Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing How long should front suspension last?

My last kingpins lasted 25k in my ownership & were in place before that.
Grease every 500-1k

Gomog has data on how long they should last but hard chroming is effectively for life,

Hard chrome king pins don't cost a fortune , I wonder why Morgan don't fit them from new ......

I have no idea. "Not Invented Here" syndrome, perhaps?

The job was done by Richard Thorne on 18th July 2013 amongst a full service and sundries.
States kingpins X2 bushes x4
Also fit suplex system
New steering damper
Full service

The full bill came to £1899.42

Other works done around the same time lifted the bill to near £2500. That was not connected to the suspension works!

Needless to say at a smidgeon over 6000miles and regular greasing by last owner and by me (it has remote greasing system which I have removed as the copper pipes fatigue fractured!)
I think I shall be sorting these over the winter months.

Diy looks the way forward

As has been alluded to here there are a variety of mileages king pins can last and for the various different types and differing reasons. Some MOT testers really don't understand the Morgan peculiarities I would therefore ensure I took my car to one who does!

Also, as stated above, proper greasing is vital, for the older damper blade Morgans in particular. Forget the after market remote greasing system and or a quick squirt. Get under the car and insert a screwdriver as a lever to take the spring pressure off and ensure that the grease actually gets where it is supposed to.

Just predictive text, don't you love computers !

Maybe because The European Parliament has outlawed the use of chrome in vehicles?
Harald

Steve

If your total bill was almost £1900 , part of that was the Suplex kit, part the service, but nevertheless that still means about £1000 for the front suspension rebuild. It sounds like not only was the previous owner charged absolutely top dollar , but also the job was not done well. I would really consider ringing RT as a prospective customer and asking them how long they expect a f/s rebuild to last. If they give you a figure of 20k , I would then ask them why yours has lasted only a fraction of that.

For the future I would use Williams Morgan or Tim Ayres at New Elms (assuming you live in S Wales) , if you want to use a dealer , or our very own Spanner Juggler if you want a very personal job done to the highest standards.

I shall be doing the job myself having done kingpins on Morris eights,Morris cowley and several more cars.
It's that old adage "if you want a job doing"
Living in mid/north Wales their are no handy morgan specialist garages
As I'm keeping this car forever I shall be doing a proper job
I'm glad I didn't pay that last bill

Before you do anything, repeat the checks the MOT inspector did (or should have done). Do not spend money until you have quantified the problem.

Jack front end up and place on axle stands. With hands at 5 past 7 and 5 to 5 try to lift front wheels and feel movement/play. If you do feel movement, get satnag, or sproglet (or borrow one) to sit in car and repeat the exercise with brake pedal pushed. If the movement goes away - it was your wheel bearings and there should be a little movement. But don't loosen anything yet, the car will not have got to the current mileage if the bearings were too tight. Report back if you find this though.

I've known testers call bearing play, kingpin play, that's why.

The record I'm aware of is failure within 1000 miles, but such silliness is very rare.