Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing steering range 78 4/4

just wondering what sets the lock to lock in these cars as i notice the stops on the chassis are a bit shiney though i havnt noticed any obvious effects in cornering , am really enjoying the vast amounts of knowledge here regards bruce

the lock on Morgans is set by the rubbing blocks on the chassis, they can't be adjusted, but they can be replaced with rollers from Melvyn Rutter.

They are the only car in the UK that has this arrangement and there's a special exemption in the UK MOT test, as normally tyres aren't allowed to rub on full lock.

Although not quite rubbing on the chassis Tim, and as Colin will I am sure also inform you, various Volvos (including my V70 Phase 2) have stops on the suspension arms which limit the steering arc, and there is said to be a special piece in the MoT testers manual about this (although it still seems to cause quite a lot of failures when the tester does not know this). The stops have to be in good condition and can be purchased in various thicknesses (depending upon tyre/wheel widths?)

One doesn't like to disagree with you mate, but the MOT tester manual clearly states in section 2.2 (Steering System) section D (Lock to Lock Check), subsection 2, Note c:



The lock stops on Volvos are on the suspension arms and don't contact the tyres, and so are covered by the main wording of the test like every other car:

On full right hand lock my tyre rubs against the brake reaction bar ,would that be OK at MOT time ?.
Before I had brake reaction bars fitted the right tyre scuffed against the steering box cover .

So does mine, it's never caused a problem at MOT time. If it does on one side and not the other it suggests the steering box isn't absolutely centered.

On fitting the first set of new tyres to my previous 1992 Plus 4 I found the rolling diameter of the new tyres was just a few mm larger than the old ones despite both sets being Avons and being the same size. The new ones were a different type (CR 338 instead of CR28 I think) as the original ones had been discontinued by then; Avon had a reason for it but I forget what it was. This change in diameter was enough to cause the outside edge of the front tyres to rub on the inside edge of the front wing when on full lock. That was an MOT fail.

I called the factory to find out what could be done and was told that they too had that problem from tine to time and the "fix" was to just bend the wing out a bit. This I did after much consideration with the help of the jack. The movement required was very small so no real risk of unwanted shape changes but definitely a heart in mouth job.

On my 2012 4/4 Anniversary the tyres didn't touch the brake reaction bars, although it was very close.
On the Plus 4 they do touch on full lock, although not when jacked up. I'll see what happens at MOT time which is still a long time away. One option is to fit the roller stops on the chassis. Uncle Melvyn sells them.

My 2001 4/4 has the "rubbing" angle irons installed on the chassis.
The wheels however does not touch these, the chassis, or any other part at full movement of the steering.
I guess I was lucky.

Not unusual. The 1992 plus 4 I mentioned above never did rub anywhere when it didn't have that problem. The brake reaction bars I fitted to it were anchored at the chassis end to the front mounting bolt of the rubbing plate. I would suggest that if tyres do rub a brake reaction bar it is a fail, if noticed, caused by the lower mounting of the bar being slightly too far outboard or back.