Aye, hacksaw is the only way to go. When I have to get one out now unless
it moves straight away it gets the hacksaw. If the damper body is solidly
mounted and you can see or feel the shaft moving in the body then I'd say
the damper is knackered. Are you sure it isn't the arms moving on the shaft
i.e. loose clamp bolts? How about if the arms are through-bolted together
again, is the play still present? If so this will give varying geometry,
which apart from probably pulling to one side could well vary the steering
inputs required at various times, which would be even more off-putting.
Resistance is a matter of experience and difficult to define without hanging
weights off the arms and timing how long it takes to fall. If it needs
fluid then it has probably leaked which again means the damper is knackered,
adding more will simply leak out again. It should move smoothly from end to
end, but more importantly if you waggle the arms up and down at its normally
loaded position there should *not* be a small undamped portion as you change
direction.
If you are rebuilding the front suspension as a whole then I'd get an
exchange pair. Even then the rebuilt unit is only as good as its core, and
you may find that one of them starts leaking again fairly soon. But it is
still cheaper to replace a second time, including the hassle of changing it
(and we all enjoy that, don't we?) at 15 quid a throw (in the UK anyway)
rather than buying new. IMHO.
PaulH.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Shoyer" <steve@shoyer.com>
To: <mgs@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, August 20, 2004 6:07 AM
Subject: Front suspension replacement saga progress report
> Now I'm wondering about the shock absorber. The lever arm has some
> lateral play in it; is this OK, or did I use the hammer too much? There
> doesn't seem to be much resistance when I raise and lower the arm, so I
> don't know if I just need to add fluid or just remove it and get a
> rebuilt pair. As much as I'd like to get the new kingpin in place, I
> don't want to do the job twice.
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