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MG MGB Technical - rear spings upgrade to front springs?

I have an idea.. My rear end bottoms out and I think the problem is the shock springs. I put a 79 rear end in my chrome74 and also put the 79 rear shocks and leaves in the 74. The 74 only had coil over tube shocks at the time of the switch. The rear does not sag. All bushings etc. are new. But hit a bump or drop in a hole with a rear wheel and BAM! If I wanted to upgrade the springs in the rear oil shocks, could I use front springs? My thinking is that the springs may be sronger from the front due to the weight it has to handle. Are the spring sizes close enough to install front springs into the rear shocks? Does this even make sense? It does to me but that means nothing. Has anyone tried it? Any postable results? Thanks!
kids1

Kids1-
I suspect that at least one of your rear lever arm dampers has ceased to function. Have you checked them lately?
Steve S.

I checked them for movement and for fluid level. They were fine. I checked them before installing them a few months ago as well.
kids1

Did mean to sound like I knew what I was doing, I'd no guru.
They move up and down but when in a vice, the movement (by hand) is jerky at points but still they move. Is there a rebuild kit available with pistons or something other than just springs?
kids1

Kids1, Jerky movement isn't good. You may want to look at the "Lever arm shock uprating" thread in this section for more information. I don't know of a source for shock rebuild kits. It's not a DIY project. For quality rebuilds at a reasonable price you may wish to cantact WIde World Auto Parts at http://www.mailbag.com/users/nosimport/
FWIW, Clifton
Clifton Gordon

Thanks.. I'll check the thread. Rebuilds are not in the budget for now.
kids1

The main check is to wiggle the lever back and fore a small amount near the centre of its travel. Bad shocks will have slop or backlash when changing direction, there should be none, and always check newly rebuilt dampers before paying for them. As Clifton says jerky movement is bad, it should be smooth with equal resistance from one extremity to the other. I don't know how the valves vary from front to rear (are there any springs inside a damper?) but the damper has no sense of the weight of the front or the rear, just how much it moves up and down, it is the hardness of the spring that controls how far the damper lever is moved under a given force. If your ride height is correct (what is the measurement from the centre of the hub to the bottom of the chrome strip?) you may have another problem. Although my roadster was forever grounding over rough surfaces, particularly when laden, it very rarely bottomed onto the bump stops even though I considered the rear ride-height too low. I have just fitted longer rear shackles and will be interested to see the effect on my next trip in about a week.
Paul Hunt

I spoke to Pete (I think that's his name) at WWA and he gave me some things to check. I will take them out and drain/refill them first chance. Thanks everyone for the helpful info (again).
kids1

This thread was discussed between 20/08/2003 and 21/08/2003

MG MGB Technical index

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