[Silverback51]

.....was just in time.

I just started changing out the original AVO shocks, springs and rear upper shock mounts and they were starting to fail on the left rear. I have not disassembled the right rear yet.

The lower bolt on the shock mounting bracket had flattened the threads where they are subjected to the shear load. The lower eye on the shock was elongated to the point that the shock was resting on the lower a-frame and it the eye was starting to crack.

I pulled the rear suspension apart last year about this same time to inspect it, as I was aware of both issues with the original parts. Everything was fine at that time so I decided to just let it go. Bad decision on my part, and I'm just glad that it did not fail on me at speed. I should mention that I put approximately 6500 miles on the car last year.

I'm planning on a 3 week vacation next summer that will take us from Seattle to Lake Tahoe where we will spend a week. After that we head to the coast and take the next two weeks to get home. Sure glad I will now be able to make this trip without being concerned about this issue.

So if you have not made this update to your car, I suggest you do. You may, or may not see the failure starting with a simple inspection. You need to disassemble it to see it.