Although it may sound stupid to ask these questions but I'm going to let them fly anyway... When I turn the shaft on a good shock with my crescent wrench or such, how should it perform? How much pressure should it take to turn it? I don't need specifics for now, just something a country boy can understand. Should it be the same regardless which way it is turned? Should it be the same throughout the travel? Should I expect any rebound? Once in a position, should it just stay there? Answers to these question will be most enlightening and greatly appreciated! Please respond because the Saltman would be completely Model A dumb if it weren't for all of you...
Shock Dumb...
- Thread starter saltman
- Start date
Kevin in NJ
Well-known member
Not a dumb question and many would get this wrong.
With a good shock and the valve closed in all the way at the same distance as the shock arm it should be very hard to turn in one direction and somewhat easier in the other direction. You must have the shock base mounted to something that can hold some turning force.
In the Service Bulletins it gives the time for a few pound weight at a decent lever arm distance to move a certain amount of degrees. You would need a very stiff shock to meet those specs.
It would be the same force throughout the travel.
If the shaft has ANY play then I can assure you the shock will not work properly. If it is the smallest amount of play you might be able to make it work with very thick oil.
I have attached a scan of an article run in one of the Model A clubs back in like 1966 explaining the correct oil types and why.
If you need to take it apart I recently explained that process in another thread on shocks. I will be happy to give you hints from my currently incomplete experiments in shock rebuilding.
With a good shock and the valve closed in all the way at the same distance as the shock arm it should be very hard to turn in one direction and somewhat easier in the other direction. You must have the shock base mounted to something that can hold some turning force.
In the Service Bulletins it gives the time for a few pound weight at a decent lever arm distance to move a certain amount of degrees. You would need a very stiff shock to meet those specs.
It would be the same force throughout the travel.
If the shaft has ANY play then I can assure you the shock will not work properly. If it is the smallest amount of play you might be able to make it work with very thick oil.
I have attached a scan of an article run in one of the Model A clubs back in like 1966 explaining the correct oil types and why.
If you need to take it apart I recently explained that process in another thread on shocks. I will be happy to give you hints from my currently incomplete experiments in shock rebuilding.
Kevin, Thanks-a-lot! You were the one that responded, in length, about my shock disassembly questions. I read it many times and hard copied it for reference and certainly agree that this makes sense. So, hopefully, without being a 'real bother' to you, I do have some other questions for you or others about how these shocks work... I do know that there are and the purpose of CW and AW shocks. However, for my the sake of my understanding, and I think this will help to clarify to me and possibly others how these shocks work... Let's say the left front shock arm needs to move upward because the axle demands it. Will the shock provide the MOST or LEAST amount of resistance to this because of the forces involved and the way the valves operate. IF so, would it take LESS resistance for the weight of the axle/shock arm to return/relax to it's neutral (midpoint) or beyond (lower) when the vehicle is on a smooth surface or lower and the left wheel/axle demands it? Sooo... am I clean out of the ball park on my understanding of this or what? Please do not feel obligated to write me a book with regard to this... just some short hints about this and it will go from there. As always, the Saltman thinks that you guys are the greatest!!!
Mike V. Florida
Well-known member
I've read that the shocks had internal clearances of .0005 between moving parts. I think it's a fair bet that extremely few shocks have those clearances today.