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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - What does reconditioning mean?

I bought a pair of 'recon' front dampers from Sussex Classic Cars, and took the tops off out of curiosity. I have a suspicious nature! One was full of black mucky oil, the other the same except it wasn't even full. I had a moan to Sussex and to be fair they were happy to send me replacements, which I have now received. These have some new oil in them, but are still clogged with muck. I asked Sussex what 'recon' means, and they said they just check for damage and replace the seals. Well the O-rings on the valves don't look new. One question is, what is all the black muck? As it sparkles it's obviously debris from wear of the metal parts. If I bought a recon engine I would expect a bit more than replacing the oil seals and gaskets, the thing should be machined back to factory tolerances, and I would expect the oil to be changed!

I have got the mess out of the second pair and refilled with clean oil, and repainted as they were tatty looking when supplied. I suppose I can't expect too much for £30 each on exchange, but what do you guys think?
L B Rose

LBR

Pretty poor to me. The black oil means it has degraded and clearly required renewal - especially if full of metal debris. It also usually stinks! If O rings are cracked, mis-shapen, soft or gum-like, they are worn and require replacement. For 30 notes each, personally I would have expected a thorough clean, oil change and ring/seal replacement regardless. I would not expect any machining though, and if machining the bores, presumably you would also require oversize pistons?

IIRC I did mine with a kit of O rings/seals etc, cleaned them out thoroughly, and replaced the oil with heavier grade Silkolene motorcycle fork oil - to compensate for any wear in the piston and to give a more planted feel on the road. Fairly easy job and seems to work well so far. Advise you also replace the metalastic bush on the arm to the road spring.

I also repainted. Stripped it back, acid etch, and sprayed with red enamel - as it was what I had lying around. They are not on show in any event.
Oggers

Oggers, how did you get the arm off to replace the seal? I thought one needed a hefty press.

Les
L B Rose

Les

I didn't bother with it as it seemed fine, and yes, not easy to remove.

To clarify, my kit was for internals only and that is also where I restricted my work.
Oggers

Oggers,

When you say internals only did that include the piston seals and if so how were they replaced without dismantling the damper.
David Billington

David

Fairly sure I did not touch the piston seals and restricted myself to the valve. The thicker oil counters somewhat against any possible wear in the piston, and I whilst I appreciate it is possibly a temporary solution, given I only do about 2000 miles a year, it may last a while yet.



Oggers

This thread was discussed on 23/09/2016

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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