Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Comfort suspension

Thanks Cain

Q: I suppose the rear shock absorbers should be changed to match the new ones in the front. Do you have any suggestions on what make and/or type ( I would prefer adjustable)?

Q: I suppose the rear shock absorbers should be changed to match the new ones in the front. Do you have any suggestions on what make and/or type ( I would prefer adjustable)?
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What are the new ones up front?
I have used AVO adjustable from Mulfab very successfully. Don't buy direct from AVO as the spec's are not the same.

Add some reaction bars to the front end to hold it all in line when braking what difference, through in a Panhard rod too keep the rear end in line and you'll be cooking on gas!

Cain

I can recommend the suspension mods that Cain refers to. I've reaction bars, panhard rod and GAZ adjustable shocks fitted and it has certainly improved the ride and handling. All I need to do now is improve the brakes........they work fine but I find the pedal travel excessive.

The shocks supplied with the 'comfort' package will be specially developed to work well with the new springs - I don't know if they will be adjustable though. I read about the Mulfab AVO's and will probably use them on the rear axel, if there aren't any issues in relation to the 'comfort' package. I think I will try the reactions bars as well but the Panhard rod will have to wait a bit (I appreciate the benefits though).
Thanks for your input guys

The dampers that come with the kit are Bilstein. I questioned the fact that they were not adjustable and received the following response.

I have the excellent adjustable GAZ dampers supplied as an extra by the factory but I will probably change to Bilstein all round and put the GAZ on one side for the moment.

Thank you Peter. I will probably go for the adjustable Mulfab AVO's for the rear axel. Our roads up here in the north of Sweden can be quite bumpy and I have experienced that my rear has bottomed out a few times - I'd like to have shocks that can cope with these conditions.

Lecat. I have a friend that has a '99 4/4 Sport the same as yours. By comparison to the new models the suspension is quite "firm" and the steering is much heavier. In fact his wife now is not so keen on taking a trip in the Morgan because of the ride. Fitting the rising rate suspension will make a huge improvement as will fitting decent dampers at the rear.

To convert yours to rack and pinion steering would be quite expensive but I would suggest you change to roller bearings and remove the damper blades at the same time that you fit the rising rate springs. This will lighten the steering and the cost will be minimal if the work is done at the same time.

http://www.gomog.com/allmorgan/rollerbearing.html

You would also benefit from fitting 4 leaf rear springs which are much more compliant than the 5 leaf springs that would have been fitted in 1999. You should be aware however that there have been some questions over the quality of the rear 4 leaf springs used in production in the last year or so. My car is currently fitted with 5 leaf rear springs because the standard 4 leaf fitted did not give me sufficient ground clearance. I would like to fit better quality 4 leaf springs to get a more compliant rear suspension. Fitting Morgan's 4 leaf springs would also have the effect of lowering the rear of the car which may not be such an issue with the taller tyres on the 4/4.

PS. I am not 100% certain but on re-reading the information that I have it seems that a conversion to roller bearings is part of the kit.

Peter: If the Morgan wasn't such a lovely looking car I think I would have to argue with my mrs also sometimes
There's an interesting point in the gomog-link-article; the castor angle. I have seen a lot of Morgans with very different 'angle of attack' - hight nose/low nose. A high nose must increase the castor angle and I wonder if that could have a noticeable effect on wobbling. If that's the case, the possibility to lower or raise the front with the new adjustable ride height system could perhaps help reducing wobbling... or at least change it slightly in the right direction. Or not?
As far as I can see now, I should probably add the roller bearings and it would be perfect if they were included in the 'Comfort package' - but I will do it anyway.
I think I will keep the rear springs until I have some experience from the new front suspension and new shocks on both axles - thanks for info.

Others with more experience than me could probably comment on "steering wobble" however I would suspect that you may have some worn components that need replacing or adjusting. I did not notice any problem of that nature when driving my friend's '99 4/4. I would suggest that you start another thread describing the problem and asking advice. A trip to your nearest Morgan expert may be a good idea.