Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Rear axle alignment

Yesterday after having the track rods off ,I was adjusting the front toe when I discovered that the rear axle is offset approximately half an inch to the right side . Nothing appears to have moved when I look at the u bolts ,unless it occurred a very long time ago, and the panhard rod fits tension free. I doubt that slackening the u bolt and prying the axle over will yield much movement as the locating bolts in the springs will restrict it .
I have yet to check that the springs are parallel and equidistant in relation to the chassis rails. Is there any scope for adjustment by shims? at the spring mountings .
Dave

Dave, is your offset measured to the chassis/centreline or to the outer edge of the wing? MGB's often suffer offset rear axles but it's also often due to different wing profiles rather than offset from the centreline. So measure carefully. There's minimal adjustment anyway, you may get a couple of eighths if you slacken the U bolts, but not much more in my experience.

I am measuring from the chassis center line , the bodywork although not an accurate measurement , does confirm it .
Dave

It therefore depends on what's causing it. Worst case is that the axle brackets are slightly offset. Grinding one off and relocating it might be enough, but resolving that half inch could be expensive!

What model Morgan do you have Dave? My 1973 4/4 Salisbury axle was offset to one side about 1/2 an inch. The spring mounts were welded in that position on the axle. The transmission tunnel was centralised on the tube and the extra gap between the wheel and the chassis gave more room for the exhaust pipe. The wheel on the other side used to touch the inner wheel arch under hard cornering, but other than that it did not seem to have an adverse effect. Never knew if it was designed that way.

Hope you have avoided the floods. My daughter and family were marooned in a motorhome in the Rockies with roads closed and said a lot of Calgary was no go.

I thought my rear axle on the Anniversary 4/4 was offset to one side but after careful measuring the rear wings are cut slightly different which gives the impression of an offset axle. I then started to look at the front and the wings are slightly different in width from the centre line. Hand built cars rather than robot built.

I'm struggling not to measure mine--I know I will obsess about it if offset. I will not measure, I will not measure....

Allen
'69 4/4

Titus , the car is a 1997 plus8 4.6 . Became a little sidetracked replacing the hinge pins on the doors but once that task is complete I willbe removing the seats to axess the front spring attatchments where I believe there may be some shims .
I totally missed the floods as I was away on a 50th anniversary Lamborghini tour of the northern US . The flooding was huge with our major sports stadium filled to the 10th row of seats and the whole of the downtown area closed for almost two weeks ,it will take months to return to some normality .
Tomorrow will be a big day in the garage ,looking forward to it .

Lambo tour of North USA beats floating down the Bow River in your +8. They float because they are made of wood so everyone tells us !!
I have replaced the rear springs on my +4 4 seater. I think the chassis is the same but not sure about the back axle. On mine, the spring was located at the front by washers and a tube spacer. I don't think you can change it as the back is bolted straight onto the chassis with washers. Pig to get to the back as it is boxed in with the body over the top.

Another thought. If you send Peter Mulberry an email. He is brilliant with Morgan suspensions and has manufactured components to overcome their foibles. For instance he manufactures blocks to centre the rear wheel in the rear wing. Morgan were buying the blocks from him, until he said they should get the locating pin of the spring manufactured in the right place. He said he did himself out of business. He also does Panhard Rods, anti tramp bars etc.
Best to send him an email. He is very quick at replying and breaks your enquiry down, answering every aspect.
If there is a problem with offset he will know about it and give you advice.
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