# Does these shock look like they've been replaced? **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [July 6, 2019, 9:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-these-shock-look-like-theyve-been-replaced/143809 "2019-07-06T21:50:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bocibocitarka\_154283](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc79bd/32.png) [@bocibocitarka\_154283](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bocibocitarka_154283)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 9:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-these-shock-look-like-theyve-been-replaced/143809/1 "2019-07-06T21:50:26Z")
Hi, I had one of my rear shocks leaking and I had them replaced. They said they should be replaced in pairs, so I had both rear ones replaced. Upon looking under the car, I can see that they look just like as before. You can even see the oil leak on one of them. Question. Do these look like they have been replaced? Maybe the shocks are sitting inside this “pipe” (outer “shell”) and that is why it’s not visible that they are new? Why does it look like they are the same old ones I had before? 2008 Mazda 3 Work done by Les Schwab $244 including tax for both Time: about 25 minutes. Does this look “normal”? Thanks. Hmmm… apparently I can only put 1 image in a post as a new user. The other shock looks similar, but no oil leak on the pipe. ![IMG_0265](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/2/b/2bacb267e3224cbcc09fa8f70735514fb65499b1.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 9:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-these-shock-look-like-theyve-been-replaced/143809/2 "2019-07-06T21:52:15Z")
That shock has **NOT** been replaced. Tester ---
**Author:** ![bcohen2010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bcohen2010](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bcohen2010)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-these-shock-look-like-theyve-been-replaced/143809/3 "2019-07-06T21:55:51Z")
> [@bocibocitarka\_154283](#): > > Question. Do these look like they have been replaced? Absolutely not. > [@bocibocitarka\_154283](#): > > Maybe the shocks are sitting inside this “pipe” (outer “shell”) and that is why it’s not visible that they are new? No such thing. Go online, for example to Rock Auto, and you can see what the shocks/struts used on your car look like. > [@bocibocitarka\_154283](#): > > Why does it look like they are the same old ones I had before? Because they ARE the same old ones you had before. IF you were charged for this work, it wasn’t performed. ---
**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 10:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-these-shock-look-like-theyve-been-replaced/143809/4 "2019-07-06T22:07:25Z")
It looks like they reused the plastic sleeves that protects the shock absorbers piston, nothing wrong with that but I would have cleaned them. Can you take a photo of the lower half of the shock from behind the vehicle? ---
**Author:** ![bocibocitarka\_154283](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc79bd/32.png) [@bocibocitarka\_154283](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bocibocitarka_154283)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 10:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-these-shock-look-like-theyve-been-replaced/143809/5 "2019-07-06T22:30:04Z")
Thank you all for the replies! After I saw the posts from @Tester and @bcohen2010, I jumped into the car and headed back to them. (they are just 1 block away). Turned out, yes, it is just the protective tube. I was looking at the wrong “angle”. The manager came out and he showed that you have to look from the back of the car. Then I was able to see the new shocks, and they even had the sticker on them. So all is good. Thank you all, and thanks for @Nevada_545 to confirm that they are indeed inside a protective tube of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 12:20am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-these-shock-look-like-theyve-been-replaced/143809/6 "2019-07-07T00:20:43Z")
> [@bocibocitarka\_154283](#): > > I jumped into the car and headed back to them. (they are just 1 block away). That is the first thing you should have done . Always give the shop or person you pay for something a chance to explain what they did and answer your questions. ---
**Author:** ![FoDaddy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/fodaddy/32/717_2.png) [@FoDaddy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/FoDaddy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 2:39am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/does-these-shock-look-like-theyve-been-replaced/143809/7 "2019-07-07T02:39:04Z")
> [@bocibocitarka\_154283](#): > > . Question. Do these look like they have been replaced? Not recently