[T3] Bad day at the (FI) office

[Jim Adney]

On 31 Mar 2016 at 8:40, Daniel Nohejl wrote:

> I´ve been noticing a little bit of "bump steer" from the rear wheels
> lately. This morning, I pushed down on the rear and it seems like the
> shocks have gone soft as it´s really really easy to push. However,
> instead of bouncing up and down, it mostly wiggles side-to-side. Does
> this still point to the shocks, or also something else? 

Contrary to popular opinion, most shocks have little or no effect on 
the suspension stiffness (spring rate.) That's all a function of the 
torsion bars. The shocks determine how quickly any bounce energy goes 
away. They are energy dissipators.

If one shock has gone bad, it's possible that one side of the car 
wants to keep bouncing while the other side is damped. This might 
start to look like side to side motion. You should also check the 
diagonal arms and make sure the pivot bushings at their front/inner 
ends are still working/intact/attached. Maybe just check to make sure 
those 2 big pivot bolts are still in place.

Do you notice any difference in the ride? Even with one bad shock, 
you may not notice any difference. Gary Forsmo drove quite a few 
miles to get his '69 here with one shock completely removed. He said 
it seemed to ride pretty normally. That was on generally good roads. 
Shocks become more and more important as the roads get worse.

Decades ago, I drove a Chevy whose shocks had all failed. It was 
about a 60 mile drive. THAT was an experience! Up/down/up/down, the 
whole way. Everyone should do that once, just to see what the point 
is.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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