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new Shock absorbers or new eye bushings?


De Soto Frank

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Car in need: 1941 De Soto S-8 ( same as '41 -'48 Chrysler/De Soto Dodge)

Am looking for new Hydraulic shocks (no gas-charged, please).

Kanter's does not have.

Any over-the-counter sources / brands/part-numbers ?

Short of finding new shocks, I need to replace the rubber eye-bushings in my old ones. Any known sources ? Car still has its factory shocks.

Thanks,

Frank McMullen

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Well, it would seem that all new shocks are gas-filled these days.

I put a pair on the front of my '60 Windsor, and believe that they have made the front-end ride stiffly enough to be harsh; not how a '60 Torsion-aire MoPar should ride.

At any rate, Kanter wants $179 for four gas-charged shocks... I think I could find them cheaper...

Bob, what brand did you get ?

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Frank, these 2 links to the Monroe website will provide a lot of good info for anyone who has their old shocks for measurements. The first link is a key to the mounting codes and length measurements:

http://www.monroe.com/catalog_lookup/misc_app_docs/ShockAbsorberMountingStyleSheet.pdf

The second link helps you to find the correct shock based on mounting code and extended/compressed lengths from your old shocks:

http://www.monroe.com/catalog_lookup/misc_app_docs/ShockAbsorberDimensionChart.pdf

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Got my new shocks yesterday from Rock Auto; ordered Tuesday, in-hand Thurs afternoon.

They are Monroe Sensa-Trac #5752, and should fit the front of 1938-'50 Chrysler 6 / De Soto / Dodge (except for some 7-passenger models).

Installation couldn't have been easier - had both shocks changed and the car back on the ground within 1/2 hour.

I think the old shock were ready to be replaced - there was about 1 " of "un-damped travel" in each unit, and the rubber bushings at both ends were crumbly and hogged-out (particularly the uppers). The upper shock mounting pins are quite worn, and should be replaced or built-up with weld & re-machined back to 5/8" diameter.

Even though all the front-end pivot bushings are quite worn, the new shocks (with snug rubber mountings) took a lot of the "basket-ball dribble" out of the front-end.

I spent some add'l time hosing down the front frame and suspension with kerosene, to try to soften 67 years of "Coatney" :rolleyes: , then took the old bus down to the car wash and I got down & dirty. I have been using Castrol Super-Clean for general de-greasing, and the other night I finally picked-up a 1-gallon "Spectracide" garden-sprayer ("hudson-type") to dedicate to the application of Super-Clean... works a lot better on big jobs than those Windex-type squirt-bottles !

Word to the wise: before you go soaking the engine with degreaser and turning the hose on it, soak the distributor and spark-plug wires with WD-40, and try to cover them with a plastic bag. I once found -out the hard way that my ignition system "floods" easily. Even with the above preventative steps, I still had to pull the distributor cap, wipe-out the condensation, then fog the insides with WD-40 before the car would start and I could go home.

The car is scheduled to go into dry-dock at a friend's house next week, where we will knock-down the front-end and rebuild it (finally !).

Can't wait to drive one of these with a fresh front suspension !

Thanks to all for your help on the shock-absorber info.

:cool:

De Soto Frank

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Hey, Don...

Well, here's what I concluded:

Bernbaum lists the same shock fitting Plymouth /Dodge '39 thru '50, one number for the front, and another number for the rear. His numbers are different than for the '38-'50 De Soto / Chrysler 6.

Went to RockAuto.com, and looked in both Plymouth and Dodge sections, for 1949 & 1950 model years...

They are listing the following:

Front shock - Monroe Sensa-Trac # 5752 - $18.86 ea. plus S&H

Rear shock - Monroe-Matic Plus #31000 - $17.42 ea plsu S&H.

These are the same shocks that Rock Auto listed for the De Soto and Chrysler...

Am picking-up the rear shocks locally this afternoon.

Sounds like they should work on your Plymouth; not sure why Andy lists a different p/n for the junior cars or what the diff would be ?

Frank

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Thanks Frank;

I recall my dad mentioning in 1956 after he bought a 1953 Cadiallic that the Caddy uses Chevy spark plugs. But if you tell the parts man the plugs are for a Caddy the price doubles for the same plug. Could someone use this same logic for Desoto shock absorbers vrs Plymouth shock absorbers:cool:

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Dunno...

My experience has been that De Soto parts are usually made from "unobtainium"... :D

My first suspicion about a different shock for the Plymouth would be for different valving, to suit a lighter car ? :confused:

All four divisions shared the same control-arm pivot bushings ( both inner & outer) from '40 thru '54, but the Plymouth & Dodge use a differnent king-pin set through '56, and usesthe beefier De Soto /Chrysler pin from '54-'56 on the V-8 models.

It would seem that the mounting and travel dimensions must be equivalent for the same Monroe shocks to work on both the junior & senior cars...:cool:

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  • 10 years later...

Thanks for this thread, I found it very helpful.  I picked up a set of the #5752 & #31000 And they seem like a good fit for my 1938 Chrysler Royal Coupe.

 

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9 hours ago, Dbolter said:

Thanks for this thread, I found it very helpful.  I picked up a set of the #5752 & #31000 And they seem like a good fit for my 1938 Chrysler Royal Coupe.

 

Hey looks like you're just down the road from me and a few others. Check out our MN subgroup in here. 

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