Guest Thuff51 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Hello All, First I'd like to thank all of you who contributed to my prior post. This is my first Buick and I've finally worked out many bugs and been driving it for quite some time now. Gotta love straight 8's. I have a 1951 Buick Special with Dynaflow. I've noticed that my left front knee action shock is leaking badly. So far I've tried jack oil with stop leak and that didn't seem to help. I've heard of people intalling a grease gun fitting and pumping full of chassis grease?Question: Will this work and what are the ramifications of the action? Stiff suspension??I really don't want to go through the work/cost of removing and having it rebuilt. Open to clever ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelnut Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 If fixing a leaky shock correctly is too difficult and expensive for you, then maybe this is not the right car for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Thuff51 Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Thank you. I'm looking for a temporary fix until I can properly fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Falabella Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Apple Hydraulics will do a complete rebuild. Not terribly expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 Thuff, there are no easy fixes. Grease will not leak, but shock will not perform. The only way is to reseal it. Five Points, in California, will rebuild and send one to you. You then send yours back for credit. At least they did this in '09 when I did mine. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelnut Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 You've already tried adding oil and additives. There is no remaining "quick fix" other than a proper rebuild. It could be much more costly to repair if you damage the shocks by attempting some kind of alterations, because then your units may no longer be rebuildable and you might have to pay the full core charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick man Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Well, buick man really likes your ad line … need to 'bounce' an idea off you " …. Especially when referring to Knee Action Shocks :)/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosiesdad Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Mine leak pretty bad. Has anyone rebuilt / resealed these at home or should I just send them out?ThxPhil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Simpler to send them out. Although Willie "Old Tank" Putnam has done the back ones and has a tutorial on his website. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan O Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 I saw that tutorial on rebuilding but you wave to cut the arm and refit with a machined bolt and nut and good lord, it's better to get them rebuilt by Apple Hydraulics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Yeah, not for the faint of heart. And mine failed. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Yeah, not for the faint of heart. And mine failed. BenDo you want your money back??Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Do you want your money back?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Nope. Money well spent:o Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packick Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 (edited) I "rebuilt" the rear shocks on my '55 per Willie's instructions and did not have to cut the arm. I had a good, strong puller and the arms pulled off with no problems. After putting the O-ring on I used my shop press to put the arms back on. Note that before taking the arms off I marked their position so i could put them back on in the same position. After 2 years and about 3,000 miles the leaks haven't reappeared (knock on wood).Thanks again Willie. Edited October 6, 2014 by packick (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Joe, What is the model of that puller? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheelnut Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 Looks like posi lock 104, or 106. Either would work I imagine. Well except that the 106 is 10 tons, and the 104 is only 5.5 tons. I wonder how much it really takes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick5563 Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 I have one of those and it didn't touch my shock.Maybe I needed the bigger version.The other problem I had was that the third arm on the puller didn't want to cooperate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhigdog Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 I'm thinkin a hydraulic press would be in order..................Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packick Posted October 6, 2014 Share Posted October 6, 2014 (edited) Willie et. al.:As Wheelnut surmised, it is a Posilock Gear and Bearing Puller (Model 106). I used a 3/4" breaker bar on the puller to remove the shock arm. With that length bar I didn't have to use much of my force to break it loose. Once broken free I used my 1/2" ratchet to work it off. I ended up taking the arms off of 3 rear shocks. The first one was a test case and it was off of an old 1953 Special parts car; it is the same shock as '55 shock. Here is a better picture of the puller: Edited October 7, 2014 by packick (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickrk Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 (edited) I see there is a guy on Ebay that does rebuilds on these for like $140 per unit for rears. You have to contact him for front rebuild prices. I don't know anything about his work but he has a 100% rating. Hope this helps. Edited November 9, 2014 by trickrk (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan O Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 I am trying to assess the condition of my knee action shocks on my recently acquired 1949 76C. I know there is the old test for tube shock cars we did in the past - push down on a front fender corner (or rear corner) to get the car rocking strongly and then let off. If the car went back to motionless in three up-down cycles your shocks were ok. I know the '49s were softly sprung when new but is there a comparable test for the knee-action shocks? Mine returns to rest after four up-down cycles now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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