Morris Minor Owners Club

Well done - do tell us if the car handles any better for the maintenance !

Well not so good today

Quite chuffed managed to do rear dampers and new links - but now have drained the front dampers and all seems different - help needed please ?

when l put the clean oil into the filler hole it takes only a very little and doesn't seem to enter the damper - tried pushing car up and done to operate it - but oil still stops there - refitted the pressure valve and re-tried - still nothing ? have l done anything wrong ?

Thanks Dave

No -just takes patience - some seem to 'lap it up' quite freely - and others only dribbles.... Bouncing usually helps. If the damper is off the car, the arm can be worked full stroke which also helps - the movement on the car is quite limited.

Thanks Bmc

Damper not off ! just had another look and its not taken any down yet - tried again to bounce gently - to no avail !

does it make any difference trying with the pressure valve in ? or perhaps l make consider trying to get a piece of tube to fit my washing up bottle and try to push it into the damper a little ? would that perhaps help ?

Thanks again !

The drain/valve needs to be out - bounce vigorously!! I think some have 'injected' the oil - but it should come out with bouncing.

I found bouncing the front with the original oil in was very easy with a lot of movement possible. Once the heavier oil was in it was much more difficult so you'll know when it starts working - and don't be too gentle with the bouncing, give it a push and a pull to get as much movement as you can.

Thanks again to all for help advice !

Went out today with a clearer head - and a plastic syringe yes found it a little easier to put oil in slower and use the other hand to bounce the car to expel the air ! giving the car a good bouncing from time to time - and yes it worked a treat thanks !

Looking forward to a trip out tomorrow to enjoy the rewards of my hard work - fingers crossed - quite a stiff bounce on the car now

Thanks Dave

Check the level and top up - perhaps consider another flush through in a week or two to make sure all the old oil is removed.

WHAT the fronts could possibly do ! but the rears uh ?

But other than that daunting thought - had my trip out today and yes thanks a lot firmer ride and certainly better over the bumps etc even noticed it tucks into corners better ! so a brill suggestion thanks bmc -

joking apart do you mean to remove rears and re-flush ?

Regards Dave

Probably not - since you did them off the car. I would do the fronts again if you have the time - or leave them to the Spring - perhaps just a 'top up' for now - but do leave a small air space at the top. Dampers treated like this are easily the match of the crude 'bolt on' tele-damper kits...and a LOT less money!

PHEW

Thanks bmc got me really worried - did re-check the fronts after a run out yesterday and they seem ok and fluid at the bottom of the filler thread - so assuming l got those right ? l did the rears the same way but yes on the bench . did notice though that when l first undid the filler bung on the fronts they spilled oil out - but little old oil came out - until filled and flushed this l did three times - s just assumed they had been topped up prior to my ownership and had air in them ? but yes the ride is really much better now

Thanks again for all constructive advice - may make a good apprentice soon


Dave

Hi BMC
I took your advice and bought a bottle of the 40W compressor oil that you posted a link to earlier. I drained the front dampers on the car and filled them with the valves in, not out. It was all a bit fiddly and messy until I used a little oil can with a flexible spout! Plenty went in and I have topped them up(to the bottom of the thread) after a few miles of use .
I removed the rears complete with the chassis arm and mounted them to a wooden back plate that I made up so that I could clamp them in a vice in the vertical position for ease of draining/filling. Once again I filled them with the valves in, a little at a time, pumping the lever arm over its full range at regular intervals. The force required to do this increased considerably by the time I had finished.
The difference is stunning. The car can now go round roundabouts without feeling like it's going to tip over and handles pretty much like a "modern" car. The only downside is that adult females travelling in the back need to wear very supportive underwear as the combination of stiff rear suspension and soft rear seat springs has a very interesting side- effect!
Thanks for the advice.
P.s
Don't worry about advising on how to firm up the seat springs.......

Well done... They may need topping up after a few days use - but always leave a small air space at the top. The rear damper that lies at an angle can be topped up by removing one bolt and slackening the other - enough to allow you to swing the damper round for filling. You may want to cut an inch or so off the rear bump stops to give some movement to the rear suspension.

Thanks for the tips!

Just adding to this old thread, as my Rear Shock absorber link has also failed and this is the thread that keeps coming up first on Google!
Whilst I await the replacement (coming in the post) - I see there was mention of a split pin on the chassis nut? I cant see this on mine nor in the diagram below:
..should there definitely be a split pin?

My link also appears to have the remnants of some form of rubber bush on the lower joint. Again, I can't see any reference to this in the manuals.. I presume this is non-standard?

Item No: 7 in the above diagram is the castellated nut which is secured by a split pin not shown.
You have a self locking nut fitted instead.
There should be a split pin for securing the top location castellated nut but it is perfectly alright to use a self locking nut providing the thread protrudes through the nut. The problem with the split pin is locating the remains and getting those remains out of the pin.

The bottom of the link does have a rubber socket for articulation - the bush is moulded into the socket and is part of the overall link and is not supplied separately.

https://www.morrisminorspares.com/rear- ... is-p831366

I recommend the use of poly bushes for the chassis end of the link and which are available from ESM.

https://www.morrisminorspares.com/rear- ... de-p831342

Thank you - Ordered!

Hmm, so the new link and bushes have arrived.. But it looks like the bushes are too wide? Isnt the link going to move around on these?

Also, any way to remove the supplied rubber bush without cutting it out?

The rear damper link supplied is not to original specification in that the original link had two rubber bushes which fitted into the link top eye and over the chassis stud. See link for detail. The bushes are item No: 6 in the link Pt No: ACA5252.
https://www.moss-europe.co.uk/shop-by-m ... 51-71.html

I would leave the damper link bush as is and keep the poly bushes for later use.