Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms First 1000 miles

Well we've just completed 1000 miles in our first Morgan, a green Roadster Sport purchased from Berrybrook in March and delivered in May. Great fun and so different to our previous Porsches and M4. Have to say a lot more engaging too but slower from A to B unless you try hard. Karen does not like the trying hard approach so I think my licence is a bit safer than it was before. We had a fantastic open air drive yesterday from Bath to West Bay and then back via Abbotsbury and Chesil Beach; final 20 miles was roof up because of impending rain - a bit hot and sticky with no air con and noisy at speed on the dual carriageway. Surprisingly comfortable on a run if a little bouncy over potholes so perhaps SSL 5-link over the winter? We have also replaced the M4 (much too fast for normal roads) with a Honda CRV so all in all quite a change in driving experiences.

On the maintenance front, I greased the (fitted at purchase chrome) kingpins before the last drive and it seemed to make a difference to the front end and to the effort required to turn the steering wheel when manoeuvring. Need a bit of advice though on how much grease to squirt in - I bought a small Hilka pistol grease gun on eBay for £15 incl 3 x 3oz cartridges and used one tube completely - exactly where is the grease supposed to emerge from at the lower point?

No real problems experienced beyond a fast slow-idle (1800 to 2000 RPM when hot but not always), which was sorted by Berrybrook under warranty who cleaned the slow idle valve and replaced a vacuum hose. I have also bought a storm cover from John at morganhoods.com, which is brilliant, but have yet to resolve how to attach my iPhone so that I can see it without obscuring the view or drilling holes.

Another first planned for Thursday week - Southern Reaches Noggin II - where it will be good to meet and chat with other owners.

Great site by the way - has really helped bed us in to our Morgan experience in many ways so a big thank you to the administrator(s) and to regular contributors. Looking forward to meeting some of you over the coming months and to a bit of longer distance touring when the schools go back.

Chris (and Karen)

Glad you like the car. You only need 2-3 pulls on the trigger at the bottom & 1 at the top. The grease that escapes needs cleaning up. advice on greasing is here
greasing

Check for spare grease by the springs at the bottom. I have just had to have new pads due to grease contamination. I was told that it’s very common on trads Morgans to replace them for this reason.

Never heard of that before, but guess more likely with the remote greasing kit...out of sight, out of mind!

May have mentioned this before but on Cain's recommendation I use an old sock carefully threaded around base of stub axle with ends facing inwards. It can then be used to remove escaped grease without smearing brake disc.

I use a little more than one pull on grease gun trigger BTW. If you listen carefully and keep squeezing, you can hear when enough by dull squirting noise as old grease is pushed out.

I used to wipe off the excess but must have missed some. It sounds like a common mistake

If you intend to go out in the rain you may need a wiper upgrade.

I disagree Doug. I grease from above with the remote kit, and also wipe off any excess grease below if needed with an old sock. I still find it easier with the remote kit. Before I was removing the front wheels every 500 miles to get the grease gun lined up properly.

I know this is history for you Craig, but there should be no need to remove wheels to grease directly. It does help to jack wheels off the ground though. The top nipples should point forward. If not they can easily be re-orientated by turning kingpin from the bottom in situ, after slightly slackening top and bottom nuts. With wheels off the ground they can then be turned fully out in turn for easy access over top of tyre. The lower stub axle nipples may be a tad more difficult to align grease gun with whilst working from below. A flex pipe on gun may help here although you should be able to manage without by orienting solid pipe to suit so you connect square on to nipple.

Thanks Richard, it was always the drivers side (RH drive) that was the most awkward with the nipple facing towards the wheel. I now have Cain's swivel nipples linked to the remote kit. I find it much easier now.