Morning All,
What work is involved with fitting the SSL front suspension kit to a 2004 Plus 8?
Haven't looked at it closely yet, but have got the kit that was kindly included with the recently purchased car

Basically just stripping down front suspension and rebuilding with new parts John, which include upper steering bearings and gas assisted adjustable dampers. If you have damper blades the steering bearings will render them unnecessary and they can be removed.

SSL recommend using a jack to release pressure on main spring but others prefer to using studding. I used a mixture of both last time. Wolf performance offer a tool which fits in place of dampers to release and retention new main spring which speeds the job no end, although it's not cheap.

More info and picture of tool courtesy of GoMog here although you can ignore the extra work involved in replacing kingpins and bushes. Having said that it's an excellent opportunity to do this job as well if there is any wear in that area.

Unless replacing stub axle bushes/kingpins therefore you don't need to remove calipers/hubs but do support the stub axle assembly to avoid straining brake hoses whilst kingpin is removed.

+1^^^,

I use the studding method, slower but safer (IMHO).

Also, if everything has been well greased when you bought the car it's a very mucky job!

Might see you around as you're not far from me. Look out for a sport green +4.
Cheers
John

Just one codicil to Richard's informative post. Last year Techniques installed and set up my SSL front suspension, and indeed deleted the damper blades with no discernible negative effects. The car has just been back to them for the installation of a much quicker steering rack, and lo and behold there was a shimmy which they could not tune out until they reinstalled the damper blades. It doesn't make logical sense (to me, at least), but it worked.

Ditto to John07's post - neither of you are far from me (I'm in Richmond), so if either of you are heading this way, PM me and I'll get the kettle on!

Dave

As others have said this is not a difficult job , and well within the scope of a confident diy mechanic.

It does help to take lots of pictures as you go along, and it also helps if someone else can do this as your hands will be VERY mucky (see John07's remarks above)

The fitting instructions are pretty good from SSL with lots of pictures, so you won't go too far wrong if you follow these.

I prefer the studding method too , but if you have a good hydraulic jack this can make the job quite bit quicker.

Now there is one decision to make , are you going to fit the supplied "spacer" above or below (the instructions do cover this)? A 2004 +8 is likely to have been fitted with blue springs from new (to improve the ride according to MMC!) which tends to give a "high" ride height. If you are forever grounding the gearbox crossmember on road humps then I would opt for the "high setting" (sorry I can't remember if this was above or below for the spacer) If you do not have issues with ground clearance, then this is an opportunity to correct the gap between the tyre and the wing by lowering the ride setting. Your choice entirely. I fitted it on the low setting initially and the car grounded on the way into my garage when it didn't before , so I had to take it to pieces again and reset with the spacer in the alternative position.

Getting the adjustable ride height setting correct is something of a challenge, just try to get it approximate first time , and then fine tune thereafter. It seems to needs setting again after a few months once everything has settled.

Anything above stub axle raises ride height. SSL advice is to stick with whatever gives closest to pre-installation regarding 20mm spacer and ride height, but I can imagine a situation where you may wish to increase in which case spacer is at the top.

It is a clarty job but the secret is to wear gloves, change regularly and don't be in a rush to finish. A full day should still be enough to complete both sides though.

ETA: nearly forgot to mention but be very careful re-engaging the fine threaded kingpin/oiler bolt into kingpin threads as easy to cross thread. Here a short tapered drift helps align the holes in various components the bolt has to pass through before it reaches the kingpin. Typically one side will engage on first attempt and the other will be a PITA

"Clarty".....In about 1982, a local old bloke ran a M3w. It was a beetle back sporty one with a V twin out front, and may never have been restored.

It was an oily rag of epic standards. Patina was inches thick. Everything mechanical was caked in oil. There were handles and levers all over the
place.

He had not had a haircut for at least a year. His beard was Catweazle. His leathers, and helmet/goggles were encrusted in patina. He was the full on caricature of a Morgan 3 wheeler owner at that time.

In 1982 I didn't get it.
Now I do.

How much difference does the front SSL make versus standard set up ( with or without the bearing option)?
I am going to change my front springs this year on the 2002 Plus8.
The current set up is fine but the main springs are looking”well used” so I would like to change them. New spring with bearing as minimum.
Two areas of debate in my mind.
1. Discernible improvement in suspension feel/performance?
2. Rebound spring fit. I have heard that a previously good fit was lost after an SSL upgrade. By that I mean a gap at the top of the spring where it was previously a good fit as just hand turnable as recommended for standard setting.
The parts cost difference is enough to question the value of any improvement. It will be DIY fitting.
I don’t mind an initial set up and later adjustments after bedding in.

Hi Sospan,

It's very difficult to judge how much difference the SSL set--up makes, but my very first practice run at the first Barbon hillclimb meeting after installation was 3 seconds faster than my best competition time there the previous year. The car feels much more planted, progressive and predictable to me, and thus much more confidence-inspiring. SWMBO had her first competitive season last year, and by the end of the season she was only 2 seconds slower than me at Aintree (aaaargh! - doesn't augur well for my coming season....). She's clearly naturally pretty quick, but I do believe the car is also much easier to drive quickly with the SSL set-up.

Whether that translates into any real value for just road use, I'm not sure, but certainly our car is much more user-friendly with the SSL front set-up. If you are ever in our neck of the woods, you are welcome to try our car, and form your own opinion.

Hope this helps,

Dave

Thanks all, with the studding way of doing it - does the bottom end of the threaded rod just sit on the floor and you wind the nuts down towards the ground lowering everything above it as it goes?