On Thu, 15 Sep 1994, Michael G Hering wrote:
> The mounting bolts on my right rear shock keep loosening up to
> the point that it makes an AWFUL racket and I go back there and tighten
> them. I tighten them as much as I can, but the location is awkward so I
> can't get the torque wrench in there (maybe if it was on a lift). Does
> anyone have any suggestions on how to keep these from loosening up
> besides torquing the heck out of them?
The rear shock mounts on my TR4 aren't exactly the same as those on your
TR4A, but I used to have the same problem. No matter how tight they
started out, they would looseen up fairly quickly. Eventually the bolt
holes in the mounting bracket and in the shocks became oval-shaped, so
there was no hope of ever getting those shocks to stay put.
The shocks were shot anyway, so I repllaced them with a pair of NOS ones
from a flea market. I had the holes in the mounting brackets welded up,
then redrilled and reamed them to a tight fit around new grade 8 bolts.
When I mounted the shocks, I slathered the bolts and the bolt holes in
the shocks with Locktite to take up the small amount of play there, then
clamped the whole thing down with Nyloc nuts on thick washers.
That was about three years ago, and the shocks have not loosened up
since then. If I ever get around to taking the car out of dailly use and
restoring it, I plan to weld on thicker mounting plates for the rear
shocks. Part of the problem (on the TR2/3/4, at least) is that all of
the torsional load imposed by the shocks is taken by the mounting bolts,
which work against the bolt holes and enlarge them. Once that happens,
the bolts no longer keep the shocks from moving around, and no matter how
tight you get the bolts, the shocks _will_ loosen up. Thicker mounting
plates should (I hope) keep the holes from enlarging quite so quickly.
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Chip Old 1948 M.G. TC TC6710 NEMGTR #2271
Cub Hill, Maryland 1962 Triumph TR4 CT3154LO (daily transportation)
feold@umd5.umd.edu
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