Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Confinement prep-work

Hello Chaps,

Long time no speak. I'm afraid my love affair with the 3
wheeler has been cut short with the extremely strict lock down imposed in Dubai. I have disconnected the battery and try to rock the car forward and backward once a week to prevent it from resting in the same spot. Is there anything else I should be doing since this is expected to continue until early June ?

On the positive side I did manage to clock 3000km in under 10 weeks - wonderful thing !

I did notice a leak from the beneath the crankshaft seal that happens when I drive. Some owners told me that it comes with the car and aside from topping things up there's nothing to worry about. Thoughts?

Anyway hope you guys are all safe and sound.

Love from Dubai

Ed

Osten

Hope all is well in Dubai, iv just move back to the UK for a year after living in the Maria area for sometimes got one of the last flight back but do get updates from friends, Gulf news and Khaleej Times.

Did the Morgan dealer Dubai not close down?

Hey Osten! Nice to hear from you!

I still don't have even 500 km on the odo. Really anxious to get back on the road. These days I changed the air intake kit for the S&S Stealth Air Intake with a Muscle Cover. But did not switched off the battery. I start all cars once a week and the 3-Wheeler keeps starting. I hope its battery won't die one of these days.

As you, I move back and forth the car to avoid it staying in the same spot for the tyres.

During the quarantine I made a blog (see link below the signature, if you want to pass some time).

Keep safe and my best regards!

I had similar leak from mine corrected shortly after first service. When timing cover removed instead of leaking crank seal I suspected, two of the three camshaft seals were found to be leaking. The warranty fix was a complete new cam and front support assembly supplied to dealer by MMC. I did wonder if they ship the faulty assembly back to S & S for their own warranty claim.

Seems to happen to a lot of cars. Anyway i'll worry about it once we can drive and receive parts again.
I was considering the start and stop for the engine but i gave up on the idea first since the car is underground i don't want to stand in fumes secondly i don't think it does much of a difference when not going into rpms etc ...

Maybe occasionally pump the brakes, leave the handbrake off & turn engine over

I have taken the plugs out so the engine can be turned on the starter for a few seconds to circulate the oil, then turn the battery conditioner back on to top the battery back up.
I do this every week or so.
I think this is less harmful than starting it for a short period.

You would have to turn the engine over on the starter for quite some time to get any oil up to the rockers, especially the exhaust valve on cylinder two which is the last in line on the oil gallery.
Started mine without the rocker covers on and it took a surprisingly long time for the oil to come through.

Disconnect the primary wires to the coil, pull out the fuse to the fuel pump, and pull the spark plugs. Crank it over to circulate the oil if that is a concern.

As ever, no M3W experience, though had a few m/cycles and well know the thinking behind oil draining through the oil pump over time causing it to build up in the crankcase, and the possibility of putting pressure on the crankcase seals on start up.

With seldom used vehicles that are garaged after a run when the oil is warm, there may be many weeks or months of storage for that oil to drain from vital components, and valve gear it likely to have been the hottest when initially laid-up, and perhaps the most likely to suffer a degree of oil drainage before much else..? The sound of an engine rattling until the oil pressure builds is I suspect very uncomfortable for the mechanically inclined.

The idea of avoiding generating sparks and spinning the engine over is one I have used over many years, as it excercises a lot of kit from the battery onwards...I suspect machinery and associated systems are not designed for long term lay-up..and those that are generally have oil priming as part of the start up sequence..