Freelander 1 Should strut piston rebound on it's without spring?

Just took the strut off the car and removed the spring in an attempt to diagnose the graunching sound. The top mount bearing is ok. The bumper stop is spit and knackered, but more importantly I want to know whether the strut piston should rebound on it's own. If I push it right in it stays compressed.

Many thanks

Normal.

wammers said:

Normal.

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Ok. So it's normal for the piston to stay compressed? Are there any checks I can do on the strut whilst it's off to make sure it's all ok? There is no evidence of fluid leaking from the strut.

flanagaj said:

Ok. So it's normal for the piston to stay compressed? Are there any checks I can do on the strut whilst it's off to make sure it's all ok? There is no evidence of fluid leaking from the strut.

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It should be reasonable easy to push down but difficult to pull up. That's about it.

wammers said:

It should be reasonable easy to push down but difficult to pull up. That's about it.

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That is exactly what I have found. Ok, so it looks like it's not the strut.

I also forgot to mark the orientation of the top mount before removal :-( and can now see that the rubber bushing in the top mount is angled and as a result needs fitting in a given orientation relative to the 3 bolts in the engine bay.

wammers said:

Normal.

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Not so I'm afraid.
Look at the strut casing for the pressurised container warning!! As far as I'm aware, all Freelander struts are gas. Definitely the struts I've removed were and if they don't rise on there own, then they are knackered. However some aftermarket struts aren't gas pressurised though.