How do you test the steering damper to determine if it's bad?

 

only way I know is to take it off and see if it is. I just replaced mine with 290k on it thinking it was surely bad by now. However it still worked like it was supposed too. It required pressure to pull it in or out.

At least on my 01 while it looks like a shock it requires pressure to move it either way in or out. The replacement I used was a bilstein and it is essentially a shock it only requires pressure to move it in and it pushes itself out due to pressure within the shock. Some will say that is good others not. The steering damper is just that a damper, it at least in stock configuration, is not meant to make up for road crown, steering drift etc it is to dampen the irregularities in the road surface to the steering mechanism. Though the higher end ones like fox etc you can put enough pressure in them to offset conditions such as road crown etc but imho that is really just a bandaid for an issue that can be fixed by proper front end setup and alignment. Larger tires(35" +) and certainly hardcore offroad at speed may very well benefit from a high pressure damper as you have now exceeded the original suspension specs and purpose. Just my opinion and I am by no means an expert nor did I sleep in a holiday inn last night. I have certainly read other opinions on the subject extolling the virtues of higher pressure dampers and they may very well be valid.

 

Thanks for the reply. Mine is shot then..........resists motion in one direction then moves freely in the other. Doesn't extend or retract when left unloaded. It's original with over 400k on it.

 

Your due for a new one...