Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Bevel box rebuild

All of the part numbers were on the bearings, I will have to look to see if I kept the boxes. I have the seal box and will get you that number because it is not on the seal itself. I would not do a repair guide on this because I have to put more miles on mine first to make sure everything continues to function the way it should. My rebuild was not prompted by noise alone, I picked up a vibration from the pinion on deceleration.

Hi
Thank you for the info on why the bearing's failed.By the way in my opinion from experiences with Morgan,they wouldn't know how to mend a bevel box and Quaife will be sworn to secrecy by Morgan no doubt.
I have fixed the annoying vibration on my car and have tried to tell Morgan what I have done.Not one of the "engineers"will take the time to speak to me.Yes I am also very disappointed to say the least.
Regards David

Well done Bwitched for all that hard work, I hope it continues to remain quiet and vibration free.

I am astounded that Quaife would consider building boxes that would fail, as their hard won reputation is on the line for other components now too. Surely not one of their best decisions.

Morgans attitude seems to be par for the course sadly. I was surprised that they didn't seem interested in improving their product initially, but this seems to have been their normal procedure throughout the development of the Three Wheeler. They will then pinch other peoples ideas - witness the debacle over what they cynically called the "comfort kit" riser, which has partially cured the bump steer.

How a company can survive as long as Morgan have, with this attitude I really do not understand! They do not even appear to want to improve their customer relations.

Pinion seal number is; National Oil Seal 224205, made by Federal Mogul.
NOTE!! The nut that holds the drive flange on is LEFT HAND THREAD.
If you are just changing the seal be very careful reinstalling the pinion drive flange, there is a crush collar that sets the pinion preload and if you over tighten it it may put to much load on the bearings, to loose and you will cause a pinion wobble.

Thank you Bwitched.

Interesting on the crush collar. There must be a better way to manage the preload.

What torque did you use to avoid damage to collar? Or, did you manage it by # or turns?

What's the purpose of the custom wrench that bolted onto the input flange?

The wrench I made was to hold the pinion gear (as it is not in the main housing) so I could set preload with a new crush collar.

Since you are just changing the seal I would scribe a mark in the nut and pinion shaft and make sure you get it right back in the same mark. The nut is locked in place by peening (sp?) down the edge after it is tight. TAKE YOUR TIME getting back to the same point, the collar is a one shot deal, go to far and your screwed.

The pinion was very difficult to set preload on compared to other differentials I have rebuilt in the past. I wasted one crush collar trying to get the preload I wanted on the bearings, I would have loved to have know what the factory sets them at. I did a lot of research to come up with the spec that I used. Time and some mileage will tell if I got it right but for now it is incredible how quite it is.

I am not familiar with the actual set up here but by way of explanation for those who seem a little confused, a crush collar is a cheap and simple way of setting the pre load. Whatever clamp mechanism is employed, be it nut or bolt, should crush the collar till said nut or bolt tightens against its seating. Any torque wrench setting is based on the thread designation and lubrication and serves in this case to make sure the nut or bolt stays tight in service and is not over tightened; the torque wrench setting has absolutely no effect on the preload of the bearings, this is dealt with by the crushing of the collar which is a one trip device to be discarded after every removal. I have seen these devices used to set the preload on washing machine bearings but never on anything so highly stressed as a bevel gearbox - interesting. Crush collars also serve to "de-skill" the assembly process so money may be the culprit in the design office.

If Quaife had any integrity or concern for their reputation they should have told MMC that they would not build a sub standard product with their name on it..

They are just as guilty as MMC for a poor product and poor customer service.

Both are only worried about the bottom line and the almighty dollar. Gone are the days of businesses with fortitude and respect for their reputation

Most of the rearends I've set up are Ford 9" and they're looking for a pre-load torque of around 18"/# to 20"/# if my memory serves me correctly.

What rotating torque on the pinion did you use?

Thanks for the PM replay by the way. I may look you up some long weekend. I do have to come over and pick up some MGB parts I bough online soon, so maybe then.

Your guidance through your rebuild of the BB will be a big help for many on here.

Bwitched, just a couple more questions--is the crush sleeve a standard item like from a bearing house? And the torque is 18 to 20 inch lbs on the crush you used on the Quaife?
Please pardon my mechanical void, I'm not a complete idiot--only half