<VV> Loose Shock Absorber bushings cause erratic steering

[Bill Hubbell]

For those of you who don't know me, I own a 1964 Aqua sedan that I fully
restored 10 years ago.  When I first restored it I put in brand new shocks
from Clark's, but after 3 years I replaced them with original grey spiral
shocks in order to get into the Factory Stock Restored class in Concours.  I
am pretty sure I used new bushings with the old shocks, but I really don't
remember now.  At first the car was very quiet when driven, but for some
reason it never quite handled well at high speed - it had an annoying
tendency to "dart" back and forth, and this in spite of being perfectly
aligned and with good tires.  Then, after a few more years, I began hearing
a squeaky noise coming from the right front of the car - kind of like the
noise of a saddle, if you have ever ridden a horse.  I investigated several
areas but could never quite find the source of the noise, as it was
initially intermittent.  However, it finally became so constant that I was
able to reproduce it at will by bouncing the front of the car, and with the
aid of a short piece of hose held to my ear while my son bounced the car, I
finally localized the sound to the top of the right shock absorber.

 

Today I finally got time to fix it.  I removed the right shock (still
working as well as it ever did, I might add) and took a close look at the
top bushings - see links to photos.  The bushings appeared to be compressed
properly, but they were obviously loose anyway, as the opposing surfaces are
very hard and polished, as it they have been rubbing for quite a while.

 

I put two new top bushings in and reinstalled the shock and now the squeak
is gone and the car is finally stable at high speed just like it was meant
to be.

 

Moral of story - no matter how many times you do a job right, sooner or
later you will screw it up.

 

 

Photos:

 

http://members.cox.net/scg_data/Shock_absorber_top_bushings_001.jpg

 

http://members.cox.net/scg_data/Shock_absorber_top_bushings_002.jpg

 

 

Bill Hubbell