Road shock eliminator

[dbdave26]

I have a 1931 Buick 866 coupe. I posted awhile back about problems with front end shimmy. I believe the shock eliminator on the left front of the frame may be weak.  The book I have says these are very stiff springs. They should be checked for correct tension. I have not any specs for this tension. I have searched the Master list and have not found a part number or even a reference for the springs. I would like to replace them , but i'm at a loss to find anything. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Dave. P.S.   I posted this on the Buick Prewar site also.

[Mark Shaw]

Dave,

     I have never heard of that part being responsible for what you describe as a shimmy.  Is this shimmy what you feel in the steering wheel?  Does it happen only on rough roads?

[Buick35]

I wish I could help,as for myself,I need a sticker shock eliminator.

[dbdave26]

Thanks for your reply Mark.  If I hit a rough patch of road, The steering wheel begins to shake violently until I almost come to a complete stop. Over the winter trying to find some thing loose in the front end,  I found with the axle off the ground, when I shake the front wheel left to right, These springs move quite freely back and forth. By description the springs should be very stiff. When I first experienced this I removed the cotter pins from the castle nut retainers and could tighten the nuts by hand.  There is a spec for there adjustment to center the axle in place. The retainer nuts can be tightened far beyond the measurement before they snug up. King pins are tight. tie rod ends ok and I have tightened up the drag link as directed. There is no more than normal play in the steering box. Not sure where else to look.  It came on suddenly after many pleasurable miles

[Larry Schramm]

Sounds like you have the "death wobble". If everything is in good shape, check the caster of the front end.  If you have too much, it can cause the low speed wobble and make the car harder to turn.

 

[Marty Roth]

I was about to post the same recommendatin as Larry Schramm noted, above.

Castor is often a cause for the dreaded "Death Wobble".

I first experienced this while a passenger in a friend's Willys Overland - the one which later took up residence on the front porch of the AACA National Headquarters.

He crossed the strip between concrete slabs and the car went left and right at the same time, while the front doors flew open. His comment was that it happens all the time, and his typical reaction was to jerk the wheel to the right and slam on the (very questionable) brakes. That didn't really do anything, other than for the car to eventually sloow enough for the Death Wobble to minimize. I never rode with him again in that car!

 

Try to find an old guy working in an old Front-End shop.

 

Edited May 9, 2021 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[Mark Shaw]

Dave,

    I agree with my friends Larry & Marty.  Death wobble is most typically due to worn king pins and can be remedied by increasing castor or by replacing the king pin bushings.  But before you try increasing castor, you should jack up each front wheel and check your king pins again by trying to wobble your front wheels top to bottom.  If you have any wobble, your king pins need attention.