i was trying to track down the rattle that comes from my GF's 02 SS today when the car goes over bumps. it sounds like its comin from the driver rear. i tightened the nut on top of the shock in the car as much as i could by hand and that seemed to help but the rattle is still there somewhat so i guess that wasnt it but my question is:

is the nut on the top suppose to be torqued or anything??it takes a allen key for the top of the bolt for the valve so it doesnt spin so i dont see how it can be.
just want to know what the correct way to tighten the rear shocks are for the rear.

also she has bilstein shocks in the rear (1yr old) with hotchkis 1in lowering springs. no adj phb yet or lca relocation.

thanks

 

i just put new bilsteins on my car about 2 months ago, so i know what you speak of.

i just tightened until i couldnt turn it anymore, i dont think torque should be a big deal. but i may be wrong.

if you are worried about it backing off, use some Loctite on the threads, and you should be good to go.

 

The top of the rear shock is supposed to be mounted using rubber bushings. The nut should be tightened down tighter than by hand, just not to the point of greatly deforming the bushing.

Here's a link to a good write-up from Injuneer on shock/spring installation: http://members.aol.com/InjuneerZZ/HALEibch.htm

In it Fred states: "Tighten the nut until the bushings start to compress. The factory spec is 13 ft-lb. I figure that they should be very tight, so there is no play in the top of the shock."

 

thanks for the info guys,thats what i was looking for.

 

You want them tight enough to avoid a "gap" as the shock compresses or extends, and not so tight that the bushings are totally deformed and crush and crack, or compressed to the point where you can get any sort of metal-to-metal contact.

 

It might be because the rear is off a little and you need an adjustable PHR to set it back to where it's supposed to be.