When changing the rear shocks is there a method which does not involve removing the petrol tank ?
Can you get access to the top of the shock by just moving the tank a little or does it have to come all the way out?
Cheers
Matt

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if you only want to replace one, then yes.

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Believe me, I'm tempted

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Can't remember why but after replaceing the rear shocks with whole tank out bit and putting it all back together I had forgotten something and had to pull it all out again - quicker the second time

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David L


My greatest fear in life is that when I die my wife will sell my Mini and tools for the price I told her I paid for them!

Just remember to take the battery out , not just disconnect it , before you got to remove the tank , way too much risk of dropping the tank or tools across the battery terminals while having the tank open and/or fuel lines off . A couple of minutes extra work might save a lot of heartache .

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I found when I replaced the left hand shocker and also when I fitted the hi-lo's that I didn't need to take the tank right out.. Just move it out of the way enough to get you arm and a spanner in the gap.. Also means you don't have to undo the fuel line.

Might take a wee bit longer to undo the top nut of the shocker but still quicker that having to remove and refit the tank...

Thanks all,
With the strap that holds the tank undone. I still seem to be having difficulty in moving the tank. Am I missing something?

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Have a look from underneath , there might be a metal tube attached to the drain plug that jams in and makes moving the tank dificult . If there is , grab it as high as you canwith some vice grips and snap it off , it's pretty useless anyway and is a pain when you need to do anything with the tank .

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Thats the problem alright.
Snapped it off but there is still 15mm of it left that doesn't want to come off.
Can I cut it off flush?

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You can so long as you don't cut into the drain-plug itself , the plug itself sealsand fuel will run out the center of it when unscrewed , the drainage pipe was a good idea in theory but painful in practice . Just means when or if you have to drain the tank through the drain plug it might splash a bit rather than being funneled straight out the bottom .

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Just ask Matt Power....

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But he's thriving and striving and hugging the turns.

Need some more suggestions.
Without cutting the drain pipe off flush there doesn't seem to be any likelyhood of the tank coming ou. Trying to cut the pipe off flush does not look like a real opiton unless I do it with a nail file.......!!!!!!!!!
aaaarrrrggghhhhh

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Make sure the strap isn't still "stuck" to the tank as sometimes they glue themselves on with a little rust etc , it might be loose but still holding .

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tank is lose all round but with that bit of pipe still stuck to the bottom there is no way the tank is coming out.
Just cant manoeuvre it to a position where it will come out.

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Might have to take the drain plug out before you can do it then , easeir to syphon most of the fuel out first then put a basin underneath and unscrew the plug .

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