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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Front Shock Absorbers

On the recent MOT my midget was advised on front shock absorbers not reaching full capacity. The garage told me i can fill them up with the apropriate oil. So before i do this. How on earth do i get the oil inti the unit. I have read that you can use EP20 or motorcycle fork fluid. I cant find a diagram of where the fill plug is.
Any advice gratefully recieved.
S Langston

1 minute 32 seconds in on this video

John has odvoiusly seen my posts on full and proper servicing :)

http://www.youtube.com/user/Universitymotorsltd#p/u/1/247RJqDnSGk
N Atkins

right found oil now -

Penrite Shock Absorber Oil
Designed for use in lever arm and vane type shock absorbers. Shock oil 1 is a light SAE20, suitable for normal use in Armstrong lever arm dampers. Shock oil 2 is a heavy SAE20 that increases the damping rate and is more suited to fast road and competition use.

http://www.ukmgparts.com/product.aspx?CID=357bdef3-eabd-4511-91ff-c357ccf6ea8d&SID=9dc70f96-d25e-4576-a377-1615a4626494&PID=390696dc-793f-4179-9c8d-d0b7e3323b70
N Atkins

well looking at the factoty parts Catalogue page 141 - (Ref: 0016) - http://www.mgocshop.co.uk/catalog/Online_Catalogue_Parts_Lists_3.html

why not buy these books I recommend and you'd have more information at your fingertips - literally

nut on top as you look down on them

fill with care, get air out by moving arm through full up/down movement a few timeslooking for bubbles

have you get the owners Handbook yet :)
N Atkins

Nigel, I think that the nut you want him to remove is the little one, on the side of the round expansion chamber on the very top, but when I read, "nut on top" I think of the valve (the large nut you see when you look at the top of the damper, from the engine room). Removing it will make a mess, and if its seal is disturbed might lead to future leaking.


Norm
Norm Kerr

Norm, good point - sorry I could well be wrong

I couldn't find a picture to post

long time since I done this and I thought it was an off the car job but goes back too many years

can't refresh my memory on my car as they aren't there anymore
N Atkins

If anyone does have a picture of the access area to refill the shock I would also be most interested.

Wazza
w butler

Remove wheel and fill from under wing, its the bung nearest to you on the side of the round bit. I used a syringe with a bit of thin tubing now have a frontline conversion

Mike


Mike J Pearson

That's fantastic, thanks Mike. I'm really hoping the suspension is just low on oil???? If that doesn't fix it, is the opinion of the forum that the shock can be "rebuilt" or is it better to just go new????

Wazza
w butler

If you can get a set of the rebuilt units from Peter Caldwell at World Wide Auto Parts then I'd favor rebuilt units over new. His rebuilds are literally better than new and are guaranteed for life from leaks or other problems. I believe that Peter May may be the UK distributor for those shocks.
B Young

I've heard a lot of good reports on Peter's work, but I am in Australia and feel the postage cost would absolutely kill me :-(
w butler

Generally, new is better than recond as most recond units have had nothing done about wear in the bores. If you are getting recond, quiz on this and adjust your expectations accordingly. You'll probably predict it from the price anyway!

However, we found an issue with new Midget fronts: They locked completely up when bolted down. They were free when the bolts were nipped up, but locked at final torque. Back of about 1/4 turn and they freed up. Sounded like the body distorting to me. On top of that they hadn't been finished - the bolt holes were as cast - tapering from each end and too small to get the bolt through. We had to ream them out to size before we could even get the bolts to go through.

This was about 3 years ago, don't know whether it was just an odd batch or if the situation has improved.
Paul Walbran

Excellent ! Thanks for all the info. I will have a go at refilling mine sometime soon, when the rain stops !! (typical British summertime)
S Langston

This thread was discussed between 18/07/2011 and 22/07/2011

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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