shockers..top up?

Post by **ianminor** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:34 pm

where can I buy Armstrong fuid for my shockers? I cant find any in the usual places like Halfords. I have a slight dip on the F/O/S ..is the shocker had it?

Post by **PSL184** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:40 pm

The shock absorber absorbs shocks !!! The ride height is controlled by the torsion bar. If one side is low then its the torsion bar you need to adjust. Motorcycle fork oil or plain engine oil can be used in shocks (dampers) and it's a good idea to drain and refill them anyway as the old oil gets thinned out and becomes less effective....

Post by **ianminor** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:47 pm

thanks for your reply, it makes sense that it's the torsion bar. Is adjustment fairly easy to do?l

Post by **bmcecosse** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:49 pm

Yes - drain and refill the dampers ( not 'shocks'!!) with 20W50 oil, or SAE 30 'lawn mower' oil from Tesco if you want slightly improved damping. But as above ^^^^^ - if it's sitting low then look to the torsion bar, or - more likely I'm afraid - the crossmember where the rear of the torsion bar locates. It may be crumbling - and the rear arm of the bar may be working it's way up through the floor! If so - urgent/major attention required.

Post by **PSL184** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:54 pm

ianminor wrote:thanks for your reply, it makes sense that it's the torsion bar. Is adjustment fairly easy to do?l

Yes if everything comes apart easy enough - There is an adjustment plate at the rear on the crossmember. Best to read the manual for consise instructions but do check, as Roy says, that the crossmember / floor is still solid....

Post by **ianminor** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:56 pm

All is OK under the floor & so is crossmember [recently refurbished]. I see that I have to remove the bar at this end and turn the lever 1 or 2 spines to lift the car up a little..

Post by **bmcecosse** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:57 pm

Ahh well - if all new - then it just needs setting up. Easier to lift it at the front - where it's splined to the bottom arm - it's a half-hour job! In fact I used to do both sides at the start of a Rally - in considerably less than an hour!

Post by **ianminor** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:37 pm

Hey, thats a great tip! That looks a lot easier.......thanks

Post by **alainmoran** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 9:38 pm

If you find that neither set of splines will move (likely if it hasnt been done for a while) ... then dont mess about too much getting them to move while they are on the car (you are likely to fail), take them off and put the chuffer in a vice ... yes it takes a bit longer, but a whole lot LESS time than messing about for hours only to give up and take them off after all.

Dont forget to mark the existing position with a permenant marker, or needle file before you start bashing away at them ;)

Post by **bmcecosse** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:02 pm

Just soak with plus-gas 24 hours in advance. And use a large hammer!

Post by **mike.perry** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:44 pm

One spline adjustment on the torsion bar will raise or lower the suspension on that side by 1.5 ins so if the required adjustment is less then adjust the trim plate at the back of the torsion bar. Before you move the torsion bar mark the position of the suspension arm.
As a rough guide you should just be able to get your hand edgeways between the top of the wheel arch and the tyre.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:44 am

It's quite hard to tell until you lift the low side, how it will settle out. So best to lift the one spline - then let it settle for a week - then decide if it needs more trimming!

Post by **twincamman** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 11:22 am

When you top up the sockers, make sure you take the weight off them (jack/axle stands) BEFORE undoing the plug.
You get a facefull of shocker fluid otherwise................

Post by **bmcecosse** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 12:16 pm

Never happened to me ! You should have a small 'air' space at the top of the damper - something wrong if they are pressurised!

Post by **Kevin** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 2:05 pm

where can I buy Armstrong fuid for my shockers?

Any of the specialists sell it but if you dont have somewhere local get some jack oil as used in trolley jacks as its basically the same.

Post by **alainmoran** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 3:49 pm

I've heard people talking about using a heavier weight oil to give them a stiffer ride ... how much heavier are we talking here?

Post by **bmcecosse** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 7:57 pm

Standard is SAE 20 - so SAE 30 or 40 or even 50 is better! SAE 30 is sold as 'lawn mower oil' in Tesco - in handy 1 litre pack. But m/cycle shops will have the SAE 40. Don't be fooled into SAE 20W50 - it's SAE 20 at the temperatures involved here!

Post by **nigelr2000** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:16 pm

I use 20/50 in my jack, works fine and its cheap at asda and I always have some around as its same as the car engine oil.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:23 pm

But is really only SAE 20 - so just standard.

Post by **d_harris** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 8:27 pm

But makes one hell of a difference if its not been done recently....