Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 New Centra Compensator

You got a good one there Hugh, either that or you've gone a bit mutton jeff.

You may be right Peter , I don't think I've ever been the same since standing next to your car when you started up !

Look forward to hearing your experience of the Plus 8 , have you got a delivery date ?

I still say straight through noisy exhausts are the best cure for all the squeaks etc on the 3W.

Plus 8 will be here end of June

I haven't forgot the burger by the way

I think I may stand to be corrected.
Mine was an early model. The third compensator fitted was an upgraded screamin eagle design. You can even see the primary drive sprocket still attached on the new parts manual. This unit failed due to loss of grease rather than mechanical wear. Apparently sealing the unit is a bit of a pain. My concern was the damage done while not properly lubricated. The standard unit is known to be a weak point but your experience would suggest poor lubrication during assembly etc may play a key role.
Its a full engine out job and very pricey on labour.
The centa unit itself is somewhere between 560 and 700 ex vat depending on seal kits apparently. I will know for sure sometime this week.
The original units should not make any noise at all if working correctly. I have noticed that quite a few contributors to this forum do accept some compensator noise as normal.
We shouldn't. I owned a 1450 Harley Springer for 5 years and didn't have any issues at all. The bigger engined later models were problematic and there's lots on the web about it. If you have even a tiny rattle I'd say the unit is compromised
Best
Matt

Matty please keep us informed about the complete centa kit pricing,as i need to order all the upgrades & update my m3w.as its hot nowadays here in Kuwait & it will be parked

will do

I have just had the Centa drive fitted along with the Urban Cooling kit and a new bevel gearbox and NVH kit at the same time, so quite a lot of the car changed and all for the better. The Centa drive is a big improvement, now I can drive along at more relaxed 2000 rpm in top and not have the transmission sound like it's ripping itself apart, much smoother.

The list price is £745.64+VAT, so not cheap but you may be able to get some money back on the exchange value of the dead unit and negotiate a better price if it is part warranty work. It maybe doesn't pay to have treated your compensator too gently and drive at 2500+rpm all the time. If it fails or rattles a lot it will be at least a part warranty replacement, although this will be like for like until stocks run out, as said before. Having seen the insides of the Centa unit, there isn't much to wear out, just some big rubber rollers, a much better design.

It would be really interesting to know if those, like Hugh, with an original compensator, were religious about not lugging the engine, say below 2500rpm, and if people whose compensators had gone, did indeed make a habit of trundling around at low revs in a high gear - this would at least give a good idea of how the thing should be treated for longevity, though I suspect that in the end, they will all need replacement, it's just a matter of when?

Well I for one have never laboured the engine/drivetrain on any vehicle I've owned let alone the 3w and have got through three units. I did buy the old girl secondhand though. However only had 1500 miles on the clock.
I've posted pics along with others. The original is an elegant but flawed design.
Very prone to wear with no real bearing surfaces. However in theory the sliding cam design may handle pulsing torque better than a cush drive.
The centa unit will definitely be more robust and probably outlast the rest of the vehicle but does it protect the gearbox ?
matt

Paul , I have been very careful about keeping the revs up , infact I've just posted a comment about this on Michael H's thread , wondering if I should now stop doing this !
Although mine has lasted longer than most I'd rather it failed inside the warranty period if it is going to pack up ....