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Lever shock upgrade?
- Thread starter karls59tr
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aeronca65t
Great Pumpkin
Offline
Probably the best person to answer this question is "PeterC" who is a member here at British Car Forum.
You can reach him via his business website at:
https://www.worldwideimportautoparts.com/servlet/StoreFront
He's had very good reviews for parts and service from many members of this forum.
You can reach him via his business website at:
https://www.worldwideimportautoparts.com/servlet/StoreFront
He's had very good reviews for parts and service from many members of this forum.
Spridget64SC
Jedi Trainee
Offline
Since no one has responded, I'll give some advice and background on doing this kind of thing with Spridget type hydraulic shocks.
First, What I've seen over the years is that air gets into the shocks and performance simply decreases due to the air entrainment. This assumes that the seals and bearings in the arm area are still good. Fix this by taking the shocks off the car, cleaning and then opening up the shock cavity above the compression and rebound pistons. Clean this area well with kerosene. Now, remove the valve body and all the little pieces and drain the old shock fluid out. Clean the internal cylinders by pouring clean kero into to area previously occupied by by valve body and springs. Work the shock to pass fluid in and out of the cylinders. Keep cleaning until the kero is clear. Now use compressed air at about 45 PSIG to blow out all the excess kero. Work the shock arms back and forth to help. I will also set the shocks on top of the shop wood stove or in the shop oven at very low temp, say around 150 to help the evaporation of the kero. Clean the valve and the piston top cover.
Now with a good clean shock, I take motorcycle fork oil (Belray 40wt) and mix with 90w gear oil. About 50/50. This mix is for racing purposes, not street use. I made a little heating pot with a handle from a baked bean can, a hose clap and an old piece of 3/8" Chevy truck fuel line. Hammered a little spout into the can to aide pouring. Pour some of the mix into the can, heat on low heat till it is less viscous and just starts to make noise. Then fill the area on the top side of the pistons. Put the cover on and remove the fill plug. Use a childs medication syringe or the like (cattle syringes work fine too) to finish filling the cover area. Tilt the shock so the fill hole is highest. Leave a little air in the cover to allow for temperature expansion of the fluid. Reinstall plug.
Turn attention to the working side of the shock. Fill the valve hole area with warm fluid and slowly work the shock arm back and forth to fill the cylinders. The warm/hot shock fluid is less viscous that cold, so the air bubbles release easier. Keep filling the shock and working the arms. Do this slow and steady. When you notice the fluid going in and out of each cylinder without air, you can fill the valve area to the rim and get the valve body and insert it back into the shock. Do this slowly and smoothly to minimize the introduction of air. Tighten the valve and return the shock to the car.
Now for street use, I wouldn't try anything thicker than say 20w. There are different springs and shims and valve bodies for different cars. I'll mix MGA/B parts with Spridget parts to aide in stiffening the shock and improving compression and rebound. The enemy of hydraulic shocks in a racing application is the heating of the shock fluid. Shims and springs are easy to change/exchange.
So, for the street try 20 wt. motorcycle fork oil. Most of the bigger cycle shops should have this stuff. Like I said, I use Belray. But I'll bet others make what you could use.
HTH,
Mike Miller
First, What I've seen over the years is that air gets into the shocks and performance simply decreases due to the air entrainment. This assumes that the seals and bearings in the arm area are still good. Fix this by taking the shocks off the car, cleaning and then opening up the shock cavity above the compression and rebound pistons. Clean this area well with kerosene. Now, remove the valve body and all the little pieces and drain the old shock fluid out. Clean the internal cylinders by pouring clean kero into to area previously occupied by by valve body and springs. Work the shock to pass fluid in and out of the cylinders. Keep cleaning until the kero is clear. Now use compressed air at about 45 PSIG to blow out all the excess kero. Work the shock arms back and forth to help. I will also set the shocks on top of the shop wood stove or in the shop oven at very low temp, say around 150 to help the evaporation of the kero. Clean the valve and the piston top cover.
Now with a good clean shock, I take motorcycle fork oil (Belray 40wt) and mix with 90w gear oil. About 50/50. This mix is for racing purposes, not street use. I made a little heating pot with a handle from a baked bean can, a hose clap and an old piece of 3/8" Chevy truck fuel line. Hammered a little spout into the can to aide pouring. Pour some of the mix into the can, heat on low heat till it is less viscous and just starts to make noise. Then fill the area on the top side of the pistons. Put the cover on and remove the fill plug. Use a childs medication syringe or the like (cattle syringes work fine too) to finish filling the cover area. Tilt the shock so the fill hole is highest. Leave a little air in the cover to allow for temperature expansion of the fluid. Reinstall plug.
Turn attention to the working side of the shock. Fill the valve hole area with warm fluid and slowly work the shock arm back and forth to fill the cylinders. The warm/hot shock fluid is less viscous that cold, so the air bubbles release easier. Keep filling the shock and working the arms. Do this slow and steady. When you notice the fluid going in and out of each cylinder without air, you can fill the valve area to the rim and get the valve body and insert it back into the shock. Do this slowly and smoothly to minimize the introduction of air. Tighten the valve and return the shock to the car.
Now for street use, I wouldn't try anything thicker than say 20w. There are different springs and shims and valve bodies for different cars. I'll mix MGA/B parts with Spridget parts to aide in stiffening the shock and improving compression and rebound. The enemy of hydraulic shocks in a racing application is the heating of the shock fluid. Shims and springs are easy to change/exchange.
So, for the street try 20 wt. motorcycle fork oil. Most of the bigger cycle shops should have this stuff. Like I said, I use Belray. But I'll bet others make what you could use.
HTH,
Mike Miller
