I broke it......kinda'!

I disassembled the '68 steering damper....Then the PTSD/Whatever kicked in and I mixed up the order of the individual piston parts!!!!

I'm ready to reassemble and add oil to the tube for re-welding......

BUT.....I need a diagram or pic of a disassembled piston in order to put the parts together in the proper order.

There are 9 pieces to the piston:


These three pieces are easy to stack correctly.......

one lower retaining nut

one lower spring

one aligning washer for lower spring



Then there is the upper end aligning washer which fits on the damper rod only one way.



The problem pieces are:

one thin star washer

one thin flat washer

one 1/2" long valve body

one small thin round washer

one thin large round washer with a small round tab in the center.

If anyone can help identify the order of the pieces,it would "make my day"!




Let's keep it a secret that I slapped on my wife's slippers to go into the garage to take the pics....she's already stalking me because I got greasy fingerprints on the trashcan handle!

 

Hi, I don't have any pics, but I bet Willcox probably has a repair video or at least instructions for a rebuild on their website.

 

Thanks....I looked there and every site on the internet (I may have over-looked something though)....

but I haven't found a diagram or exploded view.


ROOKIES!!!!!!

 

Send a Personal Message (PM) to Jim_Shea. He's the resident expert on steering system issues.

 

Thanks!

 

Apparently, Jim had better things to do than investigate the failure of a $30 damper....

Does anyone else have info on the damper piston assembly order?

Anyone?


Help.....I've fallen down trying to reassemble my damper piston, and am too disgusted to get up!

 

BUMP!


I'm starting to get the idea that I might be the only one on this forum who is...................................... ..............................



as Grandma used to say..................................... ................



"touched in the head!"

 

Sorry, as far as I know, I never received any PM or eMail on this subject.

Now the really bad news. The damper was not designed to be serviced. Since it was a welded construction, (similar to the Corvette power steering assist cylinder), there is no literature that I have found that addresses the internal cylinder components.

It may be similar to shock absorber internal parts. Shock absorber pistons are designed with a safety relief valve that allows fluid to bypass the piston when the piston moves too fast. Such as hitting a pot hole.

It could be that your parts were designed to do the same thing. There are special (take apart) shock absorbers that allow you to calibrate the bypass pressure. Maybe you can find some literature on this subject. It might be helpful.

Jim

 

Thanks JIM.....(I was just picking about you and the $30 damper/NOT $30 any more!).

It is surely not within the ability of most people to repair a damper, as a metal lathe would be needed to do the job correctly and to re-apply the small knurls (notches) around the welded area.

I think I have discovered how to assemble the piston pieces by lining up the wear marks (shiny spots) where the pieces contacted each other (I wish I had been more careful laying out the pieces as I dis-assembled the cylinder, but with my "condition", I take what I can get.....LOL!)

It may be a few days before I post any results, as I will be on a trip.

Thanks again for responding, Jim S. You are a great Member!

 

http://www.zip-corvette.com/catalog/...category/7537/

 

Easy Mike.........................a man of few words!

Your info is now my Plan B!

Thanks for not raking me over the coals for doing it the difficult way.

 

...

 

sounds like a great time to invest in a Borgeson box

 

When I take the manual steering box off to clean/inspect/re-lube/repaint---if it is destroyed inside (which I doubt because it steers well and holds the road with no wandering)----I'll look into Borgeson.


Right now though, I've reassembled/topped off the steering damper with oil & leak additive ...............

and I'm working up the nerve to tack the heavy-duty "wiper" cap back onto the damper barrel..............whew

I'll do the tacking with the mig in steps so I won't ruin the internal shaft-seal. that presses against the H.D cap.........

I'll be back in about an hour with the finished damper and pics of the process.....unless it takes longer for the tack-welds to cool of before the finish-weld goes on.

 

Here we go.........................re-assembling and welding the damper barrel-end on

The piston has been set up and bolted to the end of the rod.......






Next, it is about to be inserted into small diameter "inner barrel".....






I am adding gear oil to the "inner barrel" to prevent air cavaties.....

{oooops---forgot to take a pic of the oil being squirted into the inner barrel.....Sorry!}






The thick metal valve gets tapped into the "inner barrel" by using a hammer and punch---not much force is needed.....It is the darker part that has the spring sitting in the top of it......the inner barrel is the shiny tube that is LIGHTLY clamped in the vice.............






Now pay close attention to this step! Do you see how the inner barrel/rod/piston assembly has been inserted into the main (black) barrel?????

Do you see how I am adding the remaining oil between the inner barrel assembly and the outer main barrel??????



Do NOT Add Oil YET!!!!!!!

Silly Rookie me added the oil almost to the top of the outer main barrel-----IT LOOKED GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

B U T..........WHEN I STARTED WELDING THE TOP CAP OF THE BARREL TO THE MAIN BARREL, OIL STARTED EXPANDING AND SEEPING OUT OF THE UNWELDED GAP, causing my weld to spit/sputter...

R A T S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



NOW.....I realize that I should have not put the oil in before welding

First......I should have drilled a 3/16" diameter hole in the OTHER END OF THE OUTER BARREL about 1/4" from where the "eye" factory weld is so that oil could be added later after the weld was cool.

Had I known this earlier, I would have been spared nearly an hour of "touch-up welding" to seal off all the tiny "pinholes" in my weld created by the heated oil seeping out.......

I should have submerged most of the damper in a bucket of water letting the area that needed to be welded about 1/4" above the water line to keep the barrel and cap cool while being welded.


Anyhow.......I ground down my weld to a smooth ridge around the outer barrel.........................

Then I had to touch up more pinholes with the mig welder...........................RATS!!!!!


So.....theoretically....if I had added the oil LAST......Then welded up the 3/16" diameter oil "filler hole".....the project would have been a lot of F U N.......BUT i DIDN'T AND IT WASN'T


Now....you guys get in your garage and put me to shame by rebuilding a damper the CORRECT WAY the first time!

 

DG, are you sure gear oil is what was in there to start with. I think most shocks use a lighter oil, and I have rebuilt motorcycle forks on street bikes and used ATF which is about 10 weight, and the MC fork holds a lot more weight.

 

You are right. The problem is...since I have driven manual steering vehicles in New Orleans, I have had the steering wheel "taken out of my hands" a few times when driving less than 20MPH while in traffic or turning corners---and hitting a pothole/etc...

So I wanted a much "heavier" oil to stop the feedback.

After rebuilding it, the damper requires the same force to compress as my new SkyJacker steering stabilizer on my manual box '34 truck (w '93 steering box)....in other words the Vette damper is as good as a 1/2 ton truck damper.....

And because of the old seals which I could not replace, I needed "thicker oil" to prevent dripping/leaks.

The main mistake that I made was filling the damper with oil before I welded the end-cap onto the outer barrel causing me to spend an extra hour rewelding leaking pinholes

I would rebuild one in a New York second after learning THAT lesson!

 

DG, yes you are touched! Lol. In a good way.

 

I resemble that remark!

 

People blow up buildings and die from cutting and welding on shock absorbers, must be your lucky day!