Fitting New Dampers

[gdaybruce]

Son's 92 Mini Mayfair needs new dampers and I see that to reach the nearside rear we need to move the fuel tank out of the way. Can anyone advise whether there are any particular points to note when doing this. In particular, do we need to disconnect the tank or is it possible to simply move it far enough away from the side of the boot to reach the damper mounting without actually disconnecting anything?

As for the new dampers, he's a student on a tight budget but I quite like the look of GMAX at £16.13 from Minisport, or KYB Super Gas at the same price. Anyone any experience of these?

Ta.

[david29dpo]

hi, no need to remove the tank. just remove cap, undo strap and swing tank anti-clockwise.

[guru_1071]

and take the battery out.

saftey first!

[cooperman]

Or cut an access hole in the rear seat panel on that side. The hole should be 5" X 4" and you'll then get access to the damper top without diusturbing the tank at all.
Virtually all rally Minis have this so that dampers can be changed in a few minutes on an event. Make sure you fit a plate over the access hole and seal it wityh bathroom sealer or you may get exhaust fumes entering the car. Just attach the plate with 4 self-tapping screws.
Position the access hole by looking at the damper top on the other side. Alternatively I can measure mine for you.

[gdaybruce]

Thanks guys. A set of GMAX dampers is on order (but I think I might hold off cutting a hole in the bulkhead, at least for now!).

[kjw]

When you do this job make sure the fuel tank is virtually empty. It makes things a lot easier as the tank is quite difficult to move with a load of fuel in it.

[Pat H]

The closest I ever came to killing myself was changing the rear dampers on a Mini.

The old ones were seized solid, so I decided to cut the top nuts off with an angle grinder.

The driver's side was done without any problem, but of course I had to move the petrol tank aside to get at the passenger side.

So there I was, leaning into the boot, grinding away merrily, sparks everywhere.

It was hard work, so I stopped for a minute's rest.

When I went back to finish grinding, I noticed that the spare wheel well was now full of petrol...

I had split the petrol pipe when moving the tank aside.

It was only good fortune that I took a break when I did, otherwise I would have been grinding away with my head in the boot when the inevitable explosion occured.

I was only eighteen at the time, but I still remember it nineteen years later, that sickening realisation that I had come very close indeed to killing or maiming myself.

So take care when shifting that tank, as it is easy to tear the petrol pipe.

And if the top nut is seized, don't be a knob like I was. Leave the angle grinder in its box.

[gdaybruce]

Well, thanks to everyone's advice, all four dampers now successfully changed and, yes, we did remove the battery before touching the fuel tank and, no, we didn't need to resort to an angle grinder!

Net result is a Mini that still bounces but in an altogether more controlled kind of a way. Now we just need to sort out the tendency to jump out of 2nd gear ...