TR6 TR6 shock links

[Sumton]

car has heavy duty lever shocks and lots of Goodparts suspension and engine mods and really, really sticky tires on wider wheels.

i broke a shock link and i'm wondering - is it stress due to the tires/suspension setup, is it old age (of the part, not me), is it just a random thing, or what???

 

[TR4nut]

I don't see any of the bonded rubber in that link anymore so I'd guess age was probably the main reason.

 

[mrv8q]

Hey, Randy, how is the weather out your way? Hope you are making our OK!

 

[Sumton]

they were replaced in august of 2013. that's not that long.

 

[Tybalt]

they were replaced in august of 2013. that's not that long.

It may not be that long, but if the rubber is gone, then the links are shot.

 

[Tr6easyrider]

Could be, when you replaced them the last time, you tighten the link to the shock with the trailing arm hanging freely, thus putting stress on the rubber in the link. Jack the trailing arm up too its neutral position, then tighten the nut. This will put less stress on the rubber.

 

[Sumton]

good to know. thank you!

 

[Sarastro]

That's a good rule for all rubber suspension bits, such as bushings. They work by flexing, so they should be unstressed in the neutral position. The standard technique is to tighten them with full weight on the suspension. This is true of all cars having rubber bushings, not just LBCs.

 

[ed_h]

The last couple of sets of links I bought had no bond between the ball and the rubber. The balls were captive, but would turn freely, though pretty stiffly. I'm not sure if this is intentional or a defect, but if this is the case with a new set, it wouldn't matter if the links were tightened with the suspension loaded or not.

Ed

 

[AndreL]

...both damper links broke on mine after ~3000 miles (links purchased Aug. 2016).
I surmised the cause was either a nasty bump on the road or manufacturing defect.
The supplier had one other report of failure.
.

 

[M_Pied_Lourd]

If you haven't seen them yet, Goodparts offers a new rose jointed style shock link kit. Very nice piece of kit...

https://goodparts.com/shop/index.php?categoryID=39

Cheers
Tush