Rear Shock Rattle

Rod Cole

Well-Known Member
Messages
75
Reaction score
20
Location
Maine
This morning I went in search of a noise from the right rear, it didn't take long to find the source! Hope I can post a photo, haven't been here in a while, but just in case I can't I'll try to describe my question.
It seems that the shock has pushed a 3" plate that was spot welded to the top of the shock tower out. I went thru the books I have and expected to see the coil spring around the shock, but found the shock and spring have two separate locations which made the dissemble easy. In any case, what is the correct repair without replacing the entire tower?
P9151580.JPG
 

HB Chris

Well-Known Member
Site Donor $$
Messages
19,418
Reaction score
8,757
Location
Huntington Beach, CA
Many threads on ‘rear shock mount repair.’

 

Rod Cole

Well-Known Member
Messages
75
Reaction score
20
Location
Maine
I have another photo as my broken tower isn't as bad as the one in the thread HB Chris has shown me.
P9151582.JPG
 

Arde

Well-Known Member
Site Donor $
Site Donor $$
Messages
4,682
Reaction score
1,891
Location
Cupertino, CA
This is when my shock tower went...2012...

 

Rod Cole

Well-Known Member
Messages
75
Reaction score
20
Location
Maine
I noticed here that the torn steel tracks exactly from spot weld to spot weld on the part in my second photo.
My biggest complaint is that right now my CS coupe has become my daily driver due to the fact that my Mini had a freeze plug fall out. The plug that decided to fall out is between number 1 cylinder and the timing chain, so all the antifreeze is in the oil & to get the head off I had to take half the car apart. Fate is having a lot of fun with me right now!!!
I also wonder about the three holes in the top of the tower and in the plate in my second photo. I was thinking of turing up a ring that would be a tight fit on the diameter inside the top of the tower, and bolt it thru the three holes already there. With a corner rounding end-mill on the rotary table I could match the roundness of the tower. Being all the repairs seem to be using the existing tower to weld to, I think this idea would be just a strong.
Question: Is the shock tower truly round inside? In one of the links the part made to be welded on looks oval
 
Last edited:

Rod Cole

Well-Known Member
Messages
75
Reaction score
20
Location
Maine
Don't really see how a shock tower fail in a 3.0CS is "off topic". Wonder if I'll get any more input on my question after having been put aside~
 

eriknetherlands

Moderator
Site Donor
Messages
2,697
Reaction score
1,929
Location
Netherlands, Eindhoven area
surely is not off-topic. Can it not simply have been that you started the thread in that section? I do not think it has been moved, our moderators hardly ever do that.

And your inital question ( "what is the correct repair without replacing the entire tower?") is actually answered twice: in the threads linked by HBchris and Arde you see various options how others have solved it. Members here are often too polite and don't want to push one solution or another, as you may have limitations that may render some options are less practical then other solutions.

The second question "Is the shock tower truly round inside" is only one day old....
Pls forgive the members here for not living with the forum open 24hrs; most of us prioritize driving & tinkering over forum questions . The answer is YES. truly round. That also could have been found in the threads linked: various options discuss turned elements: most lathes have a hard time turning ovals... Also suggested was to weld in tube sections.

As above; it's not easy to define here "what is the correct repair method" as you may have (just par example) easy access to exact dimension steel tubes. Or you perhaps have a lathe.
 

Rod Cole

Well-Known Member
Messages
75
Reaction score
20
Location
Maine
Eric: This morning when I came to the forum there was a little red digit one on the bell next to the search, when clicked it, it told me my thread was moved to off topic and this I did not understand so I made the post you answered. Please don't think I'm impatient, I'm really anything but - this just comes back to the issue of the thread showing up in the off topic department. To make it even more confusing, when I go to General Discussion today, no matter what I click it takes me to off topic so I'm beginning to see this issue is bigger than just my thread.
I do have a rather complete machne shop, and was trying to get this job done without welding. I can weld, either gas or electric, but didn't thing my welding "looks" good enough for my e9, the car is extremely clean, not perfect but nice.
 

Stevehose

Well-Known Member
Site Donor $$
Messages
12,933
Reaction score
5,598
Location
Sarasota, FL
Eric: This morning when I came to the forum there was a little red digit one on the bell next to the search, when clicked it, it told me my thread was moved to off topic and this I did not understand so I made the post you answered. Please don't think I'm impatient, I'm really anything but - this just comes back to the issue of the thread showing up in the off topic department. To make it even more confusing, when I go to General Discussion today, no matter what I click it takes me to off topic so I'm beginning to see this issue is bigger than just my thread.
I do have a rather complete machne shop, and was trying to get this job done without welding. I can weld, either gas or electric, but didn't thing my welding "looks" good enough for my e9, the car is extremely clean, not perfect but nice.
As the "heartbreak" kid in the thread @HB Chris posted, I definitely wanted new metal up there, if you inspect closely the original metal is folded and thin, very weak after all the years pounding. Now my towers are indestructable. They're covered by the elephant skin anyway.
 

Arde

Well-Known Member
Site Donor $
Site Donor $$
Messages
4,682
Reaction score
1,891
Location
Cupertino, CA
Yes, it's back to the general neighborhood, and I want to thank you, Arde, Eric & Steve for your advise.
No problem, when you are down you will have a stronger tower and thicker skin...
 

teahead

aka "Rob"
Site Donor $
Messages
6,383
Reaction score
1,844
Location
Tacoma, WA, USA
SOmeone should repro some metal "caps" to weld on there not only for surgery repair, but for prevention.

Will be pissed if that breaks and then tears into my flawless elephant skins.

IMG_1403.JPG
 

Rod Cole

Well-Known Member
Messages
75
Reaction score
20
Location
Maine
Rob:
You're saying "someone should" but then you post photos that make me think someone already did! So what's the story on the parts you pictured, looks like some pretty good lathe work.
 

eriknetherlands

Moderator
Site Donor
Messages
2,697
Reaction score
1,929
Location
Netherlands, Eindhoven area
The ones in teahead 's post are made by a member. Same images are in the threads posted earlier.

They are not available.of the shelf anywhere, but as you mentioned that you have a lathe, you could make them yourself: the dimensions are also in the threads linked.
 

Rod Cole

Well-Known Member
Messages
75
Reaction score
20
Location
Maine
The ones in teahead 's post are made by a member. Same images are in the threads posted earlier.

They are not available.of the shelf anywhere, but as you mentioned that you have a lathe, you could make them yourself: the dimensions are also in the threads linked.
I have followed all the above threads & links three times, one link says it's broken, the one for Sven's repair job, so maybe you could help with that issue, or give me the link that info is in so I can read it. At 72 years of age my computer skills arn't up to modern standards, so maybe I missed it because of that!
 

Arde

Well-Known Member
Site Donor $
Site Donor $$
Messages
4,682
Reaction score
1,891
Location
Cupertino, CA
Beautiful pictures! Lathe? The guy put a hole in a salad bowl and voila, another 40 years of driving.
Biden is banning gas cars in 10 years so who cares? Or was it Cuomo? Or was it Greta Thundberg?
In any case, we are screwed, let's drive while we can.
 

Rod Cole

Well-Known Member
Messages
75
Reaction score
20
Location
Maine
Beautiful pictures! Lathe? The guy put a hole in a salad bowl and voila, another 40 years of driving.
Biden is banning gas cars in 10 years so who cares? Or was it Cuomo? Or was it Greta Thundberg?
In any case, we are screwed, let's drive while we can.
They are nice pictures & I'd be happy with 28 more years of driving gas Cars & Trucks especially because I'm just finishing up putting a 327 in my 54 Chevy pickup. Hope I find the thread with those what kinda look like flower pots in the photo above.
As far as that 10 year thing goes, a long time ago I was taught to reverse the meaning of whatever a politician says to get the truth, but then I did hear that the rockafeller family has gotten out of oil, that might mean something~
 
Top