Hi Guy,
The oil in your shocks has probably thickened. You should be able to move the
lever up and down slowly by hand. Replace the oil before testing them.
Use shock oil as provided by Moss, etc., or motorcycle fork oil. I think
20-25W is about the viscosity of the original oil. That and the Moss/etc. oils
seem a little light to me, but I'm running Konis up front and heavy duty
springs
all the way around, plus it's a TR4 with rear leaf springs. 30 or 40W fork oil
could be used to stiffen up the shocks a little, if you wish. I've heard of
using even 50W non-detergent (racing) motor oils.
To drain, slowly and carefully remove the large nut on the front side, near
the bottom. Be careful, there are springs in there and a lot of small pieces
that need to go back in the correct sequence. Remove slowly, carefully and keep
it all together is the easiest way. Set the plug and valve aside and let the
shock drain for awhile.
Replace the valve and plug when the shock is completely drained. Then remove
the smaller bolt/plug near the top and pour the new oil into it. It's full
when held vertically and oil is level with that hole. When full, plug it back
up.
Now mount the shock vertically in a vise and work the lever all the way up
and down about a dozen times, maybe more. At first you will likely feel some
air
working out of the valves, but eventually it should be smooth all the way up
and all the way back down. If it's not smooth, the shock needs to be rebuilt.
If it is smooth and not leaking excessively around the base of the lever, it
should be fine. Incidentally, a little seepage seems to be designed into the
shaft seal, probably to keep dust and dirt from getting into the shock. So, a
small amount of oil seeping out is not a big concern.
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif.
How does one go about determining the health of Armstrong lever shocks?
I just cleaned mine up from my '65 TR4A and they look remarkably good.
I do not see any sign of fluid leakage and I can't move the arms with my
own strength.
Also, how do you empty/refill these things? And with what?
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