90 GT - Front shock.

After some weeks of searching I finally found the source of my rattle. The black plastic sleeve that fits over the top of the shock absorber shaft - in pieces inside the spring.

I know there is a steel insert in the sleeve that fits closely on the smaller dia threaded part of the shaft.

What I can't remember is if the plastic part around the steel insert slots over the unthreaded larger dia of the shaft so that all the load transfer is taken by the steel insert or does the plastic around the steel insert sit on the the shoulder where the shaft dia reduces thus making the plastic carry the load. If the latter I have a shock absorber shaft that is about to become loosely connected at the top !

Anybody in the middle of a shockectomy care to have a look.

TIA

 

Just finished doing mine. The sleeve fits down around that stepped washer. The load is carried by the washer, not the sleeve.

 

Jon,

Those dust covers can be left off the car and replaced with just the sleeve alone. Thats what we do on race cars so we can see/inspect the shock tops.

We make a small stainless steel spacer that maintains the ride height - goes on where your dust cover sleeve is now. Let me know if you want a pair of them.

 

Carl, part of the reason for the covers is to protect the shock piston from errant rocks, if this cover is not installed then the piston will soon become pitted resulting in the shock seals being damaged and thus destroying the shock. ( sand is a very good media for sand blasting it works on anything except rubber)
Though it may make things easier to inspect (no covers) i would suggest that you atleast tie a piece of rubber around the outside of the spring to cover the piston area , Zip ties work well here. ( i used a piece of an inner tube to cover my shock, an Ohlins)
I have done this on a few motorcycle applications where the front shock is exposed (think BMW Telelever) .
I have observed open shocks and after a few miles the pistons begin to leak and then the shock is toast, This has happened on Ohlins and Penske installs.
The plastic shroud on the 928 shocks has a load bearing sleeve that holds the plastic in place ( plastic portion is molded onto the sleeve)and the sleeve is sandwiched onto the piston assembly

 

Yes. Exactly right. The metal load bearing portion is what we replace with the stainless sleeve.

 

Jon,

I have a couple of the shock protection tubes new sitting here on my desk and no need for them right now.

If 928 333 502 01 is the bit you've got broken (the plastic sleeve) you're welcome to drop by and grab them so you can put it back together and cure your rattle. I haven't got around to ordering my shocks yet and probably won't for at least another 6 or so weeks.

Or I can bring them over and return your bag of ford sump plugs I've got sitting here to bung your heads.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I kind of figured out that the steel insert was still in there and doing it's job by reassembling the remaining bits of plastic and fitting them around the top of an old shock. The plastic goes round the larger dia (unthreaded) part of the shock shaft taking no load while the steel insert sits on the shoulder between large and small dia's

Hilton thanks for the offer - may take you up on it once I've fixed the ABS on the SE.