then you have a better baseline understanding of functional condition and not worrying. Give your brake lines a gander too while your at it, especially the front drivers side.

X2 with Paul and Fish.

 

Another good sign your bushings need attention is to steer hard right and left while in park. Does the body of the truck move to the right and left with the turn of the wheel.

 

What he said!

I replaced my shocks and springs and the sway didn't go away... I should have replaced all of the bushings at the same time. That's next on my list of things to do.