Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Aero S3 and S4 Front Suspension Uprights

I remember when the first Datsuns came into the country and my dismay at seeing no grease nipples, though items like track rod ends had little plastic plugs which could be removed and nipples screwed in to the already taped holes..... In time the track rod ends etc, came as sealed units....Never had to replace any such kit on Datsun or later Nissan, though admittedly their lifespan was short as they would corrode to death in jig time... However in later years I scrapped Nissan Micra`s circa 100k miles without ever having to adjust the fan belt tension there is no substitute for quality engineering. If top quality engineering was a high priority I might be looking elsewhere..?

I think it is a consequence of taking a design intended for track use and not re-engineering it for road use.
I think the S5 suspension re-design was a reflection of the inherent short life, and the CX platform has a much more "road car" suspension.

Those of us that run S1 to S4 based cars will just have to accept the problem as part of the "exclusivity"...as Howard has implied, if you can afford such a vehicle then you should be able to afford to run and repair it.

"Howard has implied, if you can afford such a vehicle then you should be able to afford to run and repair it."

So, the more you pay, the less quality you should expect??????
That's a strange philosophy innit?

More interestingly the price of parts seems to be going north. If the suspension was designed to need new bits fair enough but the cost of a pair of uprights or offer of exchange items seems to be less thoughtful.

The S1 suspension is different to the S2 onwards cars, and uses different ball joints. The suspension was redesigned for the S2 cars onwards and I believe the S5 cars still use the same ball joints as the uprights are the same, even with the substantial change in wishbone design

In my opinion the reason the ball joints knock out with such low mileages is that they are loaded incorrectly with the Aeros unique rocker arm front suspension

I’ve spent a great deal of time in the last 2 weeks working out how to remove the S2 on ball joints from the castings, and trying source and identify replacements

Simon @ Sifab.co.uk

I will be collecting Tarka from Williams tomorrow.

The feedback from Henry on the first test run is as follows:

Road tested with dampers at full soft. I would not want to go any softer as if full soft was even softer that would risk not being able to go hard enough for serious track day sessions :-
Harshness felt through the steering wheel mostly gone, before was all the time obvious and the worst complaint, now only slight harshness at legal fast speeds over broken tarmac on A roads.
Still got steering feedback over bumps/potholes. No rubber in the steering system I believe now main effect.
Damping onto and over full width speed bumps feels good. Need no softer low velocity.
Control over long pitch undulations very good at reasonable legal speeds, suspension now actually works but not floating!
Never hit the bump stops, though were not pushing on really hard.

So, all the previous issues resolved, some of this is down to the fitting of new upper and lower ball joints, but the ride comments are down to the new coiler units. I'm looking forward to trying it over roads I know well, in particular a section of Southampton Road where subsidence has caused a series of undulations that caused Tarka to both bottom out, then top out. To be fair the AMGs are not 100% happy at a bit above the national limit over this surface!

SSL will be offering an Aero S4 and later suspension upgrade kit.

Subsequent investigation into replacement suspension upright ball joints reveals that it will not be easy. The joints are bespoke and MMC owns the IP covering the modifications to the standard part.

Good news, are you putting Tarka into the Haynes Morgan exhibition they are missing your model from the display.

I'm not sure.. I'll ask them if they have room for a late entry!