Suspension strut

Claim 1

In a vehicle suspension for a vehicle having sprung and unsprung portions, a combination shock absorber and adjustable leveling strut having a body comprising a telescopic shock absorber having a cylinder and a reciprocal piston and piston rod, attachment means for securing said piston rod to one of the vehicle portions and said cylinder to the other of said vehicle portions, first and second spring seats spaced axially of said strut and spaced radially outwardly from said shock absorber, said first spring support being fixedly secured relative to said sprung portion of the vehicle and said second spring support being fixedly secured directly to the body of said strut, a helical coil spring arranged substantially concentrically of said shock absorber and extending axially between and supported by said spring seats, whereby said shock absorber and spring may be removed from a vehicle as a unit and without requiring disassembly of the spring from around the shock absorber, an elongated cylindrical dirt shield extending around the outer periphery of said piston rod and said cylinder and secured at one end thereof for telescopic movement relative to said cylinder, said dirt shield being located radially between the outer periphery of said cylinder and the inner periphery of said spring, a generally tubular-shaped flexible diaphragm member disposed between the radially outer side of the shock absorber and the radially inner side of said coil spring, said diaphragm member defining a variable volume gas chamber with said dirt shield and including a radially inner part sleeved directly upon and secured to a portion of the outer periphery of said cylinder, a radially outer part secured to said dirt shield and an integral rolling reversely folded part connecting said radially inner and outer parts, and means defining a fluid passage for selectively supplying pressurized gas to and from said chamber to effect expansion and contraction thereof.