Rear shock tower bolts/nuts have a dabb of white paint

[Healeyalt]

I think I need to replace my shock absorbers (strutz) on my 76 2+2. I purchased the car about 3 years ago and don't know anything about its history and maintenance. I see the bolts/nuts on the passenger side rear shock tower has a dabb of white paint on them which lines up so it doesn't look like they've ever been removed and these could be the original shock absorbers? Did the factory use paint during assembly or was this most likely done later by a mechanic? Also, when the OEM strutz go bad (eg, no oil left) can they get noisey? For example, when going down the road and I hit bumps, I seem to be getting a rumbling-type of noise from somewhere in the back end.

Thanks

Gary

[SteveJ]

I know that in my 260Z, I would feel a pretty good thump at the transition between the driveway and street when going up my driveway. The thump disappeared after changing springs & struts.

[rossiz]

i had a clunkety-rumble coming from somewhere in the rear suspension prior to swapping out my struts/springs/swaybars. it was most noticeable in the parking garage (quiet, lots of concrete walls to reflect sound, suspension moving around a lost) and now it's gone. my struts were completely toast - you could push them down by hand and they wouldn't even come back...

[Healeyalt]

Thanks guys. Everything else in the rear suspension seems tight (fine) so I'm hoping it is the shocks,

This is a little off-topic, but did you guys go with the KYB shocks which seem to be the most popular? Gary

[SteveJ]

Yes, I got the KYBs from Rockauto.

[djwarner]

I believe the white dots were a quality control mark indicating the bolts were properly torqued.

[Healeyalt]

djwarner mentions, "I believe the white dots were a quality control mark indicating the bolts were properly torqued". Since the white painted dot aligns from the nut to the bolt thread, I'm thinking the shocks have probably never been changed or what would be the chance of the painted dots aligning up perfectly again after putting in new shocks and retorquing.

I see Rockauto does have a good price for the KYB shocks.

Thanks

[rossiz]

i went w/the staag struts - much less $$ and seem to be fine for my dd

my previous struts were toast so i don't have a baseline to compare to the kyb, but i'm happy with them.

Stagg 4 Shocks Nissan Datsun 260z 280z 1975 1978 | eBay

there is a thread on the forum with some discussion of these and you can see my thread about suspension upgrade - some drama over the springs (my foolishness) but the struts were easy-peasy.