My MGF's 20th Birthday present

[Reckless Rat]

I have a Mk1 MGF which first hit the streets on 22nd March 1997. To date it has clocked up 108966 fairly trouble free miles, apart from the usual HGF at around 94K in 2011. I have had the car since 2003 and it has had three previous owners. Judging by its general condition it has had a reasonably winter/salt/damp free life - the underneath is very clean and the sub-frames are rust free. However like all of us age creeps up and eventually the time comes when we all need some TLC.

Over the years the ride has become progressively worse despite fluid top ups and the state of the roads in our valley finally convinced me that it was time to do something. The choices were fairly limited. Scrap the car, replace with TF sub-frames,go for Suplex or have the spheres regassed.

Although I hadn't paid much for the car I decided it was too good just to bin it, but then had to make a decision based on the long term. If I was going to invest heavily then it had to be a solution that gave a good return on the investment. I'm still not convinced that Suplex are the right way ahead AND they're very expensive. Scrap yard MGs are rarer that hen's teeth here so I ruled out the TF sub-frame option. That left sphere regassing which would retain the originality of the car and hopefully bring the ride back to what it should be. I decided to use the good offices of Ian and Dawn Kennedy at hydragasandhydrolasticservice.com and set about stripping the spheres from the car.

see: http://www.hydragasandhydrolasticservice.com

Fortunately there's plenty of info to be had on the net and getting the old spheres out wasn't as hard as I expected. A couple of hours work and I had all four corners out and on the deck - the hardest part was getting the top mounting nuts off the dampers:





Two of the knuckle joints and all the damper mounts were replaced courtesy of Mike Satur, and while I was waiting for the spheres to be sorted I changed the cam belt, water pump and tensioner, as well as the under floor pipes (just in time by the looks) for a set of stainless ones, and also replaced one of the mounting studs for the engine mount casting which had sheared off inside the captive nut. I replaced it with a HT nut and bolt after removing the captive nut with the angle grinder and a pneumatic chisel:







After about a week the spheres came back gassed up and ready to go back. One of my rear ones was u/s when checked but Ian offered me a re-gassed replacement for £40 which I was more than happy to accept. All four spheres done and ready to fit for £390 including postage. I was more than impressed by their service and their willingness to offer help & advice. I would recommend them to anyone.

The new schrader valves are welded in differing positions dependant on whether it's a rear or a front sphere, and they're not to be touched unless you need to re-gas again in about 15yrs time. (and that can be done on the car) - the fronts I've painted black and the rears gold just because I had a couple of half used cans in the garage. When they're back on you can't see them anyway:







It took me a couple of days pottering to get everything back together, and another day charging the battery because it had gone flat. The engine started first time and runs sweet.

Then it was time to pump up the suspension. I have one of those grease gun thingys from Flea-bay which has been OK but this time I just couldn't get the car to rise. It turned out that the 'O' rings on the actuator shaft were knackered and needed replacing (worth noting if you've got one):



Finally after changing the seals the car was pumped to the right height:



Then today I took it out for a run, gave the cooling system another bleed and then gave the car a wash and polish. I reckon it'll do for a few more years...

[therat09]

Very good article, i have the same questions about my Mgf mk1....and i think you have helped me decide.
I have my ride height lower than the 368mm at around 345mm, as i think the car looks better, it still performs ok just have to watch the speed humps.
Thanks for the info...Steve ...2000 1.8 VVC 34000 original miles

[Reckless Rat]

Running the suspension artificially low by reducing fluid pressure is not a good idea - if you're going to have the spheres re-gassed then buy a set of lowering pins which will reduce the ride height to 350mm without compromising the set-up. You'll end up having to remove the knuckle joints when you take the spheres off so it's an excellent time to do the mod. 345mm is far too low for a non- mechanically lowered car even though it might 'look' better and it may well invalidate your insurance.

See this link: http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/su ... wering.htm

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[therat09]

Thanks for the link re suspension lowering, i was always having a go at my son for tinkering with his car, and telling him his insurance will be invalid is exactly what i used to say to him..and now i have done it myself...so i will pump it up again and look into the lowering pins...Thanks Steve

[Charless]

Pleased with the new ride? You certainly caught those underfloor pipes in the nick of time!

[Bazzajay]

I think you've helped me decide the way forward for mine. My suspension is now on the hard side and had a secondhand sphere fitted about three years ago. I too had thought of taking the Suplex route, but would prefer to retain the original suspension. And, my local garage, a couple of streets away, has the pump. Putting the car on the lift there to check for the MOT showed my coolant pipes were on their last legs, stainless ones have now been fitted, just in time.

[Reckless Rat]

How to describe the ride now? I would say firm but compliant, as a proper sports car should be. Part of that is probably down to the poly-bushes on the dampers. (The original bottom bushes are very prone to wear so it's a good opportunity to put everything back to spec).

Speed bumps are certainly encountered without having to brace for impact and clench your buttocks any more, there's no jarring over potholes etc., and of course nothing grounds. Handling is not compromised and generally the car feels far more at ease with itself and the road. There is still some scuttle shake at times but that's down to the car not its suspension and it's less marked with the roof up as that helps to hold it all together. I'm not a boy racer so the improved ride quality makes driving the car much more pleasurable. I just don't know why Rover never did this mod to the spheres from the word go as a re-gas could then be a service item.

I would certainly advocate the investment. A 20 year old MGF isn't worth much more than two bob and a blackie's egg on the market these days so you do have to balance the cost of the refurb against what you're going to get out of the car. If you've already had to have the ride pumped up more than once then it's a clue that the nitrogen eggs are becoming (or are already) depleted. You're basically just riding on the tyres because everything else is full of fluid. If you continue to use it like this then something is going to break. I intend to keep the car for as long as possible so a few hundred quid is cheaper than changing it. It is dry garaged and never goes out in the wet if I can help it so hopefully it'll last another 10 years.

Basic cost for 4 spheres is £350 which includes return postage. They are normally tested, welded, re-gassed and returned within a couple of days. The labour, of course is down to you. The rear spheres are slightly more difficult to remove and replace than the fronts as one of the cover plate bolts is rather inaccessible but apart from that it's fairly straight forward. The hard part is getting your jack out after you've put it back on its wheels! (point of note - don't use the scissor jack under the sill to get the trolley jack out. It'll be there until you pump up the pressure. Ask me how I know that...)

[ExSignals]

Hi, enjoyed reading this string. My spheres were shot, the car was down on the bones of it's arse. Here in Cyprus there is no way to get them re-gassed or even fluid re-pressured; I suspect the membranes in the spheres had failed. So I went for the Suplex solution, did it myself no real problems apart from seized rusted nuts n bolts. Anyway I'm delighted with the result, standard ride height which is not so great aesthetically but ok for the local roads. Next job is polybushes all round.
BTW, I've had 2 HGFs since owning the F so I did a lot of research - new head, MLS gasket and strengthened bottom oil rail. QED remote thermostat mod and SS coolant pipes.

[Hydrosuspension]

We do a full removal, re-gas, refitment and pump service and the price for the entire job is £480. All you need to do is book in with us, drop the car off to us in Telford and collect it at the end of the next day, it's as simple as that if you don't want to remove the units yourself. If you do remove the units the re-gas of all four is £350 including return postage and careful packing, it absolutely transforms the ride and just as importantly keeps the ride original as intended. www.hydrosuspension.com

[campbosshassi]

Great info, my 2000 F is in Spain and will try and get this done towards the end of the year, it has been pumped up twice so I think its time it was done.

[Helsbyman]

Suplex solution
Stay well away from this set up, it has a lot of problems. Only last week some one was complaining about it and he thought the bad press on them would have been fixed by now as the company who makes it has know about the short comings for 2-4 yrs now

[ExSignals]

Well the suplex conversion is done and so far I'm very happy with the result. I know the reviews have been mixed, but from what I've read the views are mixed. Anyway, next stop Polybushes - I read an excellent account on TBar on F rear bushes, but the author didn't mention ARB bushes; that's where I started. What a pain. The silencer came off no problem, but the heat shield is screws to the subframe (x2) and brackets x2 at the rear. They are all low profile headed screws - I couldn't get a socket or a spanner on any of them. It turned out that 2 of them were actually square! But I've got the ARB off for refurb. Much cutting and drilling later I've still got to drill out and retap the 2 rear subframe captive screws. What a pain in the ass. BTW, the heat shield was crumbling around the mounting holes, had to do a repair job there.

[ExSignals]

Polybush fitting - an update for anyone considering a DIY job. A couple of tips - Ben Finlayson did a great account on the MG-Rover forum back in 2010; it was very useful but a couple of comments on his and my experience so far. The tie-bar to chassis/subframe bolt is hidden inside a bracket, part of the subframe. It's impossible to get a 1/2in drive socket on the bolt head, there's just not enough room. You need to use a 1/4in drive socket (13mm). I didn't want to trash my 1/4 in ratchet, so I used the T Bar and a length of steel pipe to help shift it. I still took a lump out my hand when the socket flew off, It's really tight.
As Ben explained, there's a steel liner in the eye of the tie-bar which has to be removed before fitting the polybush. He hammered it out with a lump hammer and screwdriver which worked eventually but a lot of grief and probably destroyed the screwdriver. Put the tie-bar in a vice, thread a 12in hacksaw blade through the eye and carefully cut through the liner in 2 places about 1/4in apart, taking care not to damage the tie-bar eye. I then used a sharp punch and hammer and it came out no problem.
I'm now struggling with the lower arm to hub bolt, it's really tight, I need to borrow my mate's big butch 1/2in drive ratchet - I'm struggling with the standard ratchet in my socket set. Hope it helps

[Reckless Rat]

Might be better with a 1/2" T bar and a long pipe, and a HEX socket rather than a 12 sided one. Ratchet handles aren't that tough. I've broken several...Treat yourself to an electric impact wrench. Worth every penny. Good enough to get the crankshaft pulley off and easier on the knuckles.

I've just replaced the front ARB bushes on mine and the front nuts and steel covers had suffered impact damage from the car being bottomed at some time, probably due to the previous owner who drove it about with the suspension deflated. The original bolts are M8 with a 10mm head which are prone to shearing the corners off as the threads are exposed above the captive nuts. I replaced them with 13mm headed bolts of the correct length, coated with copaslip in case they have to come off again. On a scale of 1-10 on the hard to do scale it's a 1. Just stick the car on a pair of ramps and undo both ARB clamps at the same time. Piece of cake. (Providing that you can get the nuts off!)