hey guys I noticed from the day I bought my 01 SE, whenever I hit a bump, it felt like the rear end of my car shifts. when I first got it, it seemed like it shifted really bad but now that I'm used to it, it doesn't seem as bad. one of my coworkers drove it once and swore I needed rear struts. I told him he was wrong and that it was just the traction control because when I turn the traction control off, it wasn't nearly as bad. well, now my car is at the body shop and the guy that pulled it in the bay said the same thing. now I am starting to wonder if I do need to change them. can someone give me some advice on signs of them being bad? also how hard are they to replace? thanks guys

Have 2 people sit in your back seat and if your rear sinks down, then thats one way to see if your struts are bad. Or you probably could sit on the trunk yourself and see how far it sinks down. You would usually hear some type of noise when something is weighing the back down (person or people) and you turn a corner.

Another way to tell is to see how much it bounces in the rear.push the rear of the car down and let it bounce. It should rise, go down slightly, and then return to normal. But this only tests for really worn out struts.

Your car has shocks in the rear, not struts. What you are describing could be an indication that they need to be replaced, or you could use a good 4 wheel alignment. If the back end seems to bounce a bit when going over bumps would be another indication. Did they guy at the body shop say they were leaking? If so, then absolutely they would need to be replaced. They are quite easy to do.

As Archon says, it could be rear shocks. The symptom you describe is what my car did when the shocks went. I replaced them and it is a world of difference! Since it has been like this since you got the car, it could also be the alignment. With mine, it was fine one day and then lousy the next. Alignment won't generally do that unless you hit something hard.

Hello,
I dont know if I'm too late for is post but according to one blogger, it took him only 5 minutes

I'm pretty good on a wrench and it takes allot longer than 5 minutes per a shock, let alone doing two.

I've been doing this 35 years and I couldn't hope to get that done in 5 mins.

I can do it in 30.

Come on over here and show me. Got two new ones in boxes!

Sure, now get 2) 30 packs and I'll have them done before I run out.