Keeping your vehicle from bouncing as it goes down the road is the job of the shock absorbers or the struts. Feeling like you are in a bouncy house as you are driving is no fun at all so it’s important to check your vehicle periodically.

What Is A Shock?

Your car is ‘suspended’ by springs and they do most of the work of the suspension system. The purpose of the shocks is to dampen the oscillation of the springs. Functional shocks keep those springs in check, letting you enjoy the impact-absorbing properties of the springs without any undue bouncing after the fact.

What Is A Strut?

Not to confuse you, but the strut, too, is responsible for keeping its spring in check. It’s more than just a damper, though; struts also add structural integrity to the suspension, so they have more responsibility than shocks. But a strut-based suspension without struts would simply fall apart because the struts are part of what holds the front end of the car together. They’re like super-shocks.

This quick video from Mopar shows you how to test your shocks and/or struts to make sure they are still in good condition and tell the difference between the two.

Checking your shocks or struts on a regular basis is important so you don’t have a dangerous car, but they can also cause severe tire wear problems which can lead to additional safety concerns.

If you follow the steps in the above video you should be able to perform this easy check yourself, however, if you want to have a second opinion the friendly staff at Texan Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram is always happy to help.