Can someone give me some pointers, hints or signs, which indicate a blown shock or strut? Thanks

 

car will ride like a lawn mower, and you'll be able to see oil coming out around where the two sections of the strut meet.

 

if you have the shock out of the car press down on the shaft and see if it comes back up. a good shock will come back up but remember they don't just bouce back up they come back very slow. a bad one would not even come back up.

 

look for leaks, do a bounce test, and if the shock is out then check to see if the pistion goes down, and comes back up on it's own. Depending on the shock it should be a bit stiff to push down, but again depends on what shock you have

 

1st. Do a bounce check. Push the car up and down where you think the blown shock is. It should come to a complete stop after 1 or maybe 2 bounces. If it doesn't then you would need to take the shock off and make sure. After you take the shock out. Push the rod all the way down and it should SMOOTHLY come back up. If it does anything else besides that, like stutter, stay down, or jump back up. Then your shock is blown.