Morris Minor Owners Club

Good point Andrew
I dont ever remember any of the jack manufacturers suggesting to use 20w50 as an alternative.

ok, it sounds like I am in the right area. I did give it a bit of a bounce when I had filled it, and it didn't seem to make much of a difference, so I thought I would drive it for a bit, then check again today. I did clean the damper in the areas where I thought I might spot leaks, so I guess that time will tell.

With these cars, even if the dampers (and for that matter, all devices that need fluid to operate) are not worn out, is it still normal that they consume (or lose) a given amount of fluid over time? Obviously if there is a puddle on the floor, then something bad has happened, but I guess what I am trying to get at is an understanding of what levels I need to check, and how frequently I should check them?

I do have a manual on its way, but I don't know whether or not it will contain this info.

Thanks, Aaron

but I guess what I am trying to get at is an understanding of what levels I need to check, and how frequently I should check them?

Hopefully somebody will have the info to hand, as I only tend to check when I think there is a problem or notice a leak in which case I just change them.

Aaron, some of the air can take a while to get out. The rears I did off the car and found the air can be expelled more easily through moving the shocker through its whole stroke. So to replicate this on the fronts I found the best way was to fill the damper right to the top, leave the top bolt out then grab the car by the front bumper, pull it up as far as i could then bounce the car up and down. The level needs to be 3/8's " / 1cm from the top of the filler AFAIK. I then left it , repeated and if the level was still too high used a syringe and a piece of washer tubing to suck out excess.

If you leave it for a week then check I'm sure that'll be fine. Then if its gone down check a week later. To check the level I used a grey cable tie that I cleaned with oil on a clean rag, dipped into the damper and marked the top with a pen.

The dampers should NOT leak - at all. MOT fail - if they spot it!
Road conditions and driver expectations have moved on considerably since anyone oversaw development of Minor dampers. The oils are all the same basic make-up, just different viscosities. Each to their own - i like firm damping, not 'ship at sea' effect with bump stops taking a hammering!

bmcecosse wrote:The oils are all the same basic make-up, just different viscosities.

Apparently not, which is why they don't use engine oil in jacks!

Each to their own - i like firm damping, not 'ship at sea' effect with bump stops taking a hammering!

That sounds like very knackered dampers. They should not do this under normal conditions. If you are subjecting the car to 'abnormal' conditions then a telescopic damper conversion is the usual route and will give far superior results.

It all depends on what you want though.

You can use engine oil in jacks - both normal mineral oil !
Yes - front tele dampers are definitely the way to go.

why is it sold as two separate oils then?

I certainly plan to get front tele dampers, I find 20w/50 still isn't quite as much damping as I'd like on the front and a little too much on the rear. The rears need changing soon so I'll use standard oiled on the rear and hope to get adjustable teles on the front.

To make MONEY !! We use many small jacks at work for various assembly jigs - all are filled with engine oil, and have been for 15 years I know of without ill effect.

could very well be. I guess they don't have to be as multigrade-ish as engine oils, as they won't get that hot

Hmm - very little point going down this route again. The guy who oversaw the design and development really did say it recently to somebody you and I both know, and I'm rather happy to take his word for it. My guess is he KNOWS what he's talking about, long chain molecules and all.

I agree, and the metal isn't exactly new anymore, as are the seals inside
and let's indeed stop this oily topic

The important thing is - DO NOT use brake fluid in the dampers!