Rear shock absorbers

[Ingles49]

I am renewing the oil in the rear shocks, but unfortunately I cannot get the nearside shock off. Ive removed the wheel and then the two bolts that connect the shock to the mounting bracket. Ive also removed the nut that secures the lever arm to the link, but the lever arm wont slide off the link. Ive pushed, pulled, twisted but it wont budge by one millimetre. Am I missing something, shouldnt the shock just slide off the link.

[svenedin]

No unfortunately the damper lever arm will not just slide of the drop link, the joint is tapered. You need to either use a puller of some kind (ball joint puller) or disconnect the drop link from the chassis and remove the damper with the drop link attached. The top of the drop link is secured with a castle nut and split pin. It is very tricky to get a new split pin in but you can use a nyloc nut instead which is far easier. The nyloc is 3/8" BSF. It is a very good opportunity to check the bushes in the drop link and replace if necessary.

Stephen

[Ingles49]

Thanks Stephen I'll remove the whole link once I've got a nyloc

[oliver90owner]

Do remember that nyloc nuts are, technically, single use items - although many do remove and replace with no thought of the reduced captivity. Castle nutx do not fall into that category.

[svenedin]

Do remember that nyloc nuts are, technically, single use items - although many do remove and replace with no thought of the reduced captivity. Castle nutx do not fall into that category.

Absolutely but split pins are also single use items and some people foolishly reuse those too!

[geoberni]

Absolutely but split pins are also single use items and some people foolishly reuse those too!

It depends entirely on the circumstances including the material of the split pin and how it's been used.
Would I reuse one like the image on the left, yes, because it's subject to no real loading it and barely doing anything.
Would I reuse the one on the right, no, it's been heavily deformed.

Split Pin.JPG (31.97 KiB) Viewed 751 times

.
A split pin can be a simple retainer, such as on the left, or a safety device as on the right. It's important to understand the difference.
Incidentally, what is a 'Split Pin' in British English is a 'Cotter Pin' in American.
A British 'Cotter Pin' is just a 'Cotter' in American

Do remember that nyloc nuts are, technically, single use items - although many do remove and replace with no thought of the reduced captivity. Castle nutx do not fall into that category.

Actually, they are often reused, even in the aviation industry, especially when they are used with a torque tool to ensure they are still working.
If you look up the different standards/design specs, they can often intended for up to a minimum of 15 reuses.

[svenedin]

Absolutely but split pins are also single use items and some people foolishly reuse those too!

It depends entirely on the circumstances including the material of the split pin and how it's been used.
Would I reuse one like the image on the left, yes, because it's subject to no real loading it and barely doing anything.
Would I reuse the one on the right, no, it's been heavily deformed.
Split Pin.JPG
.
A split pin can be a simple retainer, such as on the left, or a safety device as on the right. It's important to understand the difference.
Incidentally, what is a 'Split Pin' in British English is a 'Cotter Pin' in American.
A British 'Cotter Pin' is just a 'Cotter' in American

Do remember that nyloc nuts are, technically, single use items - although many do remove and replace with no thought of the reduced captivity. Castle nutx do not fall into that category.

Actually, they are often reused, even in the aviation industry, especially when they are used with a torque tool to ensure they are still working.
If you look up the different standards/design specs, they can often intended for up to a minimum of 15 reuses.

Yes fair enough but we are talking about a split pin being used to retain a castle nut. Surely they are usually too deformed to be re-used in the instance?

[geoberni]

Yes fair enough but we are talking about a split pin being used to retain a castle nut. Surely they are usually too deformed to be re-used in the instance?

Yes, I agree with that, as I hoped I'd illustrated in my reply, it depends on the circumstances.

[Bill_qaz]

"Incidentally, what is a 'Split Pin' in British English is a 'Cotter Pin' in American.
A British 'Cotter Pin' is just a 'Cotter' in American"

Surely it's a split cotter pin in English were the split pin abbreviation came from,
as a cotter pin is solid
We could have a comparison of terms Berni from Aviation to Automotive

[myoldjalopy]

Thanks Stephen I'll remove the whole link once I've got a nyloc

Check the link as well, the rubber on that may have deteriorated as well as the bushes.....

[svenedin]

Thanks Stephen I'll remove the whole link once I've got a nyloc

Check the link as well, the rubber on that may have deteriorated as well as the bushes.....

Yes it had on mine