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TR2/3/3A Rear Shocks Loose

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mgedit

mgedit

Jedi Knight
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I had a bit of rattle from the back of my car and found that my rear shocks were loose. Tightened them up yesterday and rattle is gone. My question is about the bolts and nuts that should be used to hold shocks in place. Currently, nyloc nuts are being used. Is that correct, or should it be nut with lock washer? Second question, is about the bolts. Should they be special long shoulder bolts? Cheers, Mike
 
Mike,

Spare parts manual calls for Set Screw( 3/8" x 1 1/8") nyloc nut and washer (under nut)

Cheers
Tush
 
Thanks Tush. No washer on mine and it is a "regular" 9/16 head bolt far as I can tell. Hex head set screw might be easier to get hold of given close proximity of bolt head to shock body. Ground down socket did work OK though. Cheers, Mike
 
I went with socket head cap screws and Stover nuts -- but I still have to tighten them periodically.

I did a tightening just the other day and also inserted a tight-fitting hard rubber pad under each shock. I hoping that reduces the tiny movements that, over time, cause it to loosen.
 
I solved this problem by using hex bolts that are about 2.5" long. I have a neighbour who has a lathe and he cut some tubing I gave him so now I have 4 "flat washers" which are each 1.25" long. This lets me tighten the bolts by holding the nut in the inner side and my socket can reach the hex head of the bolt on the outer side because it is further away from the shock body. There isn't much space for a socket with the original design. . In 20 years the problem has never come back.
 
I believe the SPC is actually wrong in this area. On all of the cars I've owned, there is no room for a WP0036 washer under the nut.

In my case, I solved the problem by using Stover nuts, plus grinding down some heavy hardened flat washers (aka "setup" washers as they are frequently used to hold pieces for machining) to fit under the nuts. I also ground down the end of a socket slightly, so it would fit fully onto the nuts (with a bit of encouragement from a BFH). They haven't worked loose in probably 100,000 miles since I did that (although I have had them out for other reasons).

Note that, if you do use Nylocs, they are supposed to be replaced every time you remove them. The Stover nuts are too, but I don't find it to be necessary.
 
Thanks for all the useful and innovative suggestions. Will see if I can find Stover nuts and setup washers locally to have on hand if the shocks start to loosen up again. Cheers, Mike
 
mgedit said:
Will see if I can find Stover nuts and setup washers locally to have on hand if the shocks start to loosen up again. Cheers, Mike
Click to expand...
If not, MMC is a good place to mail order them. They do ship internationally, and have no minimum order (although you will have to buy a full package of each item, they won't break a package). I don't know what the shipping charges to Canada would be like, but they are pretty reasonable within the US. Their inventory is incredible, the web site easy to use, and they almost always ship within a few working hours.
https://www.mcmaster.com/#stover-nuts/=yg6e97

(NFI, just a satisfied customer.)
 
Hmmm, I didn't think MMC would ship to Canada...if I recall, I tried to make purchases both from there and Macy's garage and neither would ship to Canada.

Cheers
Tush
 
So, just for fun, I emailed MMC and got a response.

Hi David,

Due to the complexity of U.S. export regulations, McMaster-Carr accepts international orders only from businesses. This decision also applies to orders shipping within the United States, because it is based on the final destination of the items. We are unable to provide a quotation or accept your orders.
Cheers
Tush
 
Last edited:
Don Elliott said:
I solved this problem by using hex bolts that are about 2.5" long. I have a neighbour who has a lathe and he cut some tubing I gave him so now I have 4 "flat washers" which are each 1.25" long. This lets me tighten the bolts by holding the nut in the inner side and my socket can reach the hex head of the bolt on the outer side because it is further away from the shock body. There isn't much space for a socket with the original design. . In 20 years the problem has never come back.
Click to expand...

Good alternative to a pile of washers under the bolt head, which is one of the ideas I was considering. Cheers, Mike
 
M_Pied_Lourd said:
Due to the complexity of U.S. export regulations, McMaster-Carr accepts international orders only from businesses. This decision also applies to orders shipping within the United States, because it is based on the final destination of the items. We are unable to provide a quotation or accept your orders.
Cheers
Tush
Click to expand...
Thanks for the correction, Tush. Seems like they could mention that in their shipping policy statement!
 
mgedit said:
Wow, lots of different lock washer options. Was not aware that there were so many different configurations. These look like they might be good too. https://www.mcmaster.com/#hex-locknuts/=ygc55d. ... Mil. Spec. Flex-Top Expanding Locknuts for Extreme Vibration


And these are available locally. Are these same as Stover, with washer built in? https://www.fastenal.com/products/details/0167009

Cheers, Mike
Click to expand...
Both look good to me. I don't think there is anything magical about the 'Stover' configuration, they're just what I happened to buy many years ago and I'm still using up the box :smile:
 
Randall, plan to buy a box of those shoulder ones from Fastenal ... then they will become my "standard".

Last time I was in the US bought some stuff from MMC, but by the sound of the reply to Tush they might not even do that if you pay with Canadian credit card. Most unfortunate.

Cheers, Mike
 
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