Damper tightness front and back

[morrisminor]

Hi all
Is there a set tightness when reassembling for dampers having took mine to bits to clean etc ?

[squeak]

I set mine to just move when a spring balance reaches 12 pound when it's pulled from the end.

[Hugh Barnes]

+1 for Squaek's approach. After a lifetime of Austin 7 ownership, I only discovered this setting and approach only a few years ago (from Nick Turley). It has transformed the way my cars feel. I use a slightly lower setting for the fronts as the arms are shorter and I reckon they can cope with slightly less pressure...

[morrisminor]

Thanks for that Nick,  can you explain the procedure for me  ?

[Hugh Barnes]

Assemble the arms mounted to the car, the links at the end not yet connected to the axle. As you gradually tighten up the nuts on the tension spring, keep gently pulling down on the end of the arm with a spring balance. When it takes the spring balance to be showing 12lbs when the arm just starts to move, then you have reached the desired setting.. Lock up the nuts and connect the aluminium link to the axle case (or beam in the case of the front axle)

Others may have a different approach, but this works for me...

[morrisminor]

Thanks both

[Denis Sweeney]

Had never seen any information on setting the tightness of dampers before, my Ruby has only ever been set by guesswork, and not knowing how an Austin would perform, I assumed the rolling about was just how they were!
However having taken her out for day at the seaside to Herne Bay on Tuesday, a 60 odd mile round trip, she was decidedly skittish at the rear end especially on the very uneven back roads.
On returning home I found this post.
So checking mine today, I found them to be way too loose. For those like me who do not happen to have a spring balance to hand, I found that two Ruby exhaust manifolds weigh a couple of ounces over 12 pounds. So having wired the two together, and with a suitable loop at the top, I was able to adjust the spring loaded nut and hang the manifolds on the ends of the damper arms until they would not fall under there own weight then backed off a tad until they would just fall.
I still have adjust the front dampers but hopefully this approach will achieve the required result??
I also noted that I had no lock nuts on the spring tightening nuts, (I rebuilt them as the original set up) but I note the thread for the adjuster is finer than the other threads on the associated components, are these adjusting nuts 5/16” BSF ??
Many thanks for your posts this was not only timely but very useful.
Cheers

[Hugh Barnes]

David Cochrane appears to offer the required fine thread nuts (his BR59) I'm not sure whether Jamie at the Workshop lists them.. But no, they aren't BSF..

[Howard Wright]

Hi All

I think they may well be BSC. British Standard Cycle threads.  But don’t quote me!

Cheers

Howard

[Denis Sweeney]

I did wonder as I have a supply of nuts bolts etc but nothing I had went near them, cheers Hugh