Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Kingpins - DaveW's How To...........

Post Photobucket reboot from January 2011 continued....

Next the damper. Top nut is 9/16 Nyloc.



Once the nut is cracked it's necessary to use a 4mm Allen key & ring spanner.......



Lower nut is 9/16 Nyloc. Access is a bit tight.



It's important to protect the stub, so plenty of masking tape.



While access is clear, here are a couple of shots of the undertray...........





Next the track rod end. Another 9/16 AF Nyloc.



Once the nut is loose, use a splitter.......
Leave the hut on the end to protect the threads.



Next loosen, but don't remove the top bolt.



More to follow>>>>>>>

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Here is a picture of the spring comperessors I bought for the job. It turns out that they are only just up to the job. The Mog springs are a bit of a challenge for Motorbike compressors......



A bit messy. but compressors ride round the spring, so I tried to keep them in place with cable ties.



Incidentally, the stub was quite tight on the kingpin.

I removed the damper blade at the thrust plate end. Two 7/16AF nuts & bolts. It simply pulls out of the chassis fixing. I haven't decided how to tidy the chassis end up yet, as with swivel bearings, there will be no damper blades.



This is the kingpin bottom nyloc. It's 3/4"AF. I took this off, but replaced it loosely as it retains the rebound spring tension so is best left in place until the tension is released.



The idea here is to progressively loosen each nut & bolt, and replace with longer bolts until all the tension has gone. I replaced the centre nut after I'd taken this photo. The nut & bolt on the left is removed pending the fitting of a longer bolt in order to continue. These are 1/2"AF. The one on the right is blocked by the reaction bar which must be either loosened off or removed.



Three nuts & bolts hold the bar at the chassis end.



Extended nuts & bolts in place I hadn't replaced the centre nut at this stage.



The only tension left now is the rebound spring, and when that nut was removed it still has a kick. I should have continued with longer bolts each side, but no harm done, except the rebound spring rolled down the carpet tiles and left a greasy trail!!!!!



More to follow>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Post Photobucket reboot from January 2011 continued....

So, once the top bolt was taken out, the stub axle and spring assembly lifted out sideways and upwards. I'd expected to have to lower the kingpin from below. but that wasn't necessary.
This job is incredibly messy, and I'm running short of old sheets, and must have used more than half a dozen pairs of white gloves so far. Here's how it looked.......



And here's what's left in place......



Disassembled - top left is the bump rubber, visible in the spring is the tube protector which covers the upper kingpin.



The kingpin is stainless steel, and here you can see the scuffs and wear at the bottom end. That has happened over a very low mileage.



Here is a selection box of all the bits taken off!!!



Here's the original spring. Apologies for the quality, I couldn't get a focus.......
The writing says Eibach Federn 05/05 Morgan Plus 8.



I took the opportunity to spray some rust protector down inside both cross tubes.



More to follow>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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I had devised several schemes to remove the bushes. Some say, use a hacksaw down the tube to cut a long slot, which weakens the bush so that it may be drifted out. Some say use a cut down washer which will fit down inside the bush, then turned and used with a nut and threaded extractor. There are probably other ways.
It occurred to me that a socket on the end of a long extension might work. I jammed the stub axle between two timbers over the pit, because my vice is nowhere big enough!!!!!
So the chosen socket was just small enough to slide down the inside of one bush, and then was angled against the inside end of the other. Many hard hits with a hammer, and.........
I'm prepared to sacrifice the socket extension - it's old.



The second bush is easier, because with the first bush out of the way, a larger socket can be used which has a better location on the second bush. They are still very tricky to shift.
Here's a cleaned up stub, with accessories.



I used an old tea towel (Shhhhh!) to clean out the old grease......



Then after a degrease, a blow over of primer......



Followed by a coat of satin black.



Note that the threaded shaft for the damper is available as a stainless part, but I have discovered that my new stainless shafts have the incorrect thread for these stub axles. The originals are a finer thread, so be careful. Cross threading the stub axle will be expensive.

Finally, a lick of paint on the reaction bar........



So that brings an end to my first stint, and five hours work, without rushing too much. The problem with kingpins is that once you've done one, you must repeat the whole thing. Although the second pass is usually quicker because all the right tools are out and the technique should be better!!!!
PS - All the fasteners so far have been AF. EXCEPT - the damper shaft on the stub axle is 7/16" Whitworth.

More to follow >>>>>>>>>

Post Photobucket reboot from January 2011 continued....

Since we're at the intermission, here's a photo of the black paint. Nothing special, it's just satin black, sourced from Newark Autojumble. Six tins for a bargain price.
(Newark is an anagram of 'W*nker' by the way.....)
You'll feel obliged to check this out, and the A1 will never be the same again.



Here's the Ford bush extractor, which will form part of my bush installation tool.



Here's the top of the new kingpin, and you can see the groove, and the tiny hole, with some 3 in 1 running from it. This is no more than a couple of mm diameter.



I've looked again at the original kingpin, and the top hole appears to be blind, so the grease nipple was of no use. The point to take from this is that if you want to have a top nipple fitted, you should check with MMC that your pins have a drilling.

Later Mogs - '07? have an upper grease nipple, so the kingpins must be drilled. It seems that earlier cars with a single grease nipple depend on grease going in above the lower bush and working upwards into the upper bush. That being the case make sure you put plenty in, but watch the brake discs. In truth the upper bush is well protected and not subject to the level of force applied to the lower bush, so won't wear significantly if kept greased.

I'm hoping to crack on on Saturday, although MrsW has plans for the afternoon, and I might even get a few hours on Sunday when DocW has gone home. I may even be rash and take a day off work. Now I'm off the road, the weather has improved.

Post Photobucket reboot from January 2011 continued....

Anyway - tonight I grabbed an hour in the garage and fitted the bushes.
Here's how it went:
This is one end of my special tool 'exploded view'. The socket is there to keep this end centred.



Here's the other end with the bush. I found that two MGB anti-roll bar bushes were a perfect fit inside the bush - again to keep it centred.



This is the non-business end assembled:



Business end assembled - but using the bush tool nut which has an integral washer........
The bush was just out of the freezer, and I'd played the blowlamp on the stub, just to get some warmth into it.



Here's the bush on the way in. Once it starts, it wasn't too bad, but very important to keep it square until it enters.



And with a bit more effort.......keep the threads lubricated, and I dripped 3in1 on the outside of the bush to assist.



This is the rod.....the extended nuts are 17mm, and the tool nut is 19mm. I also purchased some M12 rod in case the 10m wasn't good enough. If you don't have a tool to base this on, you'll need a couple of thick washers.



Lower bush fully in place......



Stub turned over to do the upper bush. This one went in easier.



Upper bush in place.



A good hours work, and was easier than I expected - but still very hard work. The bushes were a perfect fit over the kingpin before fitting, but once in place are distorted just enough to need reaming. So that's the next job, before reassembly of side 1 can begin. The stub will need another lick of paint. All this action tends to knock bits of paint off, and obviously I want it nice & shiny under there.

More to follow >>>>>>>>>>>>

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And it's the home straight on side 1......
This shows the Taylor & Jones reamer. The curtting blades are under the white label and the square end is off to the right. I used the adjustable wrench which worked fine.
On the left part of the tool is the pilot, which ensures both bushes are aligned. For this one is supposed to use the taper attachment to the left which resembles a salt pot. The black nut is removed from the reamer to add the pilot. Foreground is the stub axle and although perpective doesn't help here. the pilot isn't long enough to do it's job. So my improvised bush, which is the silver collar at the left end of the pilot, is made from a mock chrome effect coachline which has been in stock for this very moment. I was able to wind it round the pilot so that it was an exact fit in the second bush - so aligning the two.



Here's a close up....



Here are the components. The original blue spring to the right, and the Mulfab shorter spring to the left. The steering bearing is the silver washer, reflecting light from the camera flash. I've replaced the rebound springs as it seemed daft not to. The originals are slightly shorter, due to 'wear' no doubt.



Steering bearing, not yet greased.



Dry fit assembly........



Apply grease with clean fingers. I took some time in cleaning out the swarf from the stub axle. It really does need to be spotless inside.....



Greasing the steering bearing.....



And so to the assembly>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Post Photobucket reboot from January 2011 continued....

For this I did struggle a bit. I used the spring compressors on the main spring, but they are very marginal on grip, so I'm very wary. The two M8 threaded rods need to be about eight inches long. I used extended nuts on the bottom, but it's too tight to use them at the top. Make sure that you fit the bottom plate the right way round. I didn't and it wasted some time. Note that I cable tied the base of the rebound spring to the baseplate, to stop it bidding for freedom.



This shows it on the way up. You can see here that I tried a neoprene washer at the base of the kingpin as a dirt barrier, but the spring pressure distorted it to the extent that I don't think it will do much good. I trimmed off the excess neoprene with a craft knife when the spring was fully home. This part of the job takes some jiggling, as the stub axle must be manipulated to slide up inside the dust cover. It's such a good fit that an upper gaiter isn't really necessary.
You must also manipulate the rebound spring up through the hole in the lower cross tube and swivelling the stub axle gently helps this process. The top bolt should be located at the start of this process but not fully tightened. GoMog notes that this can be cross threaded, so be very careful. The bolt passes through the end of the upper cross tube and it would be very easy to cross thread it. I'm only comfortable if I can tighten by hand. There should be no undue resistance,





Nearly home, and the bottom thread of the kingpin is just emerging.



And now with the correct nuts & bolts in place and the reaction bars and track rod end connected.



Hub & disc replaced. Hub nut was put back to original tippex mark & split pin replaced. Use a new split pin, but get the right size.



More to follow >>>>>>>

Post Photobucket reboot from January 2011 continued....

These are the components of the steering damper at the chassis end. I've cleaned then up, and added a strip of neoprene to keep the dirt out. I've replaced these parts on the chassis. That way they can't be lost.



Caliper replaced. I took the pads out and cleaned it all up.
The gold finish was freshened up with a paintbrush and spray paint in an aerosol can lid.



So that's it - half way.........



I don't intend to post the other side in any detail, but the finishing off will appear when both sides are complete.

More to follow >>>>>

Post Photobucket reboot from January 2011 continued....

Thanks all. I've used standard length rebound springs. I know there's a discussion on Mogtalk about this, and that it's apparently better if the rebound spring can be turned when the weight is on the suspension. I'm not convinced that a shorter sopring would make a noticeable difference, so for now it's standard length.
I've made rapid progress today, and having done around six hours, the newly built stub is on the car, but I didn't get as far as the rebound spring. Interesting point about the main spring & compressors. What I found today was that if I removed the plastic spring protectors, the metal hooks have a much greater purchase. I also found that by mounting them low, the dust cover in the upper half of the spring doesn't get in the way. The new springs were just over half an inch too long to fit without the compressors, but it doesn't take much. I'm learning as I go along. The rebuilt stub simply slots into the bottom tube, then with the main spring compressed, slots into place. I really don't see why GoMog recommend leaving the top bolt until later on. Mine is already in place and only a couple of turns away from tight. I suppose that leaving the top bolt off does allow earlier location of the bottom kingpin nut, but that wasn't a problem on side 1. It's also recommended that you leave sufficient space to drop the kingpin out through the bottom, but this has not been necessary on mine.
I also found time to tart up the caliper today.
This is how it looks tonight - showing the level of compression required:



One or two other things. On the left is the new stainless lower damper stub fixing. On the right is the original. Look closely and you'll see that the bottom thread is coarser on the new part. The original part has AF threads at both ends. The new one has AF at the nyloc end, but the thread which locates into the stub axle I haven't been able to identify. Given that the nut section is Whitworth, I'm wondering if it's a Whitworth thread. And when did it change I wonder???



With the benefit of side 1, I made better use of the threaded rod on side 2.....



Wouldn't you think they would paint the stub axles????





Here's the reamer in action - I didn't take a photo of it on side 1 - too much concentration required!



Here it is painted and with the kingpin in place. I've cleaned out all the grease galleries & nipples as I've gone along.



Until tomorrow then........