1937 Special Rear Shocks

[Jack Worstell]

Recently we removed the rear shocks from our 1937 Special .... We found both to be very low on fluid .

 

We filled them up with motor cycle fork fluid  ( used 30 wt....is this the right weight ? )

 

And of course once filled with fluid they became hard to actuate by hand....we expected this.

However the right shock is far more difficult to actuate than the left one is.   One of our fellows is

a very  stout 200+lbs can only get it to move very slowly using his full strength.

 

So we believe that there is some sort of obstruction in one of the narrow internal passages inside 

the right shock.    We took the two end caps off and other than being a little dirty the insides look good.

 

However...we did not go farther than removing the end caps.   We have never opened up a Delco

knee action/lever action shock before and want to get some insight before we go farther

( yes we know about rebuilders for these gadgets but the shocks look good and probably just need

a cleaning....plus we don't want the downtime of probably at least a month it would take to send

them off for repair )

 

Some questions

 

Does anyone have any experience in opening these up.......past merely removing

      the end caps....      in order to clean them ?

Are there "repair kits" made for these ?

Is   30wt fork oil the right weight  to use ?

Are any special tools required ?

Does anyone have literature on repairs/operation details beyond the little bit found in the shop manual 

    ( even an exploded view would    be more than we have now   )  ?

 

Jack Worstell     jlwmaster@aol.com          304 776 1134

 

   (  PS      most people might think it's nuts to tear into a knee action shock..........but we always try to fix

          everything on our cars ourselves...it's more fun that way.      Naturally we regret this

           from time to time..........)

 

 

 

th

 

[Joseph P. Indusi]

I have had good luck with hydraulic jack oil and it seems to be somewhat lighter than 30 weight.   Beyond this I cannot help you.   Please post the outcome when you get this resolved.

Joe

[39BuickEight]

From everything I have gathered and read about these over the past 9 years, there is no way to rebuild these yourself.  There is no rebuild kit that I have ever seen.  If there is I would also love to know about it.

[Jack Worstell]

Clarification     our immediate need is not necessarily to rebuild the shock.......but only to take it apart 

for cleaning. 

  ( of course once into the shock if we saw some need for repair beyond a simple cleaning...it would be nice

to take care of any such repair at the same time.)

 

Jack Worstell    jlwmaster@aol.com    304 776 1134

[MCHinson]

I think your fluid is too thick. I would suggest you simply clean what you see, put it back together and change to hydraulic jack oil. I think that and a bit of use will likely solve your problem if there is any chance of avoiding a total rebuild. It should take quite a bit of force to move them. It is more likely that the left one has something leaking past some seals or a bit of air in it. Maybe some use while full of the correct weight fluid might restore normal operation.