E30 - Shock Absorber gone Stiff?!

[curryinahurry 38]

Hello,

I think I've got an issue with one of my front shock absorbers on my E30 325i - just wanted to check with the pros here to see if I've got this right.

Basically, when I go over a small bump it feels like I'm going over a large bump.  By this I mean the car jolts a lot more than it should and even a small bump on the road would feel and sound like I've driven up a curb.

There seems to be no issues when the shock needs to extend (e.g driving down a curb), but when I drive up something (when the shock is compressed) this one side feels very stiff.  This doesn't happen when the is going very slow.

I've tried pushing on two front corners of the car to compare, and the "stiff" side definitely feels a bit stiffer.

I got my WOF inspector to have a look at it while its on the hoist but he didn't notice anything.

Any ideas??

Thanks,

Andrew

 

 

Edited September 29, 2016 by curryinahurry

[aja540i 1895]

Places like the shock shop have a machine for testing this, might be worth a phone call.