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Thanks for the idea Howard. I'll save that task for later.

The driver's knee action shock absorber seems to be leaking. I fill it up and go for a 1/4 mile spin, then the next week it seems to be low. I don't see a leak. I know I am spilling the fluid but I can't see it any where else, unless it was totally empty. Then I haven't put enough fluid in the shock absorber. How much fluid does it take to fill it?
The creaking noise is still there. I will take a grease gun to all the zerk fittings next week to see if the creaking noise stops. And I will fill the shock absorber again and try not to spill as I am filling it up.

Nothing happened in a week except the drivers front knee shock was out of fluid again. We did not go for a drive and don't see where it is leaking.
I decided to lube the front end thinking that too may help stop the creaking. So I removed both front tires and then decided to look at the brakes. I know I should have started removing the drums as one of the first things I should have looked at after finding the lug bolts were loose.
The brakes are fine, the drums are fine, whoever was the last one in did not put it back together correctly. One side had one leg of a cotter pin being used, the other side had a cotter pin stretched flat holding the nut in place. The nut with the bump to hold the washer was pointing out, not into the washer. This was done on both sides of the car. I am looking in the forum to see if there is a picture of how it goes together and I'm always in a hurry and can't find it. There are 2 nuts holding the bearing in. A plain nut first, then the washer with holes and a tab that goes in the ridge of the axle. then there is a nut that has a bump that is supposed to go into the washer to keep it from spinning. I know the order is wrong but some thing is missing.
Can you post me a picture?

Install the nut with the pin facing outwards first. Tighten it to obtain the proper wheel bearing adjustment. Then install the locking ring with the tab in the keyway, it's nonsymmetrical so flip it over if necessary to get an alignment with the pin. Then tighten the plain nut to lock the assembly. Recheck the wheel bearing adjustment. Install the cotter pin. Install the dust cap.

Carefully check the keyway tab on the locking ring, abusive handling can result in cracks and ultimately in loss of the tab in which case the wheel bearing adjustment will not be maintained. Note in the photo that this one has been damaged and repaired by brazing. To prevent stress on the tab, I prefer to hold the inner nut in position with a pair of channelocks while tightening the outer nut, thus putting no stress on the tab. The set in the picture is from 1934, yours may have slight differences. The hole in the outer nut is just a manufacturing expediency and plays no role in the assembly.

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Thanks for the picture and the tip, Owen. I do have a 40 160 Sedan and I think these are the same on there as well. But the 40 160 has been put on correctly.

What size tires go on here? The owners manual says 6.5x16. What is on the car is 8.2x15. The inside of the front tires rub on the steering arm, which is why there are spacers on the drum before I put the tires on.
I'm guessing the 6.5x16 tires would not rub on the steering arm and the 8.2x15 are way too wide. Would a 6.2x15 tire work?
The current tires are in great shape, but they are so big, and probably will stay on until they are worn out. So that means the spacers are going back on. I wonder if I need to replace the drivers' rear spacer as well, because it broke when the wheel fell off!

The tires may look good, but if 10-years old or more may be going bad from the inside. How old are the tires? Tires nowadays have a date code that tells when they were manufactured. An example would be "1519" which would indicate the tire was made in the 15th week of 2019. Older tires have a different coding, or maybe none at all.

I recently saw what an old tire can do when driven on the highway. The tire had a blowout and sidewall was completely destroyed due to aging material. The thread look like new. The tires were more than 10-years old.

I recently bought a 1999 BMW Z3 Roadster with less than 29k miles. The tires were not the originals but were made in 2007. They were 12-years old with almost full depth tread and looked great on the outside. The first thing I did was get a new set of tires fitted. We looked at the tires that came off of the car and they were cracked and beginning to fail.

For what it is worth. JWL

I don't know about AZ but out here some and maybe all chain stores will not remount tires over a certain age (think it was 10 yrs) due to liability and that may be a nationwide thing. When I bought new tires for my pickup I wanted to use the old set as rollers so I could move the 47 around but the store said they could not do it. If I wanted to look around they said an independent or used tire place might be willing but otherwise it was up to me to figure out how to get them mounted.

Not sure what they did to tires anymore but the go to crap pretty fast. I guess they figured out a way to get you to buy new ones more often. That is what I wonder about tires made by Coker and other antique tire makers whether you pay 1000 bucks for 4 and they fall a part in a 7 or 8 years?

No experience with Coker tires but just last year I replaced the Lesters on my '34 Packard. They were 27 years old and despite nearly "as new" appearance I had lost confidence in them for tours. Yet internally (inpsected after removal) and externally they showed no significant sign of age. Yes, I was foolish to keep them so long but it supports what many others have observed, bias tires seem to last longer than radials before they begin to show visible signs of age.

I replaced them with Bedford Famous Coach tires, an older brand that has of late become very popular for the 17-20" sizes. They have a great "of the era" appearance and thus far I'm very pleased with them.

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I believe the problem with tires aging to being unserviceable within several years is due to the compounds used in their manufacture. Newer tires - those made in the last 20 years or so - are meant to deteriorate over time so as to reduce the accumulation and environmental impact of large numbers of used tires. Tires made before these compounds were used usually have a long life expectancy for low mileage use. I don't think it is a question of radial v. bias ply construction, but would think radials and bias tires would now be made of the same materials. JWL

I wonder how much conditions have to do with tire longevity. I believe bias tires generally run at a lower pressure, have stiffer sidewalls and less flexing and run cool as long as they are adequately inflated. Radials are higher pressure, more flexing and generally run at higher temperatures due to the built in flexing. I would think those factors alone might cause more stress to tire components even if they are engineered for them. Combined with JW's comment about materials being selected and tires constructed for an easier recycle it could be a case of situations all coming together to provide a perceived shorter life for modern tires.