Shock Absorber Thingee

What was the purpose of the shock absorber thing on the front steering linkage on RMW's. I tried to find it on RMW parts lists and at newgmparts.com and it was never on any list. It's as if they put them on but never intended for them to be replaced. Did they ever make replacements?

It makes the steering smoother by damping out all of the twitches. They are the same as the part for the FWs. I assume GM made replacements, but they are only required to keep spare parts for 7 years after the end of the production.

You could check with Mike at Hamilton Chevrolet on the ISSF.

The dampner is available. I got one for Brokecello here on the forum not to long ago, and he recently did the whole suspension on his wagon

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/Steering-Damper/_/N-8oxi5?filterByKeyWord=14019&fromString=search&isSearchByPartNumber=true

Monroe makes one. It's listed for the Fleetwood.
Personally, I prefer leaving it off. It was a band-aid solution for a problem that didn't exist. If you are rebuilding the front end you can then buy the centrelink that doesn't have the provision for the damper. It's considerably cheaper.
You don't need to change the centrelink IOT run the car without the damper (if it ain't broke...).

Got mine from Rock Auto when I rebuilt my front end. Had to look up a 1996 Caddy Fleetwood.

I left it off and ran over some rough train tracks, then bolted it on and went across again. There is a noticable difference with it in place.

Some folks don't like it, say it takes some feel out of the steering, and can overheat the ps pump in road-race situations.

BUT, in normal driving, and at least for my tastes, I really liked it. These are smooth cars and it adds to the smoothness as far as I'm concerned.

-Mike

Thanks guys, I still find it odd that on the origional parts pages with the pictures the part is neither shown or listed.

I put on a new Fleetwood damper a few months ago. I wasn't happy with how much steering resistance was added in comparison to the old worn-out steering damper. But I got lazy and left it on.

Nick Danger wrote:

... But I got lazy and left it on.

This is funny. I mean, it could go almost anywhere in our lives.