Rear shocks on a 1936 fordor

B

billybronco1

Well-known member
Hey guys, I wanted to replace the shock links on the rear of my 36 because they where shot and thought it would quiet down some of the noises in the rear of the car. Well it seems the shocks do nothing other than squeak when I push the arm up and down, no resistance. Other than replacing the shock which are too expensive is there any maintenance or rebuild options on these original shocks? Any other options?
 

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Could try to fill the shock to see if they develop some resistance. There is a rebuilding service but if they are seized or if the shaft wobbles with no resistance they may not be rebuildable.
 
Yes, I took the shock out, the arm moved full distance but not smoothly, sometime stuck. So I filled it mystery oil and keep moving the arm until it got smooth but there is no resistance. Not sure if jack oil will make it work again.
 
You can fix them your self if you have access to a lathe, I have just done 6 shocks from the rear of a 33 and a set from the front.
I replaced the seals with modern O rings and turned the shaft down to get a nice true surface, then( the fidly bit) bored and sleeved the shaft housing, and machined a cavity in it for a modern seal.
Lots of work
Lawrie
 
How should the arm feel on a good working shock? Can you move it freely with your hand with minimal effort or is there suppose to be a lot of resistance like a traditional shock of today? Does it just give resistance in one or both directions?
 
There should be stronger desistance in one direction, and they are adjustable.and temp compensated, quite a good setup considering when they were made.
Lawrie
 
So what is the fluid for, just to lubricate the moving parts or is there some kind of hydraulics going on? What do you recommend for fluid? Anyone have a picture of the inside of one of these so I can better understand how they work? Adjustable? How?
 
Yours are non adjustable. Typically the adjuster is in the center of the square main shaft and operates a needle valve inside. The shocks are hydraulic. The MMO is a good starting point to see if they will function if they are empty. You may be able to find an old can of the Ford fluid or try the hydraulic jack fluid. If your shocks have been empty and make noise expect the main shaft seal to fail, which is most likely how the original fluid escaped. You can find some information in Ford Service Bulletins.
 
So I left the mystery oil in overnight the arm moves very smoothly in both directions and no oil leaked out. I plan to get some jack oil fill and flush and see if I get any resistance. I'm assuming and hoping that mystery oil would not work as a hydraulic agent that way there is no resistance, unless what ever makes this thing tick is completely stuck inside.
 
No difference with jack fluid and the one on the other side is pretty much frozen solid, now what? I send an email to Andy Shox see what he has to say.
 
So its seems I need to buy or have my shocks rebuilt. Has anyone dealt with Apple Hydraulics? Or can recommend some other company that sells or rebuilds these Houdaille lever shocks. I saw at one time there was a conversion to use tube shocks, I would do that but I can't find the kit anymore.
 
billybronco1 said:
So its seems I need to buy or have my shocks rebuilt. Has anyone dealt with Apple Hydraulics? Or can recommend some other company that sells or rebuilds these Houdaille lever shocks. I saw at one time there was a conversion to use tube shocks, I would do that but I can't find the kit anymore.
Click to expand...

Some people on here have had a poor experience with Apple, search shock rebuild in this forum, for more options. I thought about tube shocks for my car, but realized original would be easier.
 
Yes, I saw a lot of negative comments on Apple. I did send an email to Andrew Falandes that I saw in post from 10 years ago, no response yet. Just wondering if there is something else out there that might work. My car is not a museum piece just a fun driver and I do not need it to be completely pure. Ca't find any Delco Lovejoy either. Right now I'm driving with no rear shocks, I can say one thing all the rear rattles and noises went away but a scary ride.
 
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