Morris Minor Owners Club

I recently bought some reconditioned rear dampers for my car and took them to be revalved to uprate them for racing and the bloke took one look at them, and the rubber ring jammed behind the arm to limit undesirable movement of the arm, and said that they were no good, something i fully aggred with. we both concluded that eventually the O-ring would be worn out, fall off and the damper arms would begin moving in directions that are far from desirable.

Does anyone have, or know where I can get, or even if they exist New rear dampers? Also, can anyone recommend recon dampers they have bought if new ones are unavailable?

Any help, as ever, much appreciated.

As far as I know only recon ones are available and they are on an exchange basis providing the ones for exchange are serviceable. If the castings are too worn (as yours seem to be) they are scrap. Bull Motif sell them as I'm sure other online retailers do...

Why would a company, and it was a large Morris Minor spares retailer, sell me recon dampers which are scrap!? (Rhetorical question, its just really annoying)

I shall have to source some other ones, from a different supplier.

Send em back !!!
See many other threads on this website about inferior spare parts

They may not be 'scrap' - it's just an opinion from one person. Try them and see! You don't need to 're-valve' - just use more viscous oil - that's what 750MC 'racers' have done for many years. Normal oil in these dampers is SAE10 - so if you go to say SAE 40 (and that's NOT 10W40) then the damping will be significantly improved. FYI - I used EP 90 in my Rally Minor many moons ago - but you decide for yourself what grade of oil suits you best! If you decide you really must 're-valve' - then take them out and DIY - the valves can be adjusted and/or little shims taken out to increase the point where the valves lift off the seat. But I'm sure you will find the heavier oil ideal !

It is common for the castings to wear which leaves the arm flopping about - If it's been bodged up with an O ring to take out the play then it is scrap - plain and simple !!!

If that really is the function of the O ring (surely not!) then I agree!

It sounds that way from the description but I'm sure Tom will confirm for us......

I've got an old pair you can have if you want to get them reconditioned. I haven't looked at them since I took them off a few years ago but I don't remember seeing any O-rings.

When I showed them to the man, whom is very experienced in modifying lever arm dampers and has raced A35s etc. for years said the O ring was there to eliminate the lever moving, and I concurred.

I did discuss also with him about simply changing the oil and he did say this is what he used to do, but it is far more efficient to have them revalved. He revalves them and matches them as a pair, so one is not stronger than the other.

I'll send mine back and get some more, but I will be asking questions prior to ordering. Many thanks for all the comments, as ever.

Would be interested to know where he gets the uprated valves from - or does he simply adjust the ones that are in there? I know uprated valves are available for MGB dampers - but don't know if they will fit Minor dampers. Any info you can 'squeeze' out of him will be very interesting !
And - if that really is the function of the O ring - it will maybe last about 1.5 seconds! Perhaps it's just there to hide some 'butchery' marks in the damper body!

bmcecosse wrote:They may not be 'scrap' - it's just an opinion from one person. Try them and see! You don't need to 're-valve' - just use more viscous oil - that's what 750MC 'racers' have done for many years. Normal oil in these dampers is SAE10 - so if you go to say SAE 40 (and that's NOT 10W40) then the damping will be significantly improved. FYI - I used EP 90 in my Rally Minor many moons ago - but you decide for yourself what grade of oil suits you best! If you decide you really must 're-valve' - then take them out and DIY - the valves can be adjusted and/or little shims taken out to increase the point where the valves lift off the seat. But I'm sure you will find the heavier oil ideal !

Thanks for this tip. i don't normally put much stock in the idea of using something that has a decent modern replacement option (i.e telescopics) but since i'm selling the car and they had to come off when i replaced the axle I thought i'd have a go. So a couple of flushes and new sae 20 oil and they have a very nice action so thanks for the tip.

There really is nothing wrong with lever arm dampers - and they have the advantage of being 'adjustable' simply by changing the viscosity of the oil. Can't do that with a tele damper!
I have to laugh when I see tele dampers installed at about 45 degrees to the suspension movement !

yes Ive looked at that 45 degree and thought that it has to be really inefficient