Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Belt not 100% on the sprocket

My belt is not completely on the rear sprocket. According to my Morgan dealer, that is normal on the first 500 built cars. The rear wheel would not be 100% in the middle. Is this info correct? My belt is ¼ of the sprocket.

Doesn’t sound correct to me 🤔
Try asking Krazy Horse or Brands Hatch Morgans or even the Factory?

That is correct, the early cars 2012 did not have a flange on the outer side of the pulley and the belt ran a few mm over the edge, the hub was then changed to move the sprocket but the belt still runs very close to the flange on the later type.

I have changed my early (April 2012) sprocket for a lightweight one made of exotic steel. You also need to change to the later type (black) rear hub to do this. The sprocket has a fence/flange on both sides. The name of the member of this forum, resident in Belgium, who makes these, has escaped my ageing brain cells but maybe someone else can remember. The followed topics is not working at the moment as otherwise I could track back to when I arranged the purchase of my new sprocket. In a very odd event, the first one that arrived, had bullet damage on it with holes punched right through the packaging and scars on the sprocket. Not what you expect in Europe, so I went and collected the second one from the member's house in Belgium.

Wilson

PS My brain has just coughed up that the first name of the member who makes the lightweight steel sprockets is Fabian.

To run in the belt in the centre of the sprocket you need the black rear hub, rather than the early silver one. The dimensions are different, or spacers that achieve the same thing. The rear drive sprocket on the early cars did not have an outer guide plate and the belt ran a few mm off the edge of the sprocket. Many cars still run like this with no problems, it's not something that needs urgently rectifying. The design of sprocket will make a difference to the life but not the way it tracks. Early ones are alloy, later steel and some replacements are poly overlays. Alloy ones don't last very long.

I just found a picture of my first lightweight steel sprocket showing one of the three bullet strikes. It had hit with sufficient energy that it had melted and put multiple hairline fractures in the alloy side flange and completely distorted the flange. Given the level of energy, I would guess that they were rifle rather than pistol bullets. This was just after the terrorist attacks in Belgium, so I wondered if some over-nervous armed security guard at the airport, had been scared by and shot at a rat in DHL's package storage area.

Wilson

Just had the flange break on my 2016. Took it off and now the belt tracks 3/8 inch off of the pulley. How much is acceptable, and how to I adjust it to center (or close to) Is it wheel alignment, and if so which way do I move it.

Hi Erwin G
I bought a 2012 model last year ( no 70 )
I had the same problem and was told they all do that, you need a new hub. Then I looked at the price of a hub !!!!!
After sitting down and giving the problem a lot of thought and measuring, I came up with a relatively simple spacer that solved it for good.
A Saturday spent working on it and job done, this was last year and I fitted a Supermax sprocket at the same time. Total cost a piece of Alloy bar and my time. The belt runs exactly on the sprocket now.
PM me if you want pictures and details.
Ian

As your car is a 2016 you should have the black anodised rear hub that should allow your drive belt to run centrally on the rear sprocket, if it is all assembled and aligned correctly. Chocadoodledoo's car is an early one with the silver hub that has different offsets and requires a spacer, or hub change to the later spec, to allow the drive belt to run fully engaging the rear sprocket. If your drive belt is running so far out of alignment that it has broken the outer guide flange, then something is wrong. I suggest checking that the rear wheel is correctly aligned and is pointing centrally between the front wheels and the bevel box sprocket is in line with the rear wheel sprocket.

My 2016 just had the out flange break as well. Now the whole outer flange is removed and I have been told my numerous folks here and my dealer and mechanic that it will be fine without the flange. In fact, it happened a couple of hundred miles after the rear was aligned by a very reputable Morgan dealer mechanic.