That spherical bolt has to turn, otherwise the shock link would bind up when
you went over a bump. It sounds like your nut is rusted onto the bolt. I'm
reinstalling the left rear spring on my '71 this weekend, so I'll let you know
if I have any problems.
I would only replace the link if the spherical bolt is sloppy (lots of free
play).
In my opinion, why spend the money with new shocks if the old ones work. You'll
only create problems for yourself and others later. I also recall some
complaints on the list that the Moss rear tube shock conversion was too stiff
for the street. You might want to solicit opinions from the list about this.
If your rear shocks leak, refill them with power steering fluid stop leak and
see if swelling uo the seals will fix your leak. This technique worked well for
me on the front shocks.
Good luck,
Brandon
Thomas I Perigrin wrote:
> Question: While replacing the rear springs on Emma ('72 MGB) I had a
> problem with the nut on one of the two damper connecting links... The nut
> didn't turn - instead, the bolt broke free in the spherical housing of the
> link. I couldn't get the bolt out... So, I ended up removing the springs
> without disconnecting the bottom bracket from the damper link. This was
> NOT fun, but it was do-able. While I had the springs out I examined the
> spherical housing and the bolt carefully. As far as I could tell the bolt
> was still captured, although it turned easily in the spherical housing.
> Thus, I decided to ignore this little detail and replace the springs and
> reconnect the plate/linkage. This was even less fun, but it was do-able.
>
> Should I buy a new $30 link arm? The old one seems to function, but is it
> just fooling me waiting for the least opportune time to fail?
>
> If so, should I invest the time/money in a Monroe shock conversion instead
> of putting money into the older dampers? I saw a nice step by step guide
> on Skye's page that seemed to indicate that it wasn't terribly hard or
> expensive... any opinions on how well this works?
>
> ----
>
> By the way, I say this is a bit of a test... I say that because I have
> submitted at least 2 postings that I have never seen appear on the digest.
> One of them was a lengthy posting introducing my car and myself... After
> it didn't appear I sent email to the list owner asking if the posting had
> "gone astray", but didn't get an answer to that email either... So, I am
> curious to see if I can post.
>
> ---
>
> A .sig is static My life is dynamic. I can't think of a single
> quote or witty saying that expresses the mercurial nature of the changes in
> my life. The only constants in my life are stress, my loving wife, and
> the weekly hairball my cat leaves on the carpet.
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