MGB Register Forum

Good Afternoon,

I am in the process of importing my MGB into Jersey and am coming up against their strict (no problem with that per se) vehicle standards.

The car originally failed on the offside / Right front shock absorbers. I ordered two renovated replacements from one of the well known / respected MG parts retailers and had a local garage install them. The Shock Absorbers are standard MGB lever shocks. At this mornings follow up test, the front offside failed again with the compliance note saying the absorber needs replacement.

Before I have the new Shock Absorber removed and replaced, are thee any other actions I can take to try and remedy the problem?

I admit I do remember when the replacement absorbers arrived that one seemed less stiff than the other when the package arrived. The package also had a dark stain. I checked for oil leaks at the time and didn’t find anything , so assumed the mark occurred whilst the package was freighted over. Is it possible that the shock absorber simply needs an oil top up?

In case of use, I’ve added the print out of the test results showing a 48pc imbalance.

Thanks

That's quite a technical test!

If these were reconditioned items then one may be faulty.

Otherwise, check and top up oil, and then make sure you have removed any air in the valving by working the shock absorber arms up and down over full strokes. Has to be disconnected from the upright of course to do this. Air in the valve and lack of oil could give the symptom you describe.

New ones are available but expensive

Ian F

Thanks Ian for the sense check,

Given the cost of shipping over here, I’ll give the oil top up a try first. If anything it will keep me amused over the Easter weekend!

Jersey’s road testing system is a bit mad at the moment. There is no equivalent of the mandatory MOT over here. Successive Governments have wanted to introduce them, but it’s politically unpopular. And as Jersey Governments are typically coalitions, it seems the unpopularity is usually enough for someone to end up vetoing it.

They have managed to get an annual test in place for motorcycles (not enough motorcyclists to swing an election) and they have introduced a very stringent test when cars are first imported from the UK (which I think is deliberately designed to deter imports in favour of cars bought from Jersey dealerships). But once registered with Jersey DVS, there are pretty much no checks on the Road worthiness of a car over here.

Which is terrifying when you walk about town hearing the screeching, clunking and grinding of successive cars on the commute.

So the oil level in the refurbished Armstrong was good. My efforts to get it to stiffen have had no discernible effect.

My instinct is to take the expense on the chin and just buy two new shock absorbers. It’s overkill, but it seems the likely way to obtain a pair that are close enough in performance to get past the dreaded Jersey DVS test machines. I’ll keep the refurbished ones as spares.

There are a few outlets selling new absorbers. (For example here) They don’t look exactly the same however as the original Armstrong units. Does anyone have any experience of them or know who makes them?

Thanks

I would get a pair of rebuilt ones from Peter Caldwell, you can read about his product here; https://www.mgexp.com/forum/vendor-mark ... e.4766141/ Ask on the MGEx forum, you won't ever find a complaint about quality.
I have no affiliation to him but he truly rebuilds them to a better than new standard, they may be spendy but there is no comparison to UK remanufactured products. Don't be put off by the postage costs, I use either Parcelhero or Parcelcompare to send about ten MGB OD gearboxes a year to the USA, occaisionally they get delivered in just two days.