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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Lever arm damper arm removal

Yesterday I did a job for Les Rose removing the arms from a spare pair of front lever arm dampers so he can check/replace the shaft seals. I used my 10ton hydraulic bench press and the 1st I pre-loaded to 6 tons and it didn't go so applied heat with a MAPP torch for a short while, less than 10s, and it went bang and my heart skipped a beat and the bench jumped and the load had dropped to 2.5 tons so continued pressing and it was off, the 2nd was at 5.75 tons when it released and continued off no heat required. 1st image dampers with arms removed but placed back on lightly. 2nd image the press, puller tool and damper. In use the T part of the puller rests on the support plates of the press and hangs down then the lever arm damper arm is inserted into the lower part of the puller underneath the press beam.






David Billington

1st image close up of the puller. 2nd image the ledges provided on the arm for pulling.





David Billington

I came across this earlier when looking for information on lever arm rebuilding https://www.facebook.com/alllevershocks/photos in Australia. Lots on photos many of rebuilding going on and an oddity I hadn't heard of before which is an electrically adjustable Armstrong from an Aston Martin.
David Billington

Very interesting, I was thinking of if this could be done only the other day. I’ve got a pair of Peter May uprated shocks under the bench because the LH one is leaking, the LH standard one on my MK1 is leaking and even the fairly new Peter Caldwell LH one on my Sprite is showing early signs of leakage!!

Let us know how you get on with the rebuild.

Cheers.
John Payne

Hi

Interesting topic.

Anyone tried modifying their Armstrong lever arm dampers to either an ‘upgraded’ harder setting (some undefined magic with the internals/valve, rather than just changing to a more viscous oil) or perhaps engineering an adjustable valve (see: https://ajbengineering.com/products/armstrong-lever-arm-adjustable-damper-valves/)

Any difference between the dampers of the various marks? E.g. are rear dampers for quarter elliptic rear sprung cars (Frogeye, MkII Sprite, Mk1 midget) different from half elliptic cars?

I have seen secondhand front dampers sold as ‘uprated’ - not sure what they might have entailed.

I have seen the info on Peter Caldwell refurbed as well as adjustable lever arm dampers: http://www.sebringsprite.com/shockabsorbers.html & http://www.nosimport.com/Lever-shocks-remanufactured/sprite-lever-shocks http://www.nosimport.com/Lever-shocks-remanufactured/mg-midget-lever-shocks

Cheers
Mike
M Wood

Yep, they need a right hoofing to get off! Hence why if shaft seals are knackered I generally advise people to try and find a spare.

John, the "uprating" is nothing particularly special. Take the valve assembly out from under the big 7/8" valve nut and swap them into a new, none leaking body and jobs a gooden.

Malc.
Malcolm

I've had a bit of a mess over the years. Nothing magic about it ;-) The uprated valves are one of the easiest money spinners going. A couple of 10p shims and a spin of a nut, £30 please. Kerching!

A few spares (not the carb jets!).

Malc.


Malcolm

I've got a pair of adjustable rears from a Ford Anglia 105E and was going to replace the arms but was put off by all this faffing about.
The trouble with rears is that you need to take the welch plug off the back to expose the end of the rocker shaft inside the body to be able to press the arm back on. That means renewing the O ring seal behind the welch plug as well as the welch plug.
I've just had a look at a front shocker and you will have to do the same.
Rob

MG Moneypit

Rob,

IIRC Les has already sourced the correct welch plug for the damper as he removed the old one from one damper as it was weeping oil from a previous repair and needed to be replaced properly. Now the arms are off the seals can be dealt with.
David Billington

For reassembly, it might be possible to make up a special long nut with a plain outer section at one end to start the arms, then remove and fit proper nut to finish?
AdrianR

Adrian,

That's what I was thinking, a sleeve nut like for wheels to get it started but I think pressing it home would be best as the threads have been damaged in the past and I had to clean them up with a 9/16" BSF die.
David Billington

Thanks again Dave for a great job. Now I have to make the sleeve nut from the nice bit of material you sent. I will need to follow all the links you good folk have provided, before I start.
Les Rose

This thread was discussed between 03/05/2022 and 12/05/2022

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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