Hammer2002

I was walking back to my car today, approaching side on and I noticed a vertical shiny silver object in the rear wheel arch!

On closer inspection it is the rear shock absorber strut on show as the rubber gaiter has split and dropped down to the bottom of the strut.

I'm assuming I should get the gaiter replaced as otherwise the shock will get dirty and wear quicker?

Is this an expensive job to get done?

The car is a 1998 1.8T A6, with 112,000 miles on the clock.

I'm thinking the labour involved might be similar to replacing the shock itself, so may be better off leaving it and waiting until the shocks actually need replacing too.

Or is this a bad idea?

I've attached some pics, to show what I mean.

Just Me

yes its expensive. I would simply leave it. All the money's in the labor anyway, so who cares if it ultimately shortens the life of the damper ?

thejulex

Year/Mileage of your car would almost mandate replacing shocks anyway. Most of times you can get away with driving rears longer since they don't wear out of quick as fronts but still, replacing all four at the same time is a good idea.

Treat split gaiter as your shock wear indicator