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MG MGF Technical - Home made Hydrogas Pump


As my car was too low I have been working on a home made Hydrogas pump and at the week end pumped my car up - It is now too high but after leting it settle for a wwhile I will lower it to the correct height

The pump consists of an Oil Gun ( which is like a grease gun but designed for oil) a flexible hose - a stainless steel brake line - and a low loss connector which includes a 'tap' to let the fluid through after connecting it

The home made pump ended up costing more than one garage 'pump up' but I can now do it myself

Incidently I originally used a Grease Gun ( a very cheap Draper Gun ) but this did not work for pumping liquid. I do not see why a good quality grease gun should not work though

Chris
C Bowes

Can you publish details of where you source the bits Chris e.g. Oil gun and low loss connector?
C.R.B. Simeon

>low loss connector
ebay ... Original Liquid Lever connectors with hose are sold at ebay with that description .
Looks similar to http://www.mgfcar.de/pump/Dsc00346.jpg
:)

http://www.mgfcar.de/pump/ shows another couple of DIY pump versions.

Dieter

Chris,

Will the oil gun safely take in excess of 400psi back pressure from the hyragas system?

cheers,
Branko
Branko


I bought the parts from the following

Low loss conector

http://www.prosol.co.uk/prosol_fset.php?bpage=%2Faisleview.php%3Faisle%3D4%26refid%3Dy8vPSwUA

Oil gun from

http://www.cromwell.co.uk/static/publication/165-old/pages/1056.pdf

I bought the Lumatic one

Hydraulic pipe and connectors from

http://www.pirtek.co.uk/


They were very helpful though pricey

The gun can withstand pressures considerably higher than the MGF suspension pressure of circa 400psi. I never found a pressure rating for the oil gun though the grease gun it is based on can produce pressures of 4-6000 psi ( and some grease guns go over 10000psi)

Regards

Chris
C Bowes

Thanks Dieter and Chris, I was looking at a grease gun from Clarkes for under a tenner claiming 10,000 psi and thinking too good to be true!
C.R.B. Simeon

I originally tried a cheap grease gun from Draper but while this would pump grease it would not pump either water or Hydrolastic fluid which of course is much more viscous

I beleive it is down to the tollerance of the piston in the bore which was not good enough on the cheap gun I bought

Chris
Chris

Great find of the materials.
:o)
Looks good

Regards
Dieter
PS. included your pump version on the pump site.
Dieter

Chris,

can you post a sketch of the unit?

cheers,
Branko
Branko

Or even better, a "How to" guide on making another one from scratch? Sounds like a great project! :o)
Rob Bell

Yep :)

btw. the Lumatic oil gun type OLGH/CV does 8.500 psi (600 bar "peak")
I think that's the one Chris used.
Dieter

With a suitable connector this gun could lubricate and seal the bonnet release cable for ever.
C.R.B. Simeon

If this project was offered as a kit of parts, with some instructions, I'd definitely be interested. Along with many others I’d imagine.

Is anyone feeling entrepreneurial?

It would be perfect for eBay.

Cheers, Russ.
Russ D Mellor

Actually it is very easy to get your own hydragas pump. I ordered an hydraulic jack -good for 700-900 Bar-. You just have to look for "hydraulic manual pumps" -e-bay?-. They are used for construction works and include a reservoir, pumping lever, meter, shuttlecock and a hose. You will need to adapt a connector to the hydra valves -truck tire adaptor- and thats it. Got mine for about U$S200.00 and is very easy to use -even for mecanically unskilled hands as mine.

I would strongly recommend looking at Dieter´s site which is most helpful.

Best. Mike

JM Vega-P MD
Mendoza - Argentina
Mike Vega-P

The instructions Iused are here

http://members.cox.net/oldertech/hydrolastic.html-

the oil gun and low loss connector were bought from the links I gave in an earlier post - You then need to connect them together - I went to pirtek who have stores arround the UK to get a hydraulic hose made with the correct fittings

To use it follow the instructions on the website

75 strokes of the pump raised the car 15mm though this will vary depending on grease/oil gun and starting height of car

Be aware the really cheap grease gun from Draper would not pump hydrolastic fluid - it was too viscous

Chris
chris

Thanks Chris.

The link above works when the "-" is removed from the end of the string.

cheers,
Branko
Branko


Picture of hydragas pump attached - the connecting pipe is stainless steel brake pipe

Chris

C Bowes

So how much did it cost in total?
Leigh

What is the capacity of the pump? How many strokes does it take to raise the car say 10mm?
Jon F


Leigh

Oil gun was £24 , Low loss connector was £30 and the connecting pipe was £20 although I am sure this could be cheaper but they didn't have the correct connectors in stock

It is therefore not cheaper than getting it pumped up at a garage but I can do it when I like anytime I need to and I tend not to trust garages if I can do it myself

Jon

The pump holds 1/2 a litre and 75 stokes of the pump raised the car 15mm so 50 strokes would be approximately 10mm. First time I used it I raised the car too high and had to let some out!!

Chris
chris

This thread was discussed between 04/02/2008 and 18/02/2008

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