Ewan,
We replaced the shock absorbers on my '68 Globetrotter just today,so the
experience is fresh in my mind. <<grin>>

The "swing arm"is technically a "trailing link" that is connected tothe end of
a torsion bar. This bar is inside the hollow square axle tube and isthe actual
spring. It "winds up" when you add load to the trailer; the swing armmoves up,
twisting the torsion bar. The shock absorber's purpose is mostly tocontrol the
rapid extension of the spring when the load is removed as happens whenyou go
over a bump. The spring winds up and is then released slowly by theshock
absorber.

These axles are made in a dumb manner IMO: you must remove the axlefrom the
trailer to get the shock off that one fixed pin. It's not a real bigdeal; mine
are held with 4 5/8" bolts that easily succumbed to some WD-40 andthe air
impact wrench. The floor jack under the center helped lower and raisethe axle.

It does seem like there should be a grease fitting for the swing arm,but it's
probably mounted in a big rubber bushing. This allows the torsion barto twist,
but the "bearing" is the bushing, so no lubrication is necessary. Thesetorsion
bars do break on occassion, as my buddy had to replace the axles onhis '71.
 

<<Jim>>

Ewan McDonell wrote:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Sawdust64@aol.com[mailto:Sawdust64@aol.com]
> Sent: Saturday, March 20, 1999 9:11 PM
> To: ewan@airstream.net
> Subject: Axle
>
> I originally sent this E. Mail to vintage and it has not appearedon the
> format, so I will try to send it to Ewan like you told us to in your
> instructions.
> I have a l973, 22,' Airstream with dual axles. All four wheels have
> electric
> brakes and the pads are in good shape. There are two shock absorberson
> each
> side and they have to be replaced. The problem is that this trailerhas
> been
> sitting up for more than two years in a damp site in Florida, andthe rust
> has
> reached an advanced state.
> The shock absorber at one end is attached to the frame, the otherend is
> attached to what appears to be a cast iron swing arm. This arm isan
> extension of the axle and moves up and down with the shock absorber
> restricting the movement. The arm was rusted tight, but with theuse of WD
> 40
> and some leverage I was able to produce some movement. The nut onthe swing
> arm faces into the frame so I believe that the swing arm will rotateall the
> way down so that area would be exposed. I do not want to force thisarm and
> break something. Does the arm rotate around or is it restricted tothe
> movement allowed by the shock absorber?
> Also, I looked for a grease fitting on the swing arm and there isnone. How
> do you grease this thing? I hope that someone can answer these questions.
> Thank you. Sawdust (RDusan) Jacksonville, Fla.

--

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