Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Broken suspension mount

I think this is a good point, Andy. With AVO shock absorbers there are 3 sizes giving different lengths of maximum extent and minimum compression and when we measured my car up we found that none of the standard options gave the right range of movement.

Fortunately Tim Ayres (New Elms) was able to get AVO to do me a set with a different range and everything is fine, but I wonder if a set of shock absorbers with an incorrect minimum length (ie won't go short enough) would act to transmit unwanted forces to that mounting?

Tim, good point

Usually if AVO's bottom out hard it busts the internal valving which is evidenced by shocker fluid leaking and eventually dripping off the bottom loop

My Roadster did it's rears like that a few years ago!

Hi all, sorry for the delay - I'm a bit rubbish on following up these things!

The shocks on the back are AVOs and are fine. I did them myself a while ago, well, maybe not that long ago. They were straight out of the box so probably still not he 2 setting.

Anyway, this nice people at Techniques welded the top mount for me while they were doing the phase one of the 'renovation' in October.

I'm no friend of polybushes. When I see right, there are polybushes in the dampers.

I like rubberbushes, they are smoother.

Harder bushes work more directly, but also stronger to the whole "system" and can overstress other parts. It's also a known problem at classic MINIs.

René

Interesting to see how the top mounting eye has evolved over the years and become stronger.



Not only is there a risk of the shocks over extending as the rear suspension has no limiter (other than the bodywork of course ) but there appears to be another interesting feature with the way the rear shocks have been mounted and the geomerty. The mounting eye orientation appears to be 90 degrees out?

The upper mounting eyes hold the shock absorber firmly parallel to the vertical hoop. But as the leaf spring is not mounted horizontal the rear axle and wheels moves up and down at 6 degrees off to the vertical hoop. This may have a slight binding effect on the shock absorber and will add additional stresses to the mounting points. We probably mostly get away with this owing to the compliance in the rubber mounting eye bushes.

Note the Rutherford hoop system has the shock absorbers rotated 90 degs different to the Morgan arrangement.

If you decide on the welding repair DEFINITELY get strengthening gussets welded on to boost the integrity of the welded joint. Get the other side done at the same time. The mounting point is a weld under high fatigue inducing conditions so any weakness forms starting point for crack propagation.

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