I know some of the classic car owners drain oil and water and even take the wheels off leaving the cars on axle stands.
I dont think i'd go that far,but does anybody bother?

I may when running use mine all year once i've got hood and doors,whats the score with people who tuck em away in the cold wet months?.

wat ever u do dont let the suspension sit in droop the oil all goes into the resovoier and then seperates leaving u wit fucked shocks

I don't drain the oil or water but I do take the wheels off and use "winter wheels"- they're made for caravans, a sort of plate attached to a stand, you bolt the hubto the plate and the stand sits on the garage floor, as Johnson says it prevents problems with the shocks.

I also cover the car with a soft cover and also leave the windows down an inch for air circulation.

You've just reminded me that I ought to go and do it!!!

Cheers

Chris

Oh and wedge the clutch down with a bit of wood and leave the handbreak off.

Cheers

Chris

quote:

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Originally posted by chrisg

I also cover the car with a soft cover and also leave the windows down an inch for air circulation.

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My "other " car stu!

but then you knew that didn't you?

Cheers

Chris

Chris,
How does the "winter wheel" protect the shockers?
If you bolt the plate to the hubs doesn't that still mean that the shocks will be under load, or have I got the concept all to cock?
Col

Thats right macca, you've got it all to cock!

scroll up and look at johnstons post, they're used to prevent the shockers drooping, thats what's bad for them you see, not being compressed.

this means you can take off the wheels so that your tyres don't get a flat bit at the bottom!

Also makes it quite difficult for the lads in baseball caps to have it away with your pride and joy.

Cheers

Chris

Would it not be easier/cheaper to just throw a rough set of rims with sh!t tyres on?
Col.

Or stand bones on axle stands

Bloody Heathens!!!!!!

Cheers

Chris

my mates at work recon they are gonna lay up their bikes this winter in giant plastic bags that have the air sucked out by a vacuum cleaner!

atb

steve

Had mine laid up for a while - didn't have any problems with the tyres but disconnect battery and keep it charged, perhaps even keep it from getting too cold. Bring it inside - that'll be popular.

Protect things from damp eg those chromed headlamp shells - the chrome's not too thick and flakes easily. Waxoil any bare or susceptible looking bits - not the discs though! Make sure there's enough anti-freeze in the water - both rad and washer. Replace the brake fluid after it's been standing for a long time - brake fluids hygroscopic you know - I think that means it absorbs water.

Some people like to squirt a bit of oil into the cylinders just to protect the barrels. Also should have lubed the HT leads as they become welded to the spark plugs. Also had a very minor leak (almost insignificant I thought) from the brake master cylinder. A year later it had stripped all the paint fom the bottom of the engine bay.

Oh, and reclaim the tax and declare it SORN.

[Edited on 6/12/02 by geoff shep]

quote:

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Originally posted by johnston
wat ever u do dont let the suspension sit in droop the oil all goes into the resovoier and then seperates leaving u wit fucked shocks

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cos they aint got no weight pulling them down...thats why when yer buy new shoks yerv gotta extend them and then push them back in a couple of times...

oh right , oh yeah, ok..so when you bought your dampers they weren't fully extended? i would send em back mate coz if they don't fully extend by themselveds then the rebound ain't working

Err most shockers I have bought have been compressed when packaged and have never extended by themselves......
Gas filled ones *might* extend on their own, but Avo's etc will need to be pulled out.
P.s. the fact that they dont is the rebound.......

Forced to agree with Stu here, shocks always come compressed, when installed the piston will be in the centre of it's travel - pulling or pushing to either extreme is whats bad for em, the piston contacts the seal on full droop.

Cheers

Chris

Each year we send our shocks back to Ohlins to have them checked and any changes to the valving they are allways at there max extension when we get them back. The rebound is the shock pushing back to its original position if it doesn't then you either have no rebound or very little (even with our shocks set at the minimum rebound they still push back)

Pulling or pushing to either extreme? on compression (when you are likely to damage a piston) you should have a bump stop and at full droop/extension you will have (inside the shock) shimms and a stop washer that will prevent damage.

shocks that dont extend eh......send em back eh....you make me laff.. i bet your tyres had air in them when you bought them too...........hee hehhehhee its funny

most of ones we sell in work are held compressed and there a pain in the arse when the clamp comes of and the piston comes through the bloody box

u are also supposed to pump the shock before it gets fitted to "prime" it and get the fluid round the valves and stuff



if you let them droop the oil goes into the resovoir and it seperates it probably doesnt happen to new shocks goes the oil hasnt been pumped through tiny wee holes countless times and went through a cold>heat>cold cycle hundreds of times

well if you are worried about this then why not put your axle stands under the wishbones so the don't droop.

Viper, I'm sorry to say this mate, but rebound is the resistance agianst being pushed back to full extension. As I have said before, some gas charged (or spring assisted towing type) shocks will extend on their own. But whether it is gas filled or not, the speed in which it can be pulled from fully compressed to full extension is the rebound rate. If there is no or very little resistance felt, THEN you have problems with the rebound.
With too much rebound, if soft springs are used with dampers that are unsuitable or adjusted too stiffly, over some surfaces the suspension will pump itself down, because the spring cannot overcome the rebound (the resistance to extend)to get the suspension back to its original position before the next bump is struck.

full circle ....eventually....

Just cant beat a donut.......

Ok i went to the workshop this weekend and pulled the shocks off ready to go back to Ohlinns.
The shocks do extend to there fullest and when you adjust the rebound valve the speed of the recovery varies but you can't pull the shock out faster than the rebound valve allows.....