Wayne O

Failures with the F55 suspension are extremely rare and it seems unlikely all of the shocks would be leaking. As far as trying to gauge suspension travel, I may still have some old notes from my engineer friend about shock absorber travel in an unenergized MR shock...I'll see if I can find what he wrote. I suggest you have the dealership check it out first...see what they say.

I may be sticking my foot in my mouth (nothing new there) but I have a set of MR shocks I might consider selling. Except for a couple items I generally keep all the OEM pieces-parts that came with the car. Sometimes I wonder why...I usually store all this stuff and I never need it again. PM me if you're interested in buying the MR shocks...I'll give it some thought.

Zoxxo

It's not just a play on words, it's a totally different thing. In theory *everything* is "engineered for the life of the car".

Again, wth does that mean? When is the life of the car declared over? When the warranty expires? When Barrett-Jackson can't whip up an auction number greater than Kelly Blue Book value?

Z//

cclive

Do we know yet if the OP is saying that all four shocks are leaking or just one?

BEZ06

I had a 2005 with F55. I lowered it by cutting the bushings on the stock bolts in the rear. I put about 35,000 miles on before my brother-in-law bought it a couple years ago. He's put at least another 5,000 on it. The MSRC shocks show absolutely no sign of any problem at all.

There's an owner of a new ZR1 (he's got 1,000 miles on it) who posted in the ZR1 section that he thought his shocks were leaking because all of them had "oil" on them.

Most of us recommended that he wipe them down and see if more "oil" appears on them after driving a while. However, he hasn't reported back yet.

I posted up that the magnetorheological fluid has an oil carrier, so I guess it would look like oil on the shock if it were leaking.

I also posted up the video below - it shows the very intereting characteristics of the fluid in our shocks.

For the record, that is NOT my video. I would NEVER harass a poor wittle kitty-cat like that!!!

Bob

Dif

Don't get me wrong, not arguing the point
I Politely disagree with that one though.
Example to the point of topic,.. Regular Shocks are not Engineered for the life of anything.
They're like Brake pads, a consumeable item.
Talk is F55 replacement cost more, If they need to be replaced.
It's a nickel for one, dime another.
Replace regular shocks 2, maybe 3 times, replace F55 shocks once,.. maybe.
Too each his own, not pushing F55 on anyone.
People buy what they like or feel they can live with

I was also being sarcastic in my post but, ... F55 is not new and Failures simply are not Rampant as some imply.
Yes, they can fail, Yes, they cost more to replace

But, regardless how long GM says they're "supposed" to last, F55 shocks do last a Very long time.

So what's the point ?
Is it no good because people don't like F55 ?
Or is it because it cost too much ?

Either way, F55 failure is Rare.

Again, don't get me wrong, .. not here to Argue

cclive

Wow...gutsy video...doing that over the carpet...or maybe he could get the stain out with the magnet also....

BEZ06

Hi Chris

Yeah - that's what I told the ZR1 owner: get a clean rag and wipe down the shocks. If you can pick the rag up with a magnet, it's shock fluid. If not, don't worry about it!!!

Bob

cclive

It certainly is an interesting concept isn't it......I wonder if the particles in the fluid cause more wear on the seals that hold it in....

Eritosthenes

This sounds like a bad case of abuse by multiple owners.

robertaj

ROTFL you don't believe him do you!!!!

vettedoogie

Well....maybe...



I really want to see where it/they is/are leaking.

2006c6keller

Shocks are NOT COVERED ON GMPP MAJOR GUARD under "Component Coverage" and listed under "Non-Covered Parts" --> "Shock absorbers". Therefore, shocks are NOT covered!

Pamplet Source: Rev. 8/04 201GMPP4

Zoxxo

Oh, nor was I

I was using hyperbole

Of course not "everything" is engineered for the life of the car. I just don't believe that the MR shocks were, either.

I agree. I like the F55. I have no problem with the system at all. In fact, when we bought my wife her C6 we purposely bought it WITH the F55. And if it wasn't for her need/want/desire to have the car *low* combined with my insistance that her car not be handling like some solid axle buckboard, she'd have the system in the car right now. I do find some folks' over-the-top allegiance to, and defense of, a shock absorber system to be a bit much, though.

I've been reading these F55 threads for 4 years now and I have never had the sense that anyone has implied rampant failures. On the other hand, I haven't read a lot of posts about standard shock failures, either. It's just not an issue either way. The diff is that there is an unofficial F55 fan club that leaps to the defense should anyone suggest that the system is less than they believe is is.

As calmtgguy pointed out, the statistical sampling the forum represents is meaningless. I'm pretty sure that no one here has a clue what the actual MR shock failure rate is, much less how it compares to standard Corvette shock life spans.

I'm unaware of anyone not liking it (who's actually owned it & driven it long enough to form a valid opinion.) I know that *I* liked it a lot when I was driving my wife's car. There *have* been complaints (the OP included) about the cost when they have to replace 1-thru-4 of them. Economic theory based upon replacement schedules is fine to play with but when the dealer says "that'll be four thousand dollars, please" all that theory goes out the window for most folks.

Me neither.

Z//

laconiajack

The resistance of some to F55 type adjustable magnetorheological fluid shock absorber technology can be likened to the resistance to tubeless tires when first introduced. Some believed they couldn't hold air reliably, and installed inner tubes in their brand new tubeless tires. Their was similiar resistance to radial tires, pleated paper air filters, muti-viscosity oils, and virtually every other automotive breakthrough. That's just human nature.

Pfadt Racing

Hey martij9 please feel free to give us a call if you have any questions on options for replacing your current suspension. We have a couple different levels of suspension components depending on your goals with the car, if you indeed plan on keeping it!

2006c6keller

Because of the technology, I think alot of the "old" rule could and should be thrown out. SINCE the magnetic shocks are supposely last the life of the car, I would think at such mileage of 50k or so, that is NOT close to the life of the car which could be any where from 100k to 200k with good care. As long as the fluid does not leak our; then, just buy what you need, can always buy another later. The magnetic properties should not change if no fluid is lost, they use these things on commercial trucks that go multiple 100k's. The trucks give them much more beating than a Corvette ever would.

PS: I gave mine a real beating on Canadian Hwy 1 for over four hundred miles and my 06 C6 F55 was bottoming out from time to time on the seats at 50 mph on that major East-West highway, just 90 miles North running parallel with US border. The severe thawing and freezing of snow and ice just tears the highway up. I was driving from Calgary toward Winnepeg when I couldn't take it any longer and drove South into N Dokota, turned off South near Regina, Saskatchewan. The only problem was that the N Dokota roads were just as bad. A thousand miles later a bushing fell off my leaf spring and the WHOLE leaf spring was replaced under warranty. Funny thing is that: I was told by dealer that I was driving too many "back" roads; unfortunately, these were the "front" roads in the area, Canadian Hwy 1 and US Hwy 85. Corvettes are not made for any rough roads for a long distant; in an conventional car, this would have been nothing. But for a stiff suspension and low profile tires, the car is NO MATCH, it will be slowly knocked apart. My magnetic shocks are still working fine.

NOCRISIS

neat video,,,,,

LS WON

Talked to GM Engineer on phone and he told me Corvette should last 300,000 miles.

HOXXOH

71K on my F55 '08 and the only shock issue was when the GM mechanic replaced the fuel sending unit and dropped the rear cradle, he broke the electrical connector. He jerry-rigged it, but I found out several thousand miles later when that shock quit working. DIC sends the notice "inoperative shocks", so the OP should be getting that message.

My opinion, and it's worth exactly what you just paid, is that eventually the shocks will fail, but will perform as new right up to that point. Conventional shocks deteriorate gradually and start that process immediately after installation.

If I were in the OP's shoes, I'd be scouring the junkyards. Just because it's a pricey item when bought new, doesn't mean used will follow suit. Supply/demand will drive the price and the demand is apparently real low.

LTC Z06

It was hard but I found a more boring video.