GYM

How durable are magnetic shocks and do they require a lot of maintenance? Looking at 2006 which has them.

John Harry

From what I've read on CF there have been very few problems. Some people have reported "leaking" shocks that turn out to be just normal oil film. My 06 has them and it has been fine.

Boat Racer

I have 58K miles on my '07 and no problems with the mag shocks.

HOXXOH

118K currently, so ?

cclive

Very few problems reported here on the forum...and we know that forums tend to magnify problems. A replacement shock will be very expensive though.

TX-Techman

I bought a 2008 with 25K a few months ago with the F55 option. I had it in the dealer a few weeks later and was told the left front was leaking and was quoted $1100 to replace it.

I took it home and found that the outside of the shock was damp. I pulled the shock for inspection and found that the shock is not leaking at all. Under the rubber boot it was dry and the recess in the shock where the piston rod comes out was dry as a bone too.

Since the shocks are magnetic they tend to attract brake dust, oil, and all kinds of stuff. It is common for the dealer to report leaking shocks but I expect often this is not the case.

I expect to drive mine many more mile and love the feature.

radiercks

Guys,

I'm an engineer. "Nothing" electro-mechanical is "lifetime".
I'm always amazed that anyone still believes this B**S.
My 2005 Vette with the F55 suspension and 70,000+ miles has 3 leaking shocks. Remember that the shock's fluid has microscopic iron particles in suspension and they has shaft seals on top.
The test, as others has noted in the past, is to wipe the dampness you may observe on the shock, especially by lifting any dust boot, and wiping the damp stain with a clean paper towel.
Then, take any small magnet and see if the paper towel is attracted to the magnet. I can lift the towel from the surface it lies on.
This is evidence that the fluid you see is coming from the internals of the shock. "THEY CAN LEAK, AND DO"
I think they can leak and still function until the fluid loss is too great. I think one of mine may be approaching that point.
I don't want to lose the neat system but I am debating about which conventional shocks to replace them with.
Any here have any thoughts on that?

RAD

TX-Techman

I am not sure where you are but I checked on replacing mine with Z06 shocks and getting the system reprogrammed. Corvette Warehouse in Dallas said they would reprogram the car and remove the F55 option for around $100. I also heard about the dummy plugs that just plug into the connector and fool the system to make it think the shocks are connected, but heard of some issues with them.

I had heard about the test you mention, however decided to pull mine and check. After pulling the shock and removing the dust boot the top of the shock was completely dry. I only have 26K on the car so hope to get a few more years out of them.

AORoads

It is unusual but not impossible that the shocks could go bad. As the engineer says, nothing is forever. Unless two shops and a dealer got it wrong, this most recent case is relevant. http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-c...hocks-bad.html

radiercks

TX-Tecnman, Thanks for the feedback.

Tomorrow I'm going to run mine up on a hoist myself, like I did a year ago, and see exactly what the garage guys saw today.
Maybe they didn't do a thorough enough of a check.
The mechanic told me that there was enough wet oil that it only could have come from the shocks. We'll see.

Anyway ...... if they are failing I'll just use them for the 20th Anniversary Museum Caravan trip and then replace.

By the way, I'm in Wisconsin, just west of Milwaukee.

Thanks for the help so far.

RAD

JackC6

I just posted about this yesterday. I'm a brand new member.

My C6 has 56K on it and all the fluid has leaked out of all the shocks. There's even a recall on the C7's because of this. My ride was horrible, fishtailing, yawing, terrible. So I'm replacing them with Bilstien's and using the RTD simulator plugs. Works great. I had so much fluid leak out that the shocks were covered with the fluid. No matter how many times I wiped it off it would reappear. And it was not from the road because this black, oily film was only on the shocks and it started from under the plastic shroud.

When I buy a C7 I will never buy the F55 system again. I have searched a lot of places and have seen many people with the same problem.

My only question is whether I need an alignment after shock replacement. I have found a lot of answers but I don't think I do because I didn't disconnect any tie rods. I have read that a car will only need an alignment after shock replacement only if it has Mac struts.

Opinions?

Thanks.

Jack.

TX-Techman

No you will not need an alignment when you replace the shocks. Unlike struts, shocks have nothing to do with alignment.

JackC6

Thanks again to all of you. It is as I thought. If nothing was disturbed then why an alignment? I just had one done a couple of months ago when I replaced my tires.

I didn't think it needed one but I wanted to be sure and you guys seem to know a lot more than I do so this helps a lot.

Jack.

musclecar6

I had an 06 C6/F55 that I drove for 7 yrs/47000 miles that worked perfectly. Replaced it with a 2012 Caddy CTS-V A6 that has mag ride standard. I will eventually replace my 2010 GS ( without mag ride as it wasn't available in 2010) with a C7 Z06 that comes standard with mag ride. I will NEVER own another corvette without mag ride. It's that good at giving a comfortable ride on all but mainly smooth roads. If the budget is tight or one is a super thrifty type, mag ride is not mandatory. You'll just bounce all over the place on rough roads, but you won't have to worry about paying more for replacement shocks ( although some of us think the price is a bargain for what you get. Ferrari has the same system on their cars cause it's that good).

JackC6

Well, since I never really got to experience it I don't know how good it really is. But the new rear shocks have made a HUGE difference. The ride is now much smoother.

As for Ferrari, I can see that but I don't have a Ferrari budget and G.M. is REAL proud of those mag shocks, they wanted $3000!! for a set of four! So since mine leaked and I have seen many other posts on other sites of the same AND there's a C7 recall for leaks I thought why they heck spend that kind of money if they might leak again? And G.M. has a patent on them so there's no third party making them.

I'm happy with what I have now. My third Vette and when I get a C7 it will be without mag ride.

musclecar6

Good. Different strokes for different folks.

radiercks

Hi Jack,

I currently have the left front shock on my 2005 C6, F55 suspension system, that has begun to leak a lot. I think the ride is become worse than previous. The front seems more ridge when hitting bumps. Did you ever get a warning message on the dash display telling you that your shocks were failing?
I haven't yet seen any warning message. Will there ever be one?
Thanks for any help.

RAD

Zoxxo

After reading through the service manual's DTC (code) listings and the related diagnostics for the magnetic shock system, I would have to say no. All of the references, and diagnostics, deal with the electrics and electronics of the system (sensors, activators, power supplies, etc.) There is no system built into the car that can tell what the fluid levels are in the shock tubes.

Z//

radiercks

Thanks Z//,

I suspected as much. I would have thought they would have accommodated this possibility, since the computer algorithm that monitors and controls the shocks probably has the ability to record the difference in response each shocks is exhibiting, as the fluid level falls, over the previous weeks and months. The curse of my engineering background leads me to second guess their design.
Thanks again for checking that out.

I'm still mulling over the option of converting all 4 corners to Bilstein Sports, along with sway bar upgrades.

RAD

Zoxxo

As I said, all the diagnostics revolve around the health of the electronics. The computers know nothing about how or what the shocks are doing (response, etc.) They only know what to tell the shocks based upon what the suspension movements are which is learned from the sensors on each A-arm. It's really a pretty simple system, actually.

I agree that it *ought* to be able to determine long term degradation based upon a logged history but they don't do that.

Z//