Front damper removal

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robbie-rocket-pants
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Front damper removal

Post by robbie-rocket-pants »

Hello all.

My front right (offside) damper does not seem to be having much (if any) effect. I have checked that it is topped up with oil. I've read that the damper arm needs to be exercised when off the car in order to remove all the air, so I'm hoping that I may just be able to do this to cure the problem.

I know lots has been posted about the dampers but I couldn't find much info on removing them - is it possible to remove the dampers leaving everything else in situ or is it necessary to pull the suspension apart ?

Also, when removing the 3 bolts which attach the damper to the bodywork, can they be withdrawn without moving the steering mechanism out of the way ?

Thanks, Robbie.
A30 1954 AS4 803cc
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gazza82
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Re: Front damper removal

Post by gazza82 »

Disconnect the top trunnion .. release the pinch bolt in the shocker arm first.

Undo the three bolts and you should be able to pull the shocker out .. I can't remember exactly how I did this, I just know replacing "bouncing shocks" was a regular task on 757 ... we always had a couple of spares with new shocker oil on the bench .. (I was an impoverished 6th former so replacement shocks where not on the list of "to buy" ... most of my money went on petrol!)
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Dave Clark
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Re: Front damper removal

Post by Dave Clark »

But do remember to support the car under the wishbone on the side being worked on !!
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Re: Front damper removal

Post by gazza82 »

Dave Clark wrote:But do remember to support the car under the wishbone on the side being worked on !!
Axle stand under the inner wishbone bush and a small bottle jack under the spring cup if I remember correctly ... it was many years later the first trolley jack arrived in my garage. Still have it but you have to be quick with the axle stand before it self-lowers the car back to the ground! :whistle:

The bottle jack may have been a very old wind-up one as well in the early days of ownership ..
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robbie-rocket-pants
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Re: Front damper removal

Post by robbie-rocket-pants »

Thanks very much chaps :thumbs:
If there is some air in the damper, would it give some resistance to movement ? Mine (which is still on the car) seems to have practically nil resistance so would that indicate a new (refurbished) damper is required ?
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Neil Evans
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Re: Front damper removal

Post by Neil Evans »

You'll never know if it's any good till you get it off and try bleeding it. They also commonly suffer with end float in the shaft that the arm attaches to so check for this as well... :thumbs:
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Re: Front damper removal

Post by Edosan »

Although it will seem difficult you can get the damper off on the drivers / steering box side of the car without removing anything else. Disconnect at the trunnion /arm end first with wishbone fully supported as already mentioned. Bushes in the arm could easily be shot but they are cheap and easy to replace. Don't forget to take the lock bolt out first before trying to remove the main bolt which may be rusted in a bit. Then you will have to use a ring spanner on some of the bolts under the steering box. this is very fiddly but the bolts will release enough and then with some waggling about you can extricate the damper. Hard to describe exactly but just persevere because it is possible. passenger side is much easier as you can more easily use sockets and pull bolts out. :wave:
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Re: Front damper removal

Post by robbie-rocket-pants »

While topping up both front dampers with oil, I've noticed that the filler plugs are subtly different. The LHS plug has two rubber O-rings (top and bottom of thread) whereas the RHS plug only has one O-ring at the top (pictured).

Could it be that I should have both filler plugs with O-rings top and bottom, or does it not really matter ?

Image
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Re: Front damper removal

Post by Neil Evans »

That's not the filler plug. The filler plug is on the forward facing edge of the highest part of the shock absorber and is accessable from under the wing...
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Re: Front damper removal

Post by robbie-rocket-pants »

Ahhh...thank you Neil :)
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robbie-rocket-pants
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Re: Front damper removal

Post by robbie-rocket-pants »

Done :D
I pulled the damper off and filled with oil (through the correct hole :whistle: ) and exercised it. There was quite a 'slack' area in the mid-range. Now it feels good with damping force throughout the travel. It's back on the car and I'm just waiting for some bushes now to finish it all off.

Thanks all. :cheers:

p.s. any idea why those two "plugs" above are different ?
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Re: Front damper removal

Post by SteveClem »

Many years of previous owners doing things is the usual reason for peculiarities :whistle:
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