I don't know about the exact instant that the other 2 guys broke the top studs on their OME rear shocks. But for the 2 times I broke mine, the first time I was just driving on the highway and it let go. It handled differently enough that I had to stop and figure out what broke. It sort of swayed diagonally between the front right and left rear. The root cause of that 1st time was fatigue cracks at the base of the top stud that finally fractured all the way through. I checked the other shock at that same time and it was also showing fatigue cracks in the same place. OME warrantied both shocks for me. When I installed those replacement shocks, it took a year or so before one broke again. The root problem that 2nd time was opposite of what it was the 1st time - I apparently didn't tighten the top stud enough since I thought they might have been too tight the first time that contributed to their fatigue and breakage. Before it broke the 2nd time, I didn't notice rattling, but there was enough play that the top stud rubbed against the mounting hole in the frame and wore away a portion of the stud. So then it broke when there was extra stress of the axle hanging off the shock at full flex while off-road on Poison Spider Mesa in Moab. It was still drivable. I think I drove a few other trails that week with some highway miles before I replaced it. The handling was screwy but it's not critical to be in place to keep it drivable temporarily. In other words, it's not worth bringing a trail spare but it needs to be replaced soon after. Ultimately I chose Rancho shocks as a replacement primarily because the studs are much thicker and designed to take abuse. I'm using Rancho 5000's for a Land Cruiser (5028 I think) because they have a longer extension for additional wheel travel, but I had to add longer and softer frame bump stops due to the longer-than-stock length when they are fully compressed. So it works great for me, but might not work for others.