Staking front shock bolts

[Tom M.]

My shocks are original to the car. The upper shock bolts are staked. Is there a way to remove the bolts/shocks then reinstall them so the staking can be made to look correct?

[Patrick H.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

I'll ask the first question - if you're going to put them back on, why are you taking them off?

[Tom M.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

I'm chasing a front end shimmy. Eliminated tires/wheels, idler arm, tie rod ends, rag joint, steering box, wheel bearings. Now looking at the possibility of needing to change the original bushings on both U & L arms and shocks, possibly ball joints but would like to preserve the originality as much as possible.

[Patrick H.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

I'd be interested to know how all of the other items were eliminated as cause, because the odds of some of those causing a "shimmy" are much higher than shocks or a-arms.

[Tom M.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

Thanks for the help with this. I'll say the way I checked given your input was probably amateurishly wrong so bear with me. Tires/wheels- have had two sets during my ownership. Newest purchased this year - pretty much the same ride as the 25 year old tires they replaced. They are radials. the a Rag joint, steering gear were done by visual with having someone rock the wheel and looking /feeling for play. Tie rod ends & idler was also visual and by feel when static and also rocking the steering wheel. Wheel bearings changed and also adjusted a couple times as a result of caliper leaks motivating me to remove and clean the discs through the years. The only diagnosis on bushings/shocks has been visual. They have about 35k miles on them/50 years old/lots of rubber cracking etc. Last time out I was paying a lot more attention and its a 55-62mph shake mostly seeming to come from the right front since the vibration is more apparent when comparing the fenders movement. It's not a death wobble, it's an annoying high frequency shimmy that you feel in the steering wheel.

[Tom M.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

I looked at your 72 Bowtie pix and your bushings look like mine....
Thanks

[Terry M.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

Thanks for the help with this. I'll say the way I checked given your input was probably amateurishly wrong so bear with me. Tires/wheels- have had two sets during my ownership. Newest purchased this year - pretty much the same ride as the 25 year old tires they replaced. They are radials. the a Rag joint, steering gear were done by visual with having someone rock the wheel and looking /feeling for play. Tie rod ends & idler was also visual and by feel when static and also rocking the steering wheel. Wheel bearings changed and also adjusted a couple times as a result of caliper leaks motivating me to remove and clean the discs through the years. The only diagnosis on bushings/shocks has been visual. They have about 35k miles on them/50 years old/lots of rubber cracking etc. Last time out I was paying a lot more attention and its a 55-62mph shake mostly seeming to come from the right front since the vibration is more apparent when comparing the fenders movement. It's not a death wobble, it's an annoying high frequency shimmy that you feel in the steering wheel.

Tom

I suggest you have the tires balanced using the Road Force method. Use this link to find a location near you. Don't settle for anything else:

https://www.hunter.com/gsp9700

[Patrick H.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

Tom

I suggest you have the tires balanced using the Road Force method. Use this link to find a location near you. Don't settle for anything else:

https://www.hunter.com/gsp9700

And, have the rims checked to see if they are straight. You would be surprised how most are not.
A good shop cam adjust the tire position to help, or even straighten the wheel somewhat.

[Duke W.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

its a 55-62mph shake mostly seeming to come from the right front since the vibration is more apparent when comparing the fenders movement. It's not a death wobble, it's an annoying high frequency shimmy that you feel in the steering wheel.

If the steering wheel is "shaking" not wiggling back and forth the most likely causes are static unbalance or an out of round condition with the tire/wheel assembly. Terry's recommendation is what you need to do. Find a tire shop in your area with a Hunter GSP 9700 wheel balancer. It will detect out of round, which in some cases can be mitigated or eliminated by reclocked the tire relative to the wheel, however, if wheel or tire out of round is too much one or both might need replacing.

If maximum out of round is more than about .030" it will cause steering wheel shake excited by the natural frequency of the front suspension, which is in the speed range you reported.

If you've ever watched a race on TV and a driver severely locks up his brakes it will flat-spot the tires. The driver will then have to deal with the vibration from the out of round condition, which can be severe. He might pit for new tires or stay out and drive through the vibration until normal tire change time, but lap times will likely increase.

Duke

[Joe L.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

Terry, Duke, and Patrick------


I TOTALLY agree with your recommendations. In my personal experience this kind of shimmy problem is virtually always the result of tire or wheel problems or, less frequently, rotor problems.

[Tom M.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

Thanks for the info. Just finished reading up on the GSP9700 and road force balancing. It will take me a couple of weeks before I can get it done but will post results when completed.

[Tom M.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

Roadforce balancing is done. Numbers from the balancer were: 6, 8, 16, 32 (i read up on their meaning and acceptable limits) The tech said all but the 32 wheel were bent and he spun one to show me. The 32 wheel is mounted right rear now and the 6,8 are in front. In between the snow/salt/rain I think I got the last drive of the year in today. At 60-65 the front end is nice and smooth. I do feel a vibration in my seat and it would be annoying after some miles so in the spring I'll shift wheels around with the spare and see if a better balance can be done.
I was really bummed to hear the wheels were bent.

[Joe L.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

Roadforce balancing is done. Numbers from the balancer were: 6, 8, 16, 32 (i read up on their meaning and acceptable limits) The tech said all but the 32 wheel were bent and he spun one to show me. The 32 wheel is mounted right rear now and the 6,8 are in front. In between the snow/salt/rain I think I got the last drive of the year in today. At 60-65 the front end is nice and smooth. I do feel a vibration in my seat and it would be annoying after some miles so in the spring I'll shift wheels around with the spare and see if a better balance can be done.
I was really bummed to hear the wheels were bent.

Tom------


This is also the reason that I never recommend the purchase of USED wheels. Any used wheel can suffer from the exact same problems you found with your wheels. Buying used wheels is "buying a pig in a poke".

[Patrick H.]

Re: Staking front shock bolts

I was really bummed to hear the wheels were bent.

I suspect that most of these are bent, both because of miles and age as well as manufacturing tolerances "back in the day."
I think you would have to look a while to find one that is not, unless it was a spare since Day 1.