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MG MGF Technical - Pictures of bushes (again)- FAO Rob?

Rob or anyone,

I think you replied last time when I said I thought my rear lower shocker bushes look odd... I managed to take some photos of them..

http://pc14.hyperknowledge.com/velma/bush/dscn2203.jpg
http://pc14.hyperknowledge.com/velma/bush/dscn2204.jpg
http://pc14.hyperknowledge.com/velma/bush/dscn2205.jpg
http://pc14.hyperknowledge.com/velma/bush/dscn2206.jpg

They are taken from directly underneath the shocker...

What do you think? it looks to me like the shocks are too far one way on the bush?

Cheers

Chris.
Chris Tromans

Chris,

Definitely looks lob-sided to me, as though it's about to pop off the bush all together!

Since the bush comes as part of the shock absorber if you buy from Rover, can I suggest you consider replacing with poly bushes? Not difficult to do - have a look on www.apttony.co.uk

Tony
Tony

It does look as though the bush is about to fall out. It isn't uncommon on early cars for the damper to become completely disconnected from the suspension...

I think that you're in for a damper or damper bush replacement Chris - and assuming that the dampers are in good nick, I'd go for the poly option that Tony suggests. :o)
Rob Bell

Rob, Tony,

Cheers for replying... how can I detect whether my dampers are in good nick?

Chris.
Chris Tromans

Two things to look for. On observation, see whether either of the dampers is visually in reasonable condition - i.e. no dents, excess rust, oil leaks etc.
Next is the 'bump test' - push down on each corner of the car in turn and watch how many times the car appears to bounce. The car should bounce upwards and almost imediately come to a rest.
Unfortunately, on an MGF, this isn't a particularly sensitive test, as the hydragas spheres also damp motion, so even if the dampers are U/S, it will be difficult to detect using this method.

At the end of the day, this could be the excuse you've been looking for to book your car in with Techspeed for a nice new set of dampers ;o)
Rob Bell

The MGR part number for the bushes is NAM018. I tried every single dealer in Kent for them (a few years ago) - not one had them in stock. I guess they'd rather sell you a whole damper with the bushes already fitted. Poly bushes is the answer.

Ralph
Ralph

I replaced the shocker bushes on my 98 F with poly bushes, it made a big difference. I got mine from Mike Satur part number 5100 Shocker bush kit, fits standard shocker, top and bottom bushes, set of 4 £37.50 +vat & del

http://www.mikesatur.co.uk/fx07.html
Steve Ratledge

http://pc14.hyperknowledge.com/velma/bush/dscn2206.jpg

That washer on the right isn't from original.
Looks like anyone had tried to prevent the damper from hopping off earlier.

BTW, my 1999 made had the same at the right rear wheel.
http://www.mgfcar.de/suspension_knuckle/the_problem_dsc04954.jpg
Hard to see but obvious if you look on the left of the circular mark here.
(Circle shows gone knuckle joint btw.)

I bolt it off, turned the damper by 180° and put it back.
Will get new dampers in any way soon, cause the car has done nearly 60k miles now.


May be of interst:
This one is with installed PU bushes from Mike (Courtesy Hanah Kim)
http://www.mgfcar.de/suspension_knuckle/hanah_pulled_lower_part.jpg

HTH
Dieter
Dieter K.

NAM 9107 is a carry over from the front of the Metro (Sports) suspension (Read GTi which had the additional front dampers) It is still listed as a separate part and priced at £1.10. Interestingly for the Metro an inner steel tube, NAM 9016 is used, but not carried over to the MGF.

Whilst NAM 9017 is still listed for the rear of MGF (No such option listed for the front) it is also seen together with the cup washer and both parts come under part number RPM 100090 priced at £7.01!!! The cup washer, part number RYF 100430 carries £5.48 if bought individually. The Metro incidentally has the much smaller diameter cup washer which is proven to be less suitable as it can allow the damper to slide over when the bush wears. (prices less VAT) It is also interesting to note that Rover supplied Metro GTi dampers are 25% of the cost of MGF ones but have different rates.

Personally I find the standard bushes good for a short time only so prefer the firmer poly bushes which are available from a wider selection of suppliers. Chris, looking at the images and I would firstly say the bushes are shot, secondly the corrosion on the bottom of the damper indicates the damper has been on the car for some time, but that is not an indicator of damping action performance, although I would expect standard dampers to be soft going on spongy.

However, from a personal perspective again, if I am going to the trouble of removing a damper to replace bushes I would be looking to replace the dampers too. Not that means looking at aftermarket hard running dampers, just that the best advantage is gained from a firmly secured damper and one which is in tip top order.

Rog
Roger Parker

Hi Rog,

long time not seen here :))))))
Thank You. This was great help.

Btw, from your experience please, how long do the MGF Standard dampers last ?(everage mileage)

I've seen a damper measurement sheet from an MGF with only 30k miles recently and it showed 40% damping loss already.
Was a sheet from the ADAC (AA like) Test Equipment where the car rests on a hydraulic stand shaking the wheels up and down etc.
Dieter K.

Roger/Dieter and others,

Just for reference its a '99 MY2000 VVC MGF (first reg 19/12/1999) with exactly 60k miles on the clock. And it passed the MOT 3 weeks ago - obviously they don't pay much attention to the suspension components :-)

Cheers

Chris.
Chris Tromans

This thread was discussed between 19/04/2005 and 20/04/2005

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