shock absorbers for 1938 Dodge

hi would some one be able to help me to sort out what oil and viscotey goes into the shocks for my 1938 dodge sedan .Looking forward to a reply ....John from nz

1938 Dodges used modern tubular shock absorbers. They require no service and cannot be filled with oil, but should be replaced every 20,000 to 25,000 miles.

Rustey I beleave you can repair and fill .Look on utube .Regards John

I don't have to look on youtube. 1938 Dodges had tubular shocks. Last model with refillable Delco shocks was 1936. Suggest you crawl under your car and look for yourself.

I don't have to look on youtube. 1938 Dodges had tubular shocks. Last model with refillable Delco shocks was 1936. Suggest you crawl under your car and look for yourself.

In the unlikely event that the car actually has the original tubular ("airplane sylte") shocks, the service manual shows how to disassemble and refurbish them. So the original question could have merit. I don't know about the tubular shocks, but I use hydraulic jack oil in my older lever arm shocks. I've heard others use motorcycle strut oil.

In the more likely event that the original shocks were replaced sometime along the way, then it is likely that the replacements are not designed to be serviced and need to be thrown away and replaced.

I don't have to look on youtube. 1938 Dodges had tubular shocks. Last model with refillable Delco shocks was 1936. Suggest you crawl under your car and look for yourself.

Rusty me boy seeing that you are full of knowledge you should be able to tell me what grade of oil to refill in the tubular shocks

I'll tell you what. If you take them off the car, take them to pieces, inspect the insides, and if you still want to refill them and put them back on, I will tell you what kind of oil to use.

A follow up on my earlier post: The 1936-42 Plymouth factory service manual lists the quantity of fluid to use and there is a statement in the assembly section that the correct amount is required as there needs to be some air in the system for it to work properly. I don't see anything mentioning the characteristics of the fluid but the off mention of the '36 lever arm shock seems to indicate that it uses the same fluid as the tubular telescoping shock. So maybe the same hydraulic jack or motorcycle strut fluids that are used in lever arm shocks can be used in the telescoping tubular shocks.

The introductory paragraph for the shock section says that the loss of fluid should not happen and that if it does it indicates that repair is needed. It looks like a fairly involved procedure with some special tools needed to do the job and I would guess that finding replacement internal parts could be difficult. Are you going for show or for function? If for function, I'd just look at the front section of the shock section in the manual to get the specifications for the collapsed length and match up a modern shock. (I'd probably also save the originals and see if I could rebuild them at my leisure.)

1934-1936 Auburns used Monroe and Spicer airplane style shocks. I have rebuilt both brands, the Monroe's are much easier. The Auburn shocks all came with a drain plug so the fluid could be changed. I use modern hydraulic fluid. Any modern petroleum product is 100 times better than what the cars came with when new.