By Jim Taylor

The damper rods can occasionally get bent which will force the damper piston off center. This will create a drag or side force on the hollow piston rod and restrict normal piston movement. Remove the suction chamber and look at the end of the damper rod with cap screwed snugly into the chamber neck. If the end of the rod appears to be in the center of the bore, everything’s OK. If the rod is noticeably offset in one direction, mark the cap with a magic marker in the direction the rod needs to be bent. Remove damper and gently bend rod in the indicated direction. Several passes may be required to get it right. Visual centering is adequate as there is some lateral float in the damper piston. Just as a matter of interest, the new SU plastic capped dampers have a ball socket in the cap which allows the rod to be self-aligning.                                     ***** From Chatter Nov. 1991*****