i have just purchased some standard 1200 struts with subaru discs and calipers i need to know how much shock oil the struts hold please any help would be great

P.S please cane you make shure the measurements are in mls or Ltrs

I normally put in 2 or 3 tablespoons of used engine oil.

But you can also put in too much and push the insert in. When the insert is completely in the strut tube there should be overflowing oil. Pour a little extra oil out to prevent leaks while in use. Wipe the overflowed oil from the strut. Once you have the correct amount, tip it back out into a measuring cylinder or some othe measuring device and note the volume.

Then you'll know the amount for future. The oil is mainly to help with heat transfer.

Chris.

Dattodude, I think he wants to replace the oil like the factory did the struts. It sounds to me like you are using inserts in an oil bath.
As for the original question of how much oil does the strut need, I'm sorry, I don't know either. I always use inserts too. I just didn't want rally-a-coupe to be confused by what would be way too little oil for the way he is doing it.

<small>[ Edited by dimlight65 on 2002/6/16 9:08:42 ]</small>

thanks guys im trying to put a heaver oil in as a realy cheap performance upgrade i guy in NZ says to use motocycle shock oil

That is what we call the Poor Man's Koni Conversion. I have heard of using 30 weight engine oil in them to stiffen them up. At least I think it was 30wt. 90wt gear oil would REALLY do the trick. Anyone know for sure what weight to use?

i used 20W-50 engine oil in my struts, works real nice, very stiff. i know the amount was 250ml but that was for stanza struts. just poor whatever comes out into a bucket mark it off fill it with new stuff and pour back in. thats what i did at the time just to be told the exact amount a week later, typical huh. even better still stop piss farting around and just get stanza struts, best low cost increase to handling know to man.

Motorcycle fork oil is your best option. Struts can get pretty hot when a car is driven hard and the oil will foamm and loose it's damping abilities. I have a bottle in my workshop which is marked with the correct amount for a 1200 strut. I will try and remember to measure it tomorrow. I have used high quality hydraulic oil from Omega but it's bloody expensive and I "borrow" it from work. Fork oil comes in several weights and works really well.

I pulled my struts apart to replace with inserts and ended up having to put them back together temporarily. I used ATF and it worked just as well as the factory fluid, no significant change in stiffness though. Go for the fork oil as has been suggested- it is available in a range of weights for motoX bike forks

Funny we should be discussing this. Grassroots Motorsports Magazine had someone ask a similar question this month in the tech section. They wanted to know about drilling a hole in a shock absorber and replacing the oil. The reply was to the effect that it will work but won't do anything about the worn out parts. Just thought I'd mention that.

does anyone actually know what the standard oil grade was because im useing motocycle fork oil and methinks ill just double the origanal grade you can buy for oil any from 5 grade to 500 grade it pretty vast choise