Big Healey Shocks - need replacing?

[stever]

Questions for you all: When should the shocks on the big healeys be replaced? If they are not leaking and not loose, how does one determine if they are not functioning well? If they are not functioning well, how does that effect handling? Thanks for your inputs. Regards, Stever

 

[John Loftus]

Steve,

The quickest way is to do the old "bounce" test by pressing down on the body right above the wheel, releasing and seeing if the body returns to level in a controlled dampened manner or continues to bounce up and down several times. A better way but more time consuming is to disconect the suspension hardware to allow you to move the shock arm up and down by hand. The action should be smooth and dampened through the whole range, both up and down. No sudden releases of dampening or jerky motion should be felt. The resistance should be fairly strong when moving by hand.

If you buy new or rebuilt shocks you should bench test them before installing. By moving the levers up and down you make sure there are no air pockets due to shipping. One of my new rear shocks had what felt like an air pocket that would not go away, even after 100's of strokes. Moss replaced it, no problem.

Cheers,
John

 

[Dave Russell]

Steve,
In addition to John's good advice,see this topic on rebuilt shocks;
https://www.britishcarforum.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000566
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If they are not functioning well, how does that effect handling?
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The most obvious thing will be excessive wheel bounce when going over a series of bumps. Also a bad shock will let an unbalanced wheel vibrate a lot more.
D

[ 11-12-2003: Message edited by: Dave Russell ]</p>

 

[stever]

Hi, John and Dave: Appreciate your help. I have tried the "bounce" test and it seems the car is fine as is as it doesn't bounce. However, I still don't like the way the car "feels" when I drive it now. It just seems "squirrelly" and I was wondering about the shocks as they are the original ones and all, but they seem fine. It doesn't ride poorly on a straight line route and it rides pretty normal on bumps, etc. - just doesn't feel right. I am wondering if it is the tires as it seems that tire air pressure changes the degree of "squirrelliness"..... I am considering getting a new set of tires. The ones I have are supposedly "made by Michelin" but have a "no - name" brand that I have never heard of - called an import metric radial 165 x 15 size. Just wondered if I was missing something. Thanks for your thoughts. Stever

 

[CDK]

Steve,
You may have a broken belt in one of your tires.However you should get that front end jacked up and start wiggling stuff just incase something is broken or worn.If you cant find anything in the front check the back also.My trouble shooting advice does not sound to technical but that is basicly the process.
CDK

 

[John Loftus]

Hi Steve,

I would take CDK's advice and put the front on jackstands (best to put a 2" block of wood between the shock arm and shock mount before lifting which keeps the wheels/suspension/steering in a neutral position). With the wheels in the air you can check for king pin wear by grabbing the tire at 12 and 6 o'clock and push pull). Hold the tire and have someone move the steering wheel left and right to see if there is slop in your steering box, idler or tie rods.

Cheers,
John

 

[w. scott brunkhurst]

Take a ride in your car with someone right behind and have them watch the rear wheels for bouncing over bumps. You might want to check the hub fixing nuts for the rear wheels. If they are loose they can make it feel like something is wrong at the front.

SB

 

[Hangtown Healey]

If the reaction of the car seems to be a diagonal pitching (LF and RR movement) then you need shocks. I am dissapointed with the life of my new rears. The Koni fronts seem to last forever. I am going for Udo's Bilstein kit when I get some spare cash.

 

[Graham]

While you have it on a set of jack stans like CDK and John sugest don,t forget to chech all the steering joints for looseness as these can let the wheels move independently if badley worn causing that eratic steering problem you have.

 

[Dave Russell]

Steve,

Front wheels which are toed out a bit instead of in will tend to cause the car to head toward which ever side it feels like depending on pavement surface. Not self centering. Are you sure that you have about 1/16" toe in & not toe out?

I had an old car once, when I was 14 & not too smart, that I could barely keep between the railings on a narrow bridge. Finally discovered that the front wheels were toed out about 1/2"
D

[ 11-15-2003: Message edited by: Dave Russell ]</p>

 

[Greg]

Steve,
In previous British Sports cars I have found that by replacing all of the rubber bushings in the rear suspension things got firmed up quite a bit. This is only a resolution if your "squirrelly" is minor, but it will help.
Greg

 

[stever]

Good day, gents,
I appreciate all the great suggestions/ideas you have provided me on this problem and on others over the last year or so. I sure do enjoy this forum! I intend to do a full checkout on the suspension this winter and am seriously considering replacing the shocks whether they are "bad" or not. The good news is that I decided to take a drive the other day and as it had been some time since I had checked tire inflation pressures, did a check and discovered that the right rear had lost several pounds compared to the left (they didn't look low though....) I added air to 37 front and 35 rear and took off. Much improved handling! Reduced pressures to 35 front and 33 rear - still handled very nicely. "Squirrelness" was gone and I am pretty sure the low overall tire pressures and the really low right rear were the culprit. However, I think I will do a comprehensive suspension 'review' this winter, anyway. Incidently, I found a very nice Healey road on the drive the other day that I hadn't been aware of. It follows along a creek bed with nice old trees and essentially no traffic. Best part is that it is only a few miles away from home, too. Had a great time driving the car through the curves with a nice solid, predictable 'feel'. Thanks again for your assistance. Happy Healeying! Stever