Armstrong Lever Arm Dampers Oil Change to stiffen them up - MG Midget Birth of a Racecar Episode 70

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@davidjennings9253 Ай бұрын

My 1st car back in 1970 was a 1961 Wolsley 1500 which I modified, fitting wide wheels and radial tyres together with double anti roll bar on the front and single on the rear. I was still dissatisfied with the rather soft suspension so pumped out the old oil from the lever arm shockers and refilled with 90w oil - what a difference. The car handled so much better and rode better too. I had the car five years and then passed it on to a friend and those shocks were still working fine years later.

@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349 Ай бұрын

thanks for watching. good tips

@jameseastwood4984 11 ай бұрын

The over-understeer is dictated by the front roll stiffness vs the rear. I went to 400lbs front spring, with the 11/16" (IIRC) anti roll bar, with some shortened Mondeo drop links, the front shocks were new lever arm with uprated valves and thicker oil. On the rear i made up custom 6 leaf (stiffer) springs with just the thicker damper oil. Even this set up is quite soft TBH. I also lowered the suspension a little all round. The rear spings would wind up on a launch causing the prop shaft to hit the tunnel. I also ran the taller of the two difs permitted, because i drove to the circuits.

@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349 11 ай бұрын

great story thanks for watching

@tonyatsollies 2 жыл бұрын

I think that you will find that the little round chamber on the end is in fact an expansion chamber and that the small holebolt is for the final filling of the damper when it is fitted to the car. A small plastic syringe is ideal for the final top up as this allows you to over fill the damper. With the car on a leval surface let the excess oil drip out of the small hole and then seal with the small bolt. If the expansion chamber is overfilled, there is the possibility of hot oil being forced passed the seals on the lever spindles. .

@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349 2 жыл бұрын

thanks for the input. all good learning for everyone. thanks for watching

@TheAdamwest29 Жыл бұрын

I concur. I just read about this in my service manual. 😊

@MarksWheels 2 жыл бұрын

Its a good upgrade. When i replaced my oil, i was amazed at the difference. I might do the same with my Morris Minor but i'll see how it goes first

@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and the comments. appreciate the input and feedback

@bobw222 7 ай бұрын

Some of the odd size fittings on my 1958 Sprite have turned out to be Whitworth sizes. Sometimes I could get Imperial/NF/NC-SAE wrenches to fit, and occasionally a metric would fit. A couple of them required a Crescent (adjustable) wrench/spanner or a Whitworth wrench/socket to get them off.

@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349 7 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching

@afhostie 5 ай бұрын

What does it look like to rebuild one of these, just replace the o-rings and springs?

@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349 5 ай бұрын

Not much you can do to them without specialist equipment other than replace oil and gaskets. If leaking from the pivot get an exchange unit

@BlueXonar Ай бұрын

I believe engine oil and fork oil/hydraulic oil are measured using a different scale and they have different properties, so a 30 weight engine oil is not equal to a 30 weight fork or hydraulic oil. There is a lot of misinformation about this online. I personally would not use engine oil in these dampers despite what I have read online and in the owners manual.

@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349 Ай бұрын

Thanks for watching

@peterpowder8546 2 жыл бұрын

Don’t mess with the oil viscosity! Do the research, as many say heavy oil can hurt the internal structure of the shock. Change the valve instead. Or change the parts in the valve that determines how stiff the shock is. I got new valves from moss motors

@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the info

@peterpowder8546 2 жыл бұрын

@@mgmidget-thebirthofaraceca4349 I changed to heavier oil many years ago on my TR6 and no issues. But lately I’ve read it’s not so good so who knows. The valve change however did the job albeit at ~$35 per side. 🥴