|
12 members (sbarracl, James B W, Pipmac, Morganmike, DJC, IcePack, PaulV, Ian Wegg, Simon, AlyMatt, TalkMorgan, aerotaff),
224
guests, and
36
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wales
by Joske Vermeule, September 1
|
|
|
Forums39
Topics49,914
Posts838,179
Members9,638
| |
Most Online1,063 Jun 14th, 2026
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,945 Likes: 28
Charter Member
|
Charter Member
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 5,945 Likes: 28 |
The front can be raised slightly by replacing the MMC steering bearings with Mulfab bearings. A quarter to half an inch.
and with an unchanged rear end that means only 1/8 to 1/4 inch in the middle or 3mm to 6mm in real units! That wont solve the problem. You do realise, Sir Percy, that if you copied the habits of J Bonnington-Jagsworth and attacked the bridge at speed you likely wouldnt have grounded. Courage mon brave! Are you related to Sir Jasper ?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 2,095 Likes: 75
Talk Morgan Expert
|
Talk Morgan Expert
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 2,095 Likes: 75 |
Sir Percival, Although it will not help you, rest assured you are not alone. It's usually the gearbox cross member that catches humps, bumps and other things. I have banged mine so many times that, apart from periodic checks underneath, I have given up worrying about it. If I see a hump coming and it looks bad, the Memsahib gets out whilst I approach it very slowly. She is a hero !! +1 This gets my vote for best reply to this thread. The cheapest and most effective answer.
Doug 2011 Plus 4 in Rich Maroon
1972 750 “ComDom” sprinter 1958 Triton 650 1992 Triumph Trophy 900
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 8,703 Likes: 501
Just barreling along Needs to Get Out More!
|
Just barreling along Needs to Get Out More!
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 8,703 Likes: 501 |
I've had the original Suplex (now SSL) fitted for some years now & you can alter the ride height when you fit the kit - it is supplied with a spacer & instructions of different positions within the setup to give different ride heights But you cannot (well can, but shouldn't) alter the ride height once its all set up as you will preload the rebound springs and upset the ride Personally I gained a very useful extra clearance on the Roadster sump & lighter steering
Jon M
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 1,943
Talk Morgan Enthusiast
|
Talk Morgan Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 1,943 |
I've had the original Suplex (now SSL) fitted for some years now & you can alter the ride height when you fit the kit - it is supplied with a spacer & instructions of different positions within the setup to give different ride heights But you cannot (well can, but shouldn't) alter the ride height once its all set up as you will preload the rebound springs and upset the ride Personally I gained a very useful extra clearance on the Roadster sump & lighter steering Be careful when changing he ride height that You do not induce "Bump Steer" because the track rods being sloped one way other the other too far. I had to move the track rod from the bottom to the top. There are a couple of ways to do this. The safest way is to have Peter Mulberry do it for You.
Button
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 14,750 Likes: 158
Member of the Inner Circle
|
Member of the Inner Circle
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 14,750 Likes: 158 |
I have the SSL front end and raised the ride height by 10mm and with the SSL 5 link rear suspension I have the ride height at maximum and I also have slightly heavier rear coil springs.
I have also fitted 195/65 R15 tyres. I believe that the total of all this is an increased ride height of 20mm.
When I took delivery of the new car it was very badly set up and the clearance under the gearbox crossmember was 9cm or less. I have not measured it recently but I think I now have close to 12cm unloaded and between 10cm and 11cm loaded.
Peter
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 155
L - Learner Plates On
|
L - Learner Plates On
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 155 |
I checked the ground clearance on my 1999 +4 when I first bought it about 8 years ago, as I suspected it was considerably lower than the 100mm stated in the owner's manual. It turned out to be 70mm. (This was at the gearbox cross member). So it was no wonder the car became intimate with speed humps and other road irregularities. It was due new tyres a while ago, so I took Gambalunga's advice and replaced the original 195/60/15's with 195/65/15's, which gave me a welcome 10mm extra ground clearance - and coincidentally gave a more accurate speedo too. However, I've gained a very welcome further 20mm clearance by shortening the rebound springs by 20mm (at zero cost), which has also improved the ride quality considerably. So it might be worth checking if this mod would work for you. (Check to see if you can rotate the rebound springs without too much effort with the car standing on the ground as normal. If you can, then this mod wouldn't give any benefit, but if you can't rotate the springs then it implies the springs are being unduly compressed at rest and could be shortened). So I now have 105mm clearance at the gearbox cross member, and 124mm at the rear cross member just to the fore of the back axle.
Sid
Ex 2014 3.7 Roadster in Ferrari Le Mans Blue Ex Indigo Blue '99 +4 Ex MogMMX Innovations winner
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 1,943
Talk Morgan Enthusiast
|
Talk Morgan Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 1,943 |
I checked the ground clearance on my 1999 +4 when I first bought it about 8 years ago, as I suspected it was considerably lower than the 100mm stated in the owner's manual. It turned out to be 70mm. (This was at the gearbox cross member). So it was no wonder the car became intimate with speed humps and other road irregularities. It was due new tyres a while ago, so I took Gambalunga's advice and replaced the original 195/60/15's with 195/65/15's, which gave me a welcome 10mm extra ground clearance - and coincidentally gave a more accurate speedo too. However, I've gained a very welcome further 20mm clearance by shortening the rebound springs by 20mm (at zero cost), which has also improved the ride quality considerably. So it might be worth checking if this mod would work for you. (Check to see if you can rotate the rebound springs without too much effort with the car standing on the ground as normal. If you can, then this mod wouldn't give any benefit, but if you can't rotate the springs then it implies the springs are being unduly compressed at rest and could be shortened). So I now have 105mm clearance at the gearbox cross member, and 124mm at the rear cross member just to the fore of the back axle. Sid, Take a look at Your track rods. Are they parallel with the ground at static? If so GOOD!
Button
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 184 Likes: 16
L - Learner Plates On
|
OP
L - Learner Plates On
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 184 Likes: 16 |
Sid, thank you very much for that information, just the response I was hoping for. It also has the huge benefit to a Yorkshireman of costing nowt. Thank you one and all for your replies I am sure others will benefit from the ideas put forward. If all else fails I shall try Howard’s method and attack all future obstacles at speed!
Sir Percival
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 1,943
Talk Morgan Enthusiast
|
Talk Morgan Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 1,943 |
Button
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 1,943
Talk Morgan Enthusiast
|
Talk Morgan Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 1,943 |
Read what Lorne has to say about "Bump Steer" on down the page. This is not in sync with My Experience on the subject. Remember Lorne is a Retired Lawyer not a Morgan Expert. But He has many very knowledgeable Friends who are Morgan Experts. IMO this stuff did not come out of His imagination.
Button
|
|
|
|
|