VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc 1937 Chevy truck shocks

Getting ready to have my shocks rebuilt.They look all the same , are there right and left or is it the same shock ?

Take a look in the master part list. If the truck is like the car there are different left and right as well as front and rear shocks. Internally they are similar but the housings and lever arms are made from reversed patterns or tooling.

Theere are four different lever type shocks on a car or truck,,,,,,,,,right front, left front, right rear and left rear.

Hmm , I have 4 that are identical ,but I have 2 rights and 2 lefts

It appears that you do not have a full set. The question is whether you have 2 pairs of fronts or 2 pairs of rears.

Start checking casting numbers. That may give a clue.

The front and rears used the same body casting, the difference is in the internal valving.
The number stamped n the valve nut will ID the shock.
Post the number and I can then tell you what is front and rear.

Hello Gene , what I have are 4 with short arms ( 8 " ) and 2 with long arms (12 " )

#1 - R-11 1053004 between mount bolts
by arm 12-30
front plate 14300a 1-c-8
8" arm

#2 - R-13 1053005 between mount bolts
by arm 3-26
front plate 1430DA 4cg maybe 3D7
8" arm

#3 R-15 1053004 between mount bolts
by arm 3-5
front plate 1430 CA
8" arm

#4 R_8 1053005 between mount bolts
by arm 3-22
front plate1054146 4-F
8" arm



2 with 12" arms

#5 R-58 1053004 between mount bolts
3CG no other numbers
front plate 1430MA

#6 R-22 1053005 between mount bolts
3CG no other numbers
front plate 1430

Thats all I could find on them. 5& 6 are a pair and the shot arm ones ,I have 2 pair

the RF SHOULD BE STAMPED 1430 DA, LF 1430CA

RR 1430 LA
LR 1430 MA

tHESE ARE THE ID NUMBERS THAT SHOULD BE STAMPED ON THE BIG ALUINUM NUT THAT SCREWS INTO THE SHOCK BODY

I must have slept through the class on '37 shock absorbers. I was not aware there was a large aluminum nut on the single acting shock absorbers. I thought the numbers were on the end plate that is retained by 1/4-20 screws.

I know that on my master the rear shocks had longer arms than the front. There were right and left castings but they were the same casting for front and rear on the same side.

Thank you Gene , that was great help !

Before I would spend big money to have them rebuilt I would test them to see if rebuilding was necessary.
With the single action shock the arm should raise by its self and take medium pressue to pull it down - If it can be pulled down with low resistance it is either low on fliuid or needs rebuilding.

Thank you , I will try that.

I agree with Gene that you need to give them a try and see what happens.

My experience with my '37 single acting shocks was that they worked great - as long as the fluid stayed in them.

Based on guidance from Gene I filled them with hydraulic jack oil. You will need to move the lever through the full stroke during the filling process to get rid of the air in the working chamber.

They worked great and made a big difference in the ride - for about 2 weeks until all the fluid leaked out past the old cork seal on shaft. One clue that I missed is that they did not leak when they were off the vehicle. I later determined that was because the shaft had no lateral load on it and the pitted part of the shaft was not near the worn part of the seal.

So I took them apart and installed a new lip seal. That worked great - for about 2 weeks. Unfortunately that is what I expected when I saw the condition of the sealing surface on the shafts. They were pitted so much that I could not polish out the imperfections. The pitting on the shaft damaged the seal lips as the shaft rotated.

The high cost of the rebuild is because they spray weld the shaft and machine it to a new sealing surface. Many electric motor and pump repair shops use this technique.

LOL , not at you Rusty , it's because I am in the same boat! I did check them out like Gene suggested and thought Hmmm, No problem. So with your experience would you just have them rebuilt ?. I am building a pretty nice truck and really don't want to mess up the paint after I get it all put together. It's kind of fun hearing from both of you and really appreciate you impute...Thank you both for you help. I know where all the bolts go on a model A , but not on a 37 Chevy truck.

The single acting shocks seldom leaked or did not perform well.

I would wait until you know they leak. They are not difficult to remove and install. I doubt if you will mess up any paint doing that, especially with a helper. I used a couple of pieces of 1/2” threaded rod to hold the shock in place when I did it by myself.

Hi Gene , I have all th e right shock's and extra's. I did test them, the front ones ,all I can do to push them down and the do return..but the back 2 move easily with ,not as much effort as the front 2...trying to decide where to go from here.What do you think?

Sounds as if rebuilding will be necessary.

I would pull the covers off and give the internals a thorough clean and fresh oil at least if you are not confident enough to completely dismantle to clean. Mine were not working before cleaning but were fine after cleaning all the mud out.
Tony

I agree with Tony. It is easy to remove the end covers and clean the internals. Then refill them and see how they move. I made gaskets for the end plates from gasket material using a small ball peen hammer.

If the valve is working correctly there will be resistance to motion in one direction. These single acting shocks slow the rebound, not the compression.

The spring pushes the arm to the “up” position. When you pull the arm down you will compress the spring. There is resistance to the speed of that motion if there is fluid in the shock and the valve is working correctly.