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MG MGA - Shock absorber testing

Good afternoon:
I looked for an earlier thread on this but didn't find one. Please steer me if I overlooked one. I have noticed that the resistance in the levers' movement differs significantly between the front and rear shocks. The rear one was full when I removed it, and has smooth stiffness throughout its travel. I can hold the body in my left hand and, with effort, move the lever through its travel with my right. The front one was near empty when I checked it. Now full, it is much easier to move the lever, even after working it a considerable number of times. Is there an objective test (lbs tension?) for this? Should I just figure it's time for a rebuild?

Thanks, once more,
Jack Bissett
Lexington, VA
John Bissett

Jack-
Shock action is a velocity related function. Lbs resistance at degrees per second motion. So anything you feel is mostly irrelevant friction or total catastrophe. If you bolt the shock on and move the arm rapidly you can get some idea. Most shocks have different damping rates in bump and rebound, so moving the arm the other way will have different resistance. No relation between front and rear dampers. You can get some info by comparing resistance of two identical dampers at the same time, but it is still crude.
And yes, you can figure they need a rebuild especially if some were empty. Send them to Peter Caldwell at Worldwide.

FRM
FR Millmore

X2 with FRM, send them to Peter. As for comparing front to rear, remember that the arm length is a bit different as well, so compare force necessary to move the arm at the same distance from the pivot.


B Young

Peter at Worldwide with get them right!!

http://www.nosimport.com/

Jim
Jim Ferguson

Thanks guys.
Jack
John Bissett

This thread was discussed between 02/05/2011 and 10/05/2011

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This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.