Springs or shocks

The car has over 400k and the suspension needs a rebuild which I will not be doing myself because of age. I am buying parts online and have everything except springs. I have had my tech look at the car and he tells me that everything appears to be the way it should i.e. springs not broken no leaks from the shocks, ball joints etc all good, and no play in the front end. However when driving and I hit a pothole it bottoms out,is it more lightly to be the shocks than the springs.? The car appears to be normal height when parked on the a level surface.

Have you done a bounce test? Push down sharply on each corner of the car and see if it bounces more than once. If it does then you need to replace the shocks.
If the shocks are original then I would expect them to be shot by now.

Thanks for the reply Robin, yes we did a bounce test and it showed that there was more movement than there should be. How can I be sure that the springs are ok. The shocks were replaced about 10 years ago.

In my opinion if the car sits level and at the correct ride height the springs are probably OK. How many miles have you added in 10 years? Shocks usually wear out before springs so you may be due for them again.

In 10 years about 60km

Have you changed the foam bushes at the top of the shocks? The stuff crumbles away over time leaving a void and allowing the shock to bang against the mount. Very noticeable bang going over bumps is the primary symptom.

Larry I have not, the last time I did the shocks they were already powder on the front, all will be renewed.Tks for your reply

Usually worn springs sag, so you’ll ride too low. Shocks keep it from bouncing over holes and such.

I’ve never replaced a spring unless I wanted to lower the car, or allow more weight to be carried.

Thank you all for your replies,work will be done next week and I will report if shocks corrected the issue.

And that is exactly what happened to my 1990 XJ6. I think at the time I just replaced the bushes and refit the shocks. All still fine now at 72K miles.

Yes John - I think if it were me, I’d just do the bushes first and see how she rides, probably all it needs!

Work completed it was the bushes on the top of the shocks below the fender. Thank you all.