Roadside repair: gas-charged shock installation.
Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2017 4:17 pm
The problem with a 1969 Volkswagen convertible is the relatively reliable nature of it… It's been driven almost every day for three years and I'm still waiting for something to wrong. It might suffice to say the dealership tool roll in the front trunk has never seen a fastener, and there are no spare parts on board… What do you do when you're motoring around Southern California when a friend asks you to come fix a clunk in his rear end? Or course the shocks come off during diagnosis…
"PSSSSSS" goes his shock as it expands in a rather prurient fashion… Now three inches longer than needed, there is no way that's going back in without a bottle jack that I do not have.
"All I have are screwdrivers and a volt meter. Can we compress it by hand? "
"Only if you stand on it."
"Got a jack?"
"No, but I have this Hazet 10/13 millimeter wrench, some Klein pliers, and a fan belt…………"
Just like that, we were able to stand on the shocks, slip mom's spare belt around them, and get the shocks installed before dinner. (The noise was a missing lower spacer, allowing the shock to contact the torsion tube.) So when you're out on the road with a clunk, don't despair. You may just need a spare fan belt and some washers.
Robbie
"PSSSSSS" goes his shock as it expands in a rather prurient fashion… Now three inches longer than needed, there is no way that's going back in without a bottle jack that I do not have.
"All I have are screwdrivers and a volt meter. Can we compress it by hand? "
"Only if you stand on it."
"Got a jack?"
"No, but I have this Hazet 10/13 millimeter wrench, some Klein pliers, and a fan belt…………"
Just like that, we were able to stand on the shocks, slip mom's spare belt around them, and get the shocks installed before dinner. (The noise was a missing lower spacer, allowing the shock to contact the torsion tube.) So when you're out on the road with a clunk, don't despair. You may just need a spare fan belt and some washers.
Robbie