shocks

[geraldchainsaw]

ok,  this can go either way,    first i have air shocks in the 57 conv,    1 always leaks,  i'm always putting air in,  anyone have any ideas on how i can correct this problem?,  tonite i took the 1 apart at the shock and put cylicone in the fitting, the same at the air valve,  and went for a ride and ckecked it again,  and it was down,     so i need some help,  thanks    jerry

[JimNolan]

Jerry,
   Can I ask you a question? Do you still have the original welded shock mounts on the frame rail. Or, have you got mounts that have clamps around them that hold the top of the shock. Jim

[geraldchainsaw]

hi Jim,    as far as i know everything is orig,  at the top of the shock is a bracket welded to somekinda pipe (frame rail) that goes across for both shocks,  and the bott of course is  mounted to the spring u bolt bracket,   havta ask,   now its going to sound like i'm a smart ass,  i don't mean to be,  what would it have to do with a air leak???,   jerry

[JimNolan]

Jerry,
   First off you're not being a smart ass. I was just wondering if you might have done damage to the mounts yet. Those air shocks if pumped up too much will tear the mounts off that bar. When I got my car one of the mounts had broken off and it's probably because someone had the back end jacked up TOO much. So just be aware of that possibility. I'm telling you this because I didn't know that myself until three years ago and one of the guys on here told me about the problems I could cause myself with pumping them up too much.
   The air shocks I used were Monro air shocks. The instructions said if I ran under 50lbs air pressure the shock could bottom out and cause internal leaks. If you put more than a 100lbs air pressure that it would hurt the shocks also. I quit running them because I'd forget about them and let the air pressure go too low. I just didn't want to put the time in on them adjusting the pressure all the time.
   Now to your problem. I've installed brand new air shocks before and they leaked brand new. What I did was to use the plastic tubing to each shock and run the tubing to a bracket under the bumper so I could get to it easily. I had one air fitting that supplied both air shocks. If I lost air in one shock, both shocks would be equal at all times. I could go for about a week before you'd notice the back end coming down. I always kept just enough air in it to give me a good ride height and take the rattles away. Oh, that's another benifit to air shocks. It puts a tension on the back end and it actually quitened my rear suspension. After I did the frame-off and installed new springs the noises were gone anyway. Jim

[wv 57s forever]

1st i ever heard of putting silicone on air shocks, everyone i ever sold in the part stores i worked in,or ever installed when i did that kind of work took rubber o rings, and if the lines leaked we replaced them, kits aren't that much?

[geraldchainsaw]

1st in answer to Jims post about our air shocks.    like i said all is stock, i also had one mounting bracket replaceed on the top,   i have a air line supply to each air shock,  mounted in the wheel well so its easy to get to,   as per WV 57 forevers post,  i didn't even think of the o rings,  i'll give that a try,  if that dosen't work i'll go back to orig shocks,  or i'll take one of the air shocks off and play with it for a while and see if i can come up with something to hold air,  its possible that the one air shock has a leak and i just havn't found that out yet,   but thanks for the info,   good thing i still like working on the old cars,   somethimes i think i like working on them more then driving them,     jerry

[JimNolan]

Jerry,
   Has your email address changed. I tried to send you a private email using the little letter symbal under your name and it came back. Jim

[wv 57s forever]

one air line to each shock is not a good thing. if one loses air and the other doesn't makes for unsafe condition, may not be a concern on your car if it is not jacked up much with the shocks.

[geraldchainsaw]

to Jim,  no my email hasn't changed,  still   geraldchainsaw@aol.com, try it Again.     and to Wv 57,   your right,  good point,  now i \'ve had time to think,      to WV57,    if both shocks are hooked up to 1 main air input,   and 1 goes bad,. they both go bad,  just my thought.

[bossguy]

I read an article years ago about air shocks that made sense to me. The springs and spring hangers are designed to carry the weight of the vehicle. The shock mounts are not. Supporting the vehicle weight on the shock mounts leads to bracket failure. I think it's cheaper to have the springs rebuilt than to buy air shocks anyway. Just my opinion.

[geraldchainsaw]

to Bossguy,   my thinking was,   the air shocks are for keeping the same heigth on both sides, adjustable,  i wa;sn't thinking about weight carried on the rear,   i guess we can go many ways with this one.      Jerry

[JimNolan]

Jerry,
   I figured out why I couldn't click on your private email and get it to go to you. Your email address is mis-spelled in your profile on this website. The " R " is left out of geraldchainsaw. Jim