Bill, I highly encourage you to play with them. They are a marvel of design. Bet you will spend two days just getting the path of fluid flow right in your mind. That top plug with the O-ring around it is a critical valve. On the up-stroke...the fluid that has bypassed the piston valving stack...and gone to the top of the piston...must by-pass (at a pre-designed rate) the bronze sleeve at the top...into the gallery surround the bronze sleeve...and exit the holes in the top flange below the o-ring...back into the main body of the strut....outside of the central tube. That is the resoivoir. Wherin...they are then drawn back into the shock tube through that little bitty metering hole in the bottoming plate.
The rate that the fluid drains from the top side of the piston back to the resoivoir...must not exceed the rate at which replenishment fluid from the surrounding resoivoir...can be drawn back into the lower side of the piston...or there will be nothing to compress on the next down stroke. The piston itself has finely machine chrome piston rings riding in a polished steel bore. I have not been able to bring myself to throw them away.
One thing to note...is that the early supers all had the same basic pistons and rings inside...on a different rod. But..had the same strut tube internally. So...you can rob shims and valve and piston heads from supers to rebuild 411-412. But, there cannot be a single rust pit internal. They must be squeeky clean. You must also keep the correct stack of valving shims (measure them)...check the # of notches. It is almost impossible to get each strut balanced from side to side. They were beutiful when new...but just a little under-damped.
The correct height for th fluidcan usually be noted from the stain on the inside of the strut body andon the strut tube. But...its difficult. This is with the strut unit pumpedup full...then at rest....assembled. At that rate, the fluid height surrounding the cartridge is alittle less than half the tube height. Ray
Strut questions?
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vwbill
- Posts: 970
- Joined: Sat Feb 15, 2003 12:01 am
Back to the strut post.
Hey Ray, got the car back on the ground. But it seems stiff and I was wondering how much gap there should be between the strut top nut cup and the mount top (nylon type) ring? Is it suppose to rest on top of the ring there? I have a 1/4" of space on one 3/16" on the other!
Thanks again, Bill
Thanks again, Bill
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raygreenwood
- Posts: 11907
- Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2003 12:01 am
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vwbill
- Posts: 970
- Joined: Sat Feb 15, 2003 12:01 am
Dont know what happened?
Hey Ray, thanks for the reply! I dont know what happened since the only thing above the top spring plate on both is the 1" spacer that was original then the bottom cup with the bearing then above that the bushing and then the top cap and nut! Could it be that the bottom rubber ring isnt setting right in the dish of the strut mount? The only other place I can think I could modify is the bushing that rest on the bearing bottom plate when the top cup sits on it? I did have that 1/16" difference in the spring height when I assembled the struts so that might be why I have it on the one side? I thought that 1/4" looked big! I'll have to play with it again somehow! I have been trying to get the motor to turn over! All I got at first was a giant backfire that sounded like a shotgun going off in the back of the garage which even made my neighbor come over to see if I blow myself up,lol! That must have been the timing being too far so I reset that and now all I get is the occassional lite cuff trying to fire sound!
I have checked the fuel pressure, and the MPS, Cold start inj, temp sensor at number "4" aux air reg. the grounds under the intakes, the inj. points. The coil had 2.5 ohms from - to + and 9.3k ohms - to center and had continuity, so I ordered a new one anyway and that idler arm bushing and order the point plate since I repaired the ground wire on it even though it has continuity to the plate and has 0.00 res. in the wire.
I dont know since it worked that time when the dist. eat the cap when the top shaft clip came lose so I fixed that and put a new cap and rotor in and now nothing!? Back to the drawing board and checkin today! Thanks again! bill
I have checked the fuel pressure, and the MPS, Cold start inj, temp sensor at number "4" aux air reg. the grounds under the intakes, the inj. points. The coil had 2.5 ohms from - to + and 9.3k ohms - to center and had continuity, so I ordered a new one anyway and that idler arm bushing and order the point plate since I repaired the ground wire on it even though it has continuity to the plate and has 0.00 res. in the wire.
I dont know since it worked that time when the dist. eat the cap when the top shaft clip came lose so I fixed that and put a new cap and rotor in and now nothing!? Back to the drawing board and checkin today! Thanks again! bill
