49 buick shocks

hey guys do you know if there is a rebuild kit for 49 buick shocks.
cheers

 

Lever Action jobs, I haven't seen any and I have looked. I do know that there are a few places that do a "swap" out deal, or http://applehydraulics.com/, but that is here in the States. Have you tryed filling them with jack oil yet?
Chuck

 

nah not yet i think that i will pull them down to start with and try to fashion something up with them. cheers darren

 

kanter auto does the samething but again theyre here in the states idk if bobs automobilia has them or not hes a good source for parts though

 

thanks dude, bobs has no rebuild kits/ seal kit

 

Back in the 80s I had a '52 Olds that had hyd lever shocks....I used "Power Punch",a synthetic gear oil to fill them up...worked them up and down and they all stiffened up and worked great for years...might be worth a try...

 

Last time I check Apple they were way to high, and they sent them to M&M in Oregon, so I do too now.

 

cheers dudes, i'll give everything a go and see what works. i'll have to pull them all down to check seals etc and see what i need to fix or re bush.
cheers darren

 

do you think that they would sell the seals only?

 

Google "Delco-Lovejoy". You may find some info.

 

Check out the website "webrodder" www.webrodder.com . There you will find a tach article on replacing the upper arm/shcok combo with a later model ('54to'56 upper). It requires, in additon to the arms, fabricating a mounting bracket for the newer arm, then installing tube shocks. It may be possible to leave the originals in place if the inner pivot bushings are good, and adapting a tube shock anyway.

Ray

 

I had leaks and bad function on my lever action shocks so I just remove the internal pistons and added grease fittings to the existing oil fill hole and then fill it with grease. I then fabricate brackets for modern shocks and this solution works very well. See pics.

 

any more info about the fore-mentioned M&M rebuilder in oregon? i use 20/50 in mine. jack oil is pretty light, and leaks out a lot faster if the packings are bad. there are no actual seals, just packing material as far as i know.

 

I did use Jack Oil in my '53 Special (see it in my Albums) but never had a problem with leaking. They worked perfectly, but I checked them on a monthly basis to make sure.

But Apple is one of the best at rebuilding the units...they've had YEARS of experience doing it.

Best of luck with whatever path you choose !

JK www.legends.thewwbc.net

 

The lever shocks have to be sent out and rebuilt.Several advertizers in Hemmings Motors News. New are almost impossible to find.

 

I have a 49 Buick Super with stock shocks. They have no dampening now. I topped them off with lever action shock oil I had from my old MG, but it seemed very light and didn't help. Is there any danger of damaging the shocks more by using very thick oil to avoid a rebuild? Will it blow out or break anything? thanks

 

i'm pulling them out this weekend so i'll see how far i can take them, without fabricating A whole new set up.
thanks again dudes

 

There is jack oil with Bars leak sealer that I was told works great! whats the worst that happens it leaks out?
Chuck

 

I'm very interested in what you find in the shocks. The rear lever shocks on my Olds are soft and should also have the arms moved on the shaft to center the shock action after putting lowering springs in the rear.

 

Check out this link http://www.roadmachine.fi/Buick/february2003.html

 

thanks dude this is what i'm after because hes right the workshop manual is very vague on the lever arm shocks and there is no diagrams on dismantling them so let the fun begin.
cheers again ORN

 

i just made contact with apple hydraulics and they said they can make up a kit and send it to me so i don't hit hard with shipping.

 

I'm sorry, the name is M&S, they are in Oregon,503-642-1122, they've built the large Hudallia's for me on a couple buses, these are the about two and a half times bigger than the Model A and I've had good luck with them, both Vern and his working man are very sharp, and reasonable.

 

thanks vintage but they look like they only deal with early ford shocks but there web site says nothing about buick or ant other gm

 

I talked with a fellow from R+M classics he says they really don't rebuild lever shocks just clean and refill with oil, or just replace them with good used ones... not the answer your looking for i'm sure. I figure mine are shot also.... But... I had a fellow from the british car group tell me that on MGBs they would set the car at the ride hight and fill the lever shocks with RTV silicone and let it harden. I figured if my shocks are already toast what would it hurt to try? I'm working out of town for the year so my buick is on hold right now....

 

you recon the silcone would be to hard though and you could run the risk of breakage... are you certain that it works?

 

I "rebuilt" the lever action shocks on the rear of my '54. The process was pretty simple, but I did have to use a hydraulic arbor press with some actual *ass* behind it to press the arms off and on.

After getting the arms off I tore everything apart, fully cleaned and degreased the entire works, put a pair of o-rings behind the metal "collar" where the packing used to be, and put the arms back on. Oh, and painted it all up pretty. Refilled them with hydraulic oil borrowed from work, and they seem to function just great. Research I had done prior to attempting this indicated it was the only real way to repair them. Or modify and replace with modern shocks.

Here they are:

 

My '48 Olds shocks worked great after I cleaned & refilled them.

Motorcycle fork oil is the way to go ... available in a bunch of different weights for fine tuning your shocks.

 

thanks guys apple hyd said they are going help me with supplying me with there complete kit that they use..
cheers darren

 

ARM SHOCK REPAIR

I,ve mostly had problems with leakage on old GM Delco arm shocks on my buicks. The method above is what I needed to know