hydrolastic displacer units

[rhys-89]

Hi all are the front and rear hydro units the same internally as externally as they look the same from the outside thanks

[Dr S]

Hi there,

I'm pretty certain they are, much like cones. However the hoses are usually a give away for where they have been fitted. They take on a shape and I'm not a fan of changing them after 45yrs or so.. Fronts have the pipe in a loop pointing back down again. Rears have a straight pipe with a single 90 degree bend in the hose.

Nick

[Spider]

Some sets were the same front and back and some were not. Also, there are at least 2 different helper springs that I know of and also 2 at least different length extension rods used in the rear.

Most of the hydro units have a P/N stamped in to the metalwork on the side, it's often quite hard to find though!

Also, if you measure how far down from the top (the side the hose goes in), to where the rubber is, you'll find there are 2 different 'settings' here, depending on the unit. Generally, though not exclusively, Cooper S ones were closer to the top.

I think if you do a search here, you'll find a lot of helpful info.

[rhys-89]

Thanks all for the info will delve into the archives cheers

[360gts]

The Cooper S had a few different displacers
They were all the same on early variants. Later S models were upgraded...these units were identified with paint on the hose and some had paint on the metal barrel area as well as a dab on the top rubber part.
Early cars had yellow bands...
next came red
1965 had one orange band
Then they went to green bands...
Stiff settings had two orange bands
Then blue bands were added ...these were hard settings
One blue on the front and two blue on the rear
Finally, in late 67 ...silver band units were installed (hard settings)
Front was different from the rear
The previous post added that there P/Ns on the metal barrel...yes, correct...but this will be extremely hard to find after years of use.
It is important to only use matching units...can be very hairy if these get mixed up.
Think I got most of them in here...may have missed a couple.

[Dr S]

All good stuff but the chap has a 66 super deluxe.

I'd suggest putting them back in the corners they came from.

As an aside, are 1275gt displacers the same as late cooper s?

[In the shed]

I had double orange on mine (IIRC). It was still rubbish. If you are using the mini for entertaining driving not on a forest stage, fit dry.

[Dr S]

Not sure I'd agree with you there mister shed mines stock late displacers and comp bump stops. It's quite entertaining. Not that great in terms of absolutes but good fun round the Lakeland roads. Just being built up with front shocks and camber caster brackets all over. I reckon it'll be good fun! The roads road here aren't flat though!

[In the shed]

The closest thing I've driven to it was a citroen BX