Had the afternoon free and swapped out my old rear Turbo sway bar for a 25mm IPD unit (to match the 25mm front). Of course, the job requires removing the lower shock bolts from the trailing arms. Since I had the rear axle sitting on jackstands I expected the Bilstein HD shocks to expand and drop through the trailing arms once of the bolts were removed. But, they didn't. There was slight expansion on both sides, but not much.

Is this normal or expected, or are they worn out? They still feel pretty firm. Mileage on the shocks is between 60-70K.

Sure made it easier to bolt everything back up, though :-)

*EDIT: car is a 91 244

Shock absorbers are the bottom stop of the rear suspension. With the shocks disconnected, the axle can extend (Droop) further than normal travel.

Normal shocks run little pressure in them- Bilsteins may carry quite a bit.

If you unbolted them with the suspension compressed, they would extend. With the axle fully lowered, i.e. car raised, the shock can't go any farther.
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 87 244DL- 249K, B230F/M47, Turbo sways, Bilsteins, GT braces, Virgos, Turbo exhaust, Gislaveds for winter!

Sounds like the rear axle was down, so normal for the shock.