[Jacques Reed]

Hi Dave,

The ring should just come apart from the cover but after 7 decades it probably is well stuck. Rubber becomes a great glue with age. Just look at trying to break the tyre bead on these old trucks.

If the ring stays on the body of the shock absorber, and you want to remove it, it can be screwed off after a good wire brushing of the exposed threads and application of lots of penetrating oil. There is a tiny hole visible on the lower ring so it would not be to difficult to fabricate a special wrench if needed but I just got mine off by wire brushing, lots of oil, and working it back and forth.

Besides sealing the unit I believe the lower ring is to also used to allow the cover to be positioned with the filling plug uppermost. By adjusting the position of the ring when the cover is screwed down tightly it will allow the plug to be on top.

Cheers,