Squeaking Armstrong Shock Absorber

[Giles]

When I bounce the rear of the car I get a squeak form the area of the shock. Is this the right order to work through the problem?:

1. Remove the shock and replace oil.
2. Dismantle the arm apply red grease on rubber joints.

If this fails…

Replace the Armstrong?

I am pretty sure it is not the leaf spring.

 

[Gliderman8]

Hello.... The FIRST thing I would check is the two bolts securing the lever shock to the chassis. These bolts often do become loose and it allows the shock to move, causing noises. I had the very same thing happen to my TR6. Check the mounting bolts!

 

[Gliderman8]

This was my car....
> TR6 lever shock noise <

 

[BobHaskell]

When I bounce the rear of the car I get a squeak form the area of the shock. Is this the right order to work through the problem?:

1. Remove the shock and replace oil.
2. Dismantle the arm apply red grease on rubber joints.

If this fails…

Replace the Armstrong?

I am pretty sure it is not the leaf spring.

The shocks can be rebuilt - World Wide Auto Parts in Wisconsin - Peter C.

 

[red57]

The loose shock mount bolts that Elliot describes are a known issue but usually make the clunk sound heard his video rather than a squeak. If you have a definite squeak, I would look to the springs themselves. The original springs had 3 zinc interleaves (thin strips of zinc) between the 4 largest/longest leaves that was supposed to act as a lubricant, so the leaves slipped past each other with less friction. This reduced wear on the leaves and prevented squeaks. Many earlier large cars of the era, like Jaguar saloons, had leather gaiters over the springs so they could be greased regularly - the zinc strips were less maintenance and didn't require regular applications of grease. Replacement springs these days don't have those zinc strips but it is possible to dismantle the springs and install strips yourself if you want. To test if this is the source of your squeak, try spraying the ends of the largest leaves with penetrating oil (recognizing most penetrating oils aren't really very good at oiling things so any improvement will probably be short lived.
They are hard to see, but in the first picture, the top spring is as received and the lower one is after I installed the zinc strips

 

[Giles]

Spring was my first thought so i liberally sprayed with penetrating oil but with no effect. The zinc plates you mention are clearly visible.
The squeak seems to be around the centre - not the ends.I also greased the nipple at the rear just in case.

 

[BobHaskell]

Spring was my first thought so i liberally sprayed with penetrating oil but with no effect. The zinc plates you mention are clearly visible.
The squeak seems to be around the centre - not the ends.I also greased the nipple at the rear just in case.

Giles, The shock links in good shape? And the U-bolts holding the axle to the springs tight? Which car do you have: panhard bar or radius arms?

 

[Giles]

I have a 64 Austin Healey mk3.
I will give all the bolts a tweak to check they are tight.