How long do springs and shocks last?

[JPNinPA]

I'm redoing the suspension on my jeep soon. I'm just wondering what is the average life of a lift spring or shock. The lift I put on relaxed in two years. And now seem really soft. The shocks lasted about five years. Warranty is five years...

 

[superj]

shocks, i have no idea. sometimes they last forever, it seems. i have never had to replace springs because they went soft. i replace springs to change height, regularly enough i should have a suspension shop.

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

When they sag they're done. Happens more often with softer springs or with repeated over-compression, like those that don't run proper bumpstops because they think it's all about the flex.

Hard to say with shocks, but the test is to get the jeep bouncing by hand. If the bouncing doesn't stop within one cycle of the shock after letting go of the jeep, it's bad.

 

[JPNinPA]

When they sag they're done. Happens more often with softer springs or with repeated over-compression, like those that don't run proper bumpstops because they think it's all about the flex. Hard to say with shocks, but the test is to get the jeep bouncing by hand. If the bouncing doesn't stop within one cycle of the shock after letting go of the jeep, it's bad.

I never had luck with the bounce test. I notice the steering sway is like driving a boat when the shocks go out.


I'm not so worried about how to tell their bad.... I really want to know what people are getting out of the components they chose.
You bring some good points. Not everyone treats their rig the same so results will vary. And that's ok

 

[superj]

My 87 had stock springs when i got it. They were fine and i swapped them only to putput on ome 2.5 lift springs. I wish i would have just stayed stock though. They were on till 2015.