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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - shock absorbers

hi, iv finaly found a place that sold 20w fork oil and brought a huge syringe with a long tube. now can someone tell me which nut to take out of the shock absorber to top it up.im guessing its the one on the side and not the one that looks like a tophat on the top. also how much do they hold roughly. it a midget 1500 thanks roy
roy judd

the little one at the very top is the filler (that funny shaped "D" area is the breathing space above the fluid).

The big one about half way down is the valve (you don't want to mess with that, because it is below the "water line").


Norm
Norm Kerr

norm; do you mean the little one that is next to the bolt that looks abit like a tophat on the top of the shock? so i fill it from the top of the shock rather than the side?
roy judd

It's the one at the highest point. There is a small chamber at the highest point when fitted to the car, which has a hex-headed screw in the side. Remove the screw and fill with oil whilst moving the arm up and down.
As for capacity, keep going until you can't get any more in there.
Dave O'Neill 2

Yes, the little nut which is one of the few remaining Whitworth fasteners on your car... 1/4"W is the wrench, but a 9/16 used carefully will work, or a 13mm if the 9/16 has already rounded it off slightly. Don't overfill, by that, don't try to force feed the air chamber. There needs to be air to allow expansion room for the heated oil. I'm attaching a pic of the front shock cap showing the fill hole and the 2 small holes that the oil has to travel through to get into the shock. You needn't move the arm whilst filling, unless there is air in the shock from the oil level being below the valve... the large 7/9" nut in the engine bay.
We've supposed you are talking about the front. For the rear, the same size plug is located on the side of the body of the shock toward the front, and is located low enough that you probably can't overfill.

Hope that helps. Peter


Peter Caldwell

all done and boy what a diffrence. thank you all for your help. and that photo was a big help thanks peter.
roy judd

This thread was discussed between 07/04/2010 and 08/04/2010

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS is active now.