Is It Gas Or Oil In The Cylinder Of Shock Absorber?

[Eric Cheung]

I have always thought the cylinder of the shock absorber (strut?) is filled with oil, until I read the FSM service manual which says it is filled with gas. If this is the case, why do people say the suspension leak oil?

Thanks in advance.

[blk_on_blk]

For most shock absorbers, it's a combo of both gas and oil. The oil is what does the damping, and the gas is used to, as Wikipedia describes it, reduce the tendency for the oil to foam under heavy use. Foaming temporarily reduces the damping ability of the unit.

So, the shock absorber is filled with oil, and then charged with gas. Here's are a couple visuals of what it looks like inside: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm..._damper_mov.gif and http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/car-suspension-8.gif

[Eric Cheung]

For most shock absorbers, it's a combo of both gas and oil. The oil is what does the damping, and the gas is used to, as Wikipedia describes it, reduce the tendency for the oil to foam under heavy use. Foaming temporarily reduces the damping ability of the unit.

So, the shock absorber is filled with oil, and then charged with gas. Here's are a couple visuals of what it looks like inside: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm..._damper_mov.gif and http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/car-suspension-8.gif

Thanks a lot for the reply and the information. I have learnt more.