are my shocks gone in the rear?

[murphyaii]

Hi there new to the forum.

I've a b5 audi a4 1.8 se 1998
I've had it a year now with 120k gone on the clock.
noticed 2 days ago with the bad snow here in ireland that every time i hit a bump there is a loud sound as if the rear tyre is flat and it's not
sound comes from the drivers rear side.
could a shock be gone or is it the suspension?
also there seems to be a loss of power accelerating until it hits 3500rpm
got the dealer to check the maf and he said it was ok after doing a timing belt change
any ideas from the community?:confused:

[s1turbomike]

Have you had a look under the rear of the car to see if anything is damaged or broken!!
Was the loss of power there before you had the belt done!! Did the belt change improve it at all!!!

[spartacus 68]

These faults will be unrelated.

Not unusual for the rear springs to break given the state of the roads. Normally the top or bottom parts of the coil shear off, so it will drop down slightly. The shocks can also leak. Assuming they are original - then I'd say you've had your money's-worth and start looking for a replacement set.

Suspension work invariably takes longer than expected. Nuts and bolts will be siezed, you'll skin your knuckles (guaranteed). Not a job for the driveway, get it under cover, put on a pot of tea and investigate. More details here: http://www.audiworld.com/tech/wheel14.shtml

Regards the loss of power - if MAF is fine then check the vacuum pipes, one might be split. Also air and fuel filter, when was it last changed?

[murphyaii]

thanks for that info spartacus.
not great with cars, looks like i'll drop it into my local car repairer to replace the shocks
i would assume the air and fuel filter would have been changed with the timing belt but i may be wrong

[Connor_Scotland]

Check your shock and springs mate.

Had a broken one on my Impreza and it knocked like crazy on bumps