>A couple questions about shocks:
>
>1) can lever shocks (79 Midget) be refilled or should they be replaced?
Depends on why they're leaking. (Presumably if you're planning
to refill them, it's because they're low on fluid, right?) The
answer is yes you CAN refill them, but it might not fix your
problem. Of course, on nice new shocks like yours, they should
still be in fine shape... :-)
>2) if they can be refilled, is it worth it (the stuff obviously leaked out
>once...)?
There's the rub. The shocks can be remanufactured by a shop
with the right presses, reamers, and tools, but for the home
mechanic the most likely activity is R & R.
You can try refilling them, though, and it's fairly simple
and cheap. Be sure you don't use motor oil; it will slowly
dissolve the inner seals and make your shocks leak. Use either
motorcycle fork oil or Armstrong lever shock damper fluid,
which we just discussed here recently -- it's available from
many of the usual mail order sources.
>3) if they can be refilled, can it be done with the shocks in place or do
>I need to remove them?
and
>4) How do you refill them?
You can refill the fronts on the car. Let's see, on the Midget
it's that big nut just inside the fender liner. Pull this off
and be careful -- the little spring inside it is the valve, the
part that makes the shock work. Don't lose that part! Pour
in a small portion of your newly acquired shock fluid and move
the car up and down to work the piston back and forth inside
the shock. I've had good success by filling the shock to the
top of its orifice, then slowly pushing the valve into place
to keep from displacing too much fluid. It's been a long time,
though, and I've had MGBs for a while -- they're different.
As for replacing, you might also consider the various tube shock
replacement kits that are available. Some have the additional
advantage that they're less expensive than using original replacements.
Their real benefit comes when you replace the shocks with something
else, because you can use either inexpensive and readily available
tube shocks (if you're willing to look up some characteristics)
or you can use really good stuff, like Bilsteins or Konis.
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