Rear shocks - shocking if true... **UPDATED - Video**

[85_600]

Sorry, I couldn't resist :D

Anyways, stock shocks - has any one had them just "go" on them? This would be the '85 600 I have. I've had it on ramps 3 times in the past week and now, any slight or larger bump in the road and my head is almost hitting the ceiling. Just this morning leaving work I almost lost control due to a bump big enough for me to have this almost happen. They were fine for the past month and half - I actually was impressed with the ride the 600 had. For being such a short wheelbase car it was almost like a Lincoln Towncar ride. But now, whew!

For the test I pushed, with my arms and foot, on the front bumpers. I could barely push it down. The rear however, VERY easy to push down. I almost didn't need to use my foot.

If this does sound like the shocks are gone, what is the recommened replacements? I searched over at TireRack and they have KYB Shocks for $38 ea. There is another type listed there but they are like $25 ea.

Thanks!
Paul :)

[Murphy]

does it look like thye have been leaking?

i would go with a set ok KYB GR2 i got a set on my spirit...i like em
when i replaced them 1 new shock was harder to compress than 2 old ones

[85_600]

does it look like thye have been leaking?

i would go with a set ok KYB GR2 i got a set on my spirit...i like em
when i replaced them 1 new shock was harder to compress than 2 old ones

We just had some more snow melt AND my work schedule was pretty bad this past weekend so I didn't get a chance to look yet. Monday I'll pop my head under there and see what's up.

[cordes]

So long as you are not looking for a ton of performance, the GR2 would work just fine.

[85_600]

So long as you are not looking for a ton of performance, the GR2 would work just fine.

Nope, just everyday driving type of performance is just FINE with me :nod:

[cordes]

Nope, just everyday driving type of performance is just FINE with me :nod:

They should be more than adequate then. I has a set on my shadow and liked them.

[2.216VTurbo]

Shocks may be bad, probably are but it sounds like you are describing a spring problem. Shocks are more involved in controlling body rebound, if you are just pushing down on the back of the car and it feels 'soft' to you, those 20 year old springs are the culprit. Lots of spring choices you can make but almost all of them will degrade the ride quality your Towncar er, K-car;)

[85_600]

Shocks may be bad, probably are but it sounds like you are describing a spring problem. Shocks are more involved in controlling body rebound, if you are just pushing down on the back of the car and it feels 'soft' to you, those 20 year old springs are the culprit. Lots of spring choices you can make but almost all of them will degrade the ride quality your Towncar er, K-car;)

Someone was thinking what the little voice in my head was too :)

I'll post up a small vid tomorrow of me bouncing the front and back of the 600 and I'll post it up. I can keep it under 5-7 mb for old 56k people :)

[87glhs232]

Push hard on the rear and let go. It should rebound then settle. If you get a bounce, then the shocks are gone.

[85_600]

Push hard on the rear and let go. It should rebound then settle. If you get a bounce, then the shocks are gone.

Rear = I can push it pretty da** far down with just my arm ( I'm sort of a weakling ). When I use my foot and arms look out ground :confused:

Front = I can "barely" move it down, either arms and foot or sitting on it as well ( Me = 214# ).

That's why I'm confused now. And this just happened with in two weeks :yuck:

Two weeks ago it was riding fine, maybe a "little" bounce but not like it is now. After 3 trips on the ramps, the front end that is, and now I'm having trouble keeping it straight on the highway when I hit a medium to large hump / bump in the road. It scared me Sunday morning. Thankfully there is only one hump / bump like that on my way home. That's why I was wondering if it's the shocks. I can see them going due to more to them than just steel. I can see them letting the grease or oil ( whichever ) is inside of them go, but just steel springs going in two weeks? That's another reason why I'd like to post the video - so everyone can see what I'm talking about.

[cordes]

Rear = I can push it pretty da** far down with just my arm ( I'm sort of a weakling ). When I use my foot and arms look out ground :confused:

Front = I can "barely" move it down, either arms and foot or sitting on it as well ( Me = 214# ).

That's why I'm confused now. And this just happened with in two weeks :yuck:

Two weeks ago it was riding fine, maybe a "little" bounce but not like it is now. After 3 trips on the ramps, the front end that is, and now I'm having trouble keeping it straight on the highway when I hit a medium to large hump / bump in the road. It scared me Sunday morning. Thankfully there is only one hump / bump like that on my way home. That's why I was wondering if it's the shocks. I can see them going due to more to them than just steel. I can see them letting the grease or oil ( whichever ) is inside of them go, but just steel springs going in two weeks? That's another reason why I'd like to post the video - so everyone can see what I'm talking about.

The spring could have broken. If it is bad enough to where you are really about to lose control on a decnet bump, you probably broke one of them. Is one side of the car sitting lower in the rear now?

[85_600]

The spring could have broken. If it is bad enough to where you are really about to lose control on a decnet bump, you probably broke one of them. Is one side of the car sitting lower in the rear now?

As far as I can tell no. Just the rear sitting a "bit" lower than the front. Wouldn't a broken spring have made a sound when it went? Or, a bumping / knocking sound while driving?

[85_600]

You can see here, even though it's on ramps, it "appears" to be sitting normal:

http://www.xwarlordx.com/red97sc2/Pics/600%20Pics/My%20600%2001.jpg

[cordes]

As far as I can tell no. Just the rear sitting a "bit" lower than the front. Wouldn't a broken spring have made a sound when it went? Or, a bumping / knocking sound while driving?

Not always, there was a running joke that I did not own a car without broken springs. I had broken front springs on my charger, and shadow, and broken springs on my escorts and turbo couple in the rear. I did not notice much of a niose. Fortunatly for me the broke very close to the perch, and they did not cause any damage. Deffinalty noticable while driving though.

I guess you could have just had a shock go in a horrific manner. Once you get under the car, you should be able to look at the springs and it will be reativly obvious if one is broken or not. Be on the lookout for oil on the body of the shock if it is causing you problem.

[85_600]

Not always, there was a running joke that I did not own a car without broken springs. I had broken front springs on my charger, and shadow, and broken springs on my escorts and turbo couple in the rear. I did not notice much of a niose. Fortunatly for me the broke very close to the perch, and they did not cause any damage. Deffinalty noticable while driving though.

I guess you could have just had a shock go in a horrific manner. Once you get under the car, you should be able to look at the springs and it will be reativly obvious if one is broken or not. Be on the lookout for oil on the body of the shock if it is causing you problem.

It's supposed to about 50* tomorrow so I should be able to take a peek. I'll be posting up later tomorrow my findings.

Thanks a Ton!
Paul :)

[turbovanman²]

When you have it like that, look past the front wheels and look at the front struts. Look inside past the spring and you should see the shiny rod/shaft. You should have around 3-4 inches of travel between the strut mount and the top of the strut where the rod comes out. If ok, then the struts are screwed up internally, if not, then the springs are buggered.

[firebaron90]

Wanna throw in my .02 cents here....

About the KYb shocks. I an not a fan of the gr2 at all, but if you can find a set of the gas a justs, even slightly used, i find them to be much better for the money,

Joe

[85_600]

Ok peeps - Here a video of me pushing down on the rear and front of the 600. The video is about 1.1mb in size:

Bounce (http://www.xwarlordx.com/red97sc2/Vids/600%20Videos/Bounce.wmv) <---Right Click / Save As.

I also took a look underneath and there was some dirt on the shocks but not a whole lot. The springs appeared decent - no abnormal appearance to them ( man they are small - I thought they were bigger ).

Let me know what you think...

:)

[firebaron90]

Your rear shocks rebound fine. I think you may want to find heavier springs, like out of a Shadow, etc. It seems that all of the k bodies, (600, lebaron before 87, new yorker, etc) are all tail draggers. Now your fronts....I dont know. They dont have a lot of rebound to them. You might do for a complete Shock/ replacement. I would start with the rear springs, and go from there. See what that does to help.

Joe

[85_600]

Your rear shocks rebound fine. I think you may want to find heavier springs, like out of a Shadow, etc. It seems that all of the k bodies, (600, lebaron before 87, new yorker, etc) are all tail draggers. Now your fronts....I dont know. They dont have a lot of rebound to them. You might do for a complete Shock/ replacement. I would start with the rear springs, and go from there. See what that does to help.

Joe

So, rears are fine but may need some front end work....Just the opposite of what I can do ina timely manner :o Ewww boy:(

[firebaron90]

NO, I would start with changing the springs. Even a used shadow es set would hold the rear of the car up better than the current springs....

joe

[Johnny]

Moog sells "load rated" coils for the k based cars. If you want new, they are not that much money. All the springs from NewYorkers, Dynasty's, wagons, sport Daytona's and Shadow's will fit your car.

I like Gas-a-just KYB's better than gr2 shocks.

Johnny
http://www.polybushings.com

[Clay]

By the video, your front struts are fubar!

You push down, and either they stick, or something is wrong. Because after you push down, they never rebound up to the same point, which is bad!

[85_600]

Moog sells "load rated" coils for the k based cars. If you want new, they are not that much money. All the springs from NewYorkers, Dynasty's, wagons, sport Daytona's and Shadow's will fit your car.

I like Gas-a-just KYB's better than gr2 shocks.

Johnny
http://www.polybushings.com

DO you have a website or company name that sells these? I found something like them at SUmmit but I'm not too sure if they are for the K based cars or not.

Thanks!
Paul :)

[cordes]

DO you have a website or company name that sells these? I found something like them at SUmmit but I'm not too sure if they are for the K based cars or not.

Thanks!
Paul :)


You should be able to pick up moog springs at most auto parts stores. There are several around here that do.

[Reeves]

I totally agree with Clay....looks like your front struts are crapped out!

[87glhs232]

From Napa online:

Product Name Item #

Coil Spring - Rear
Usually ships in 24 hours. NCP
2773233 $73.49

Coil Spring - Variable Rate - Rear
Usually ships in 24 hours. NCP
2775139 $59.99

From Summit online:

KYB-KG5563 Shock/ Strut, Gas-a-Just, Monotube, Chrysler/ Dodge/ Plymouth, Each
Tomorrow $29.95

There is definitely a problem with the front also. I agree with Clay also.

[85_600]

Oook - Fronts = fubar'd. Do the springs "usually" stay pretty decent or would they need some attention ( IE: Replacement ) as well. I've never had any "springs" go out on my past rides, just shocks and or struts.

[87glhs232]

Oook - Fronts = fubar'd. Do the springs "usually" stay pretty decent or would they need some attention ( IE: Replacement ) as well. I've never had any "springs" go out on my past rides, just shocks and or struts.

They will eventualy lose springiness, begin to sag. I once had a small block '67 camaro. Fronts were so shot that the 225/50-15's were tucked up in the wheel wells. Rebuilt the front and installed new springs, the front lifted about 2 1/2". Tires were no longer hiding in the fenders.

If your going to do anything with the front, might as well replace springs too.