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MG MGA - Common Leak Point for Front Shocks

Where are the common leak points for the front shocks? I was wondering if anyone had experienced leaking from the front plate? Also since I may be replacing one, should I replace both as a matter of course or just the one leaking? They are both original to the car so presumably they have similar wear patterns.

Tommy

Front plate leaking is rather odd, and easily fixed with a new gasket. They commonly leak around the shafts, which is pretty much a terminal illness. If you fill them with oil they usually work, until it leaks out again. When you get tired of refilling them or cleaning up the mess it's time to have them rebuilt.

Ten years ago I had one front shock that leaked (after nearly 40 years of service). It seemed like a good idea at the time to have both rebuilt at the same time. I then went through NINE Apple Hydraulics "rebuilt" shocks before their two year warrantee ran out, and not a keeper in the bunch. I finally bought a pair of new EOM shocks (never used, "NOS"), which are still on the car today (70,000 miles later).

Lesson number one, avoid Apple Hydraulics like the plague. Lesson number two, if it ain't broke don't fix it (maybe). The original rear shocks are still doing well (after 354,000 miles). Those are much less prone to failure, even if they may leak a little, because the shaft seal is high on the side, and they may stop leaking but still work when the oil level falls below the shaft.
Barney Gaylord

Undoubtedly not by the book, a friend of mine added some automatic transmission fluid to a leaky front shock. The ATF has the effect of swelling the rubber seals around the shaft. He swears it's still not leaking. Worth a try, I guess. Nothing to lose, especially if you're looking for a temporary fix to keep you on the road until the end of the driving season.

Barney, you've told us about your experiences with Apple. I've yet to read anything negative about the rebuilds from:-

http://www.mailbag.com/users/nosimport/

Anyone care to set me straight?

TTFN

Derek Nicholson

It is not that difficult to replace the seals in these shocks. You will have to press the shaft out of the housing (noting the position of shaft to pistons so you can reassemble in the same position)and istall new dual lip modern seals. I have noticed that there are different O.D.'s for these shocks so measure the required OD and ID when you purchase your seals. Better yet take the old seals to the store when you get new seals. If the shaft is bad, then you may have to use speedy sleeves which are a little expensive. The seals are about $7 to $10 total for each front shock. The same proceedure applies to rear shocks (only one seal). I have done this for my 3 MG's and Austin Healey. Hope this helps and have a good day!

John
John Progess

Peter Caldwell at World Wide Auto Parts of Madison http://www.mailbag.com/users/nosimport/ does a fantastic job of restoring the old leaky shocks and provides a lifetime warantee on his work. One of his restored shocks for our MGB started leaking while we were on a trip. I called Peter and he said that there would be another shock waiting for us at home. True to his word, the shock was there and all I had to do was swap it out and send the defective one back. Minimum down time and the none of the shocks have leaked since. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Tommy,
Just try tightening the screws on the plate (lid). This is on the low pressure side of the shock operation, so you could just use silicone to help the gasket. The usual reason for this kind of failure is from over-filling the shocks. As they work, the oil gets quite hot and needs to expand. Leave some room in there.... about 2-3 tablespoons of air (?) LOL. Peter
Peter Caldwell

Thanks for all the great information. I have personally known others that have had 'issues' with Apple Hydraulics parts.

I like the idea of replacing the seals myself, especially if the parts are that cheap. However, the time it will take to get it apart, press out the shaft, and search for the parts (that will be the biggest problem) makes it a less than desireable option.

Things are black and white here in Japan. Even if I know the size of the seal, if I can't cross it to an application (no way an MGA part will cross here) then they won't sell it to me. Drives me crazy sometimes.

Ran into the same problem with oil filters. I ended up taking the info from Barney's site, crossing it to a Japanese car, crossing that to a domestic model, and then presenting that to the shop. Even then they were reluctant since I forgot my 'paperwork'. But the good thing about this is that you always get the correct part for your car.

Perhaps I'll call Worlwide.
Tommy

This thread was discussed between 16/10/2006 and 17/10/2006

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