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MG MGB Technical - Front absorbers on my 73 GT

Just as I thought my car would be finished with several repairs, the mechanic (a very good one) called me with more trouble. I bought the car a couple of years ago, and all the time I have had bad noise from the front of the car, rumbling in bad streets here in Oslo. My 1953 MG TD is almost silent on the same places.
The mechanic called me and told me that both absorbers looked good, but when he took them off and put them in a vice, the "pump" part seemed ok, but when he move the rest, there was a knocking sound. He called the parts seller in Oslo. He tried the ones he had (Moss), same sound! They agreed that this should not be so!
I am sorry that my bad English does not allow me to explain this properly, but I hope you understand.
What should I do?

PS. The same mechanic replaced my heater, and that works great!
Raymond Wardenaer

Raymond. You should contact Peter Caldwell at World Wide Imports, in Wisconsin, USA, and ask your question of him. His company has the best reputation in the industry for high quality lever shock rebuilds. He can tell you what is happening and provide both standard and upgraded rebuilds. I am running them on my 68 GT, and have been for a number of years.

Les
Les Bengtson

Thank you Les, I sent them a note.
Raymond
Raymond Wardenaer

Les, what does it mean that they "remanufactor" the absorbers? Do I have to send them mine first?
Raymond
Raymond Wardenaer

Raymond,
Most "refurbished Armstrongs get little or no actual re-building. Often no more than a coat of paint. Peter Caldwell actually strips them and completely re-builds them to a point where they are better than new.
Allan Reeling

Allan,
but this means I have to send my absorbers to the US, and then get the same ones back when they have finished them. This will probably take weeks, would't it?
Raymond Wardenaer

And expensive.

In 25 years with two MGBs I've only ever bought reconditioned and only once have I had what I would call a 'premature failure' where it started leaking again after about a year.

You can get new front dampers these days from some of the usual suspects.
Paul Hunt

It's really disappointing that there doesn't seem to anybody this side of the pond doing a similar job to Peter. Peter also does adjustable adaptations to the Armstrongs.
Allan Reeling

Ray,
replacement units will be provided and yours sent back when the new ones are fitted. Car stays on the road, no down time :)
Cost will be a deciding factor $99 +exchange deposit $40 +delivery +tax +import duty.

I guess about $200 each (about double standard UK price for recon unit) but the NOK was quite strong the last time I looked. If these are as good as everyone says they are, it might be worth it in the long term.

Best of...
MGmike


M McAndrew

Thank you all for the inputs. I also posted the problem in the Norwegian MG forum, and someone had a set of refurbished dampers that had no knocking sounds. Will be put in after the weekend.
Raymond Wardenaer

Raymond. I had hoped that Peter Caldwell might give you an idea of what could cause a knocking sound when the lever shock is operated. Then, you could post it here and let us know what he had to say.

As to the used shocks you have found, I hope they will work well and hold up. But, Peter's shock rebuilds use better seals than the original, factory seals and, most probably, are better than the factory shocks were when they were new.

As to new parts, considering the number of posts about the poor quality of new parts over the years, and the fact that you found a new set of shocks showing the same problem that your old shocks exhibit after years of use, I would tend to prefer a good quality rebuilt part from a company having an excellent reputation in their field, to any new part. They used better materials and had some form of quality control system back when most parts were originally manufactured. Today, the quality of materials is suspect and the only "quality control" is done by the people buying the parts.

Les
Les Bengtson

I've never had knocking dampers, even old leaky ones, which out of interest I put in a vice and levered up and down. I also have done the same when picking up replacements to check there is no undamped travel near the middle.
Paul Hunt

The only knocking dampers that I have had were a pair of rear Spax which I got rid of and fitted a pair of reconditioned lever arms. Silence!!
Iain MacKintosh

This thread was discussed between 13/02/2015 and 18/02/2015

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