Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Grease and oil on front brake rotors. Shield?

I'm a bit shocked to learn how easily the brake rotors on our 1973 Morgan +8 get contaminated by grease and oil from the front suspension. Wonder why there is no dust shield, just as there are on most modern cars and also on our 1959 Austin Healey 3000. Any ideas where to obtain such; I'm sure my MOT man will question the current design! Pls see: https://www.ahspares.co.uk/austin-h...to-brk216/dust-shield-brake-disc-rh.aspx

If you have the OE oiler system still (many have removed and rely on greasing) then cleaning disc rotors with brake cleaner, readily available on eBay in aerosol cans, may be regularly needed. Otherwise just clean off excess grease above and below stub axle with a long old sock followed by brake cleaner. This should leave discs grease free until next front suspension lube.

Disc shields, on Classics at least, are not an MOT requirement to my knowledge.

My old mid 80`s +8 has had the oiler removed, thus lube is down to regular greasing, and cleaning the excess away.

As for the rear mounted shielding, my modern high performance sports car has the shields you type of Sensi, and it had done circa 40k miles with a 10mm wide band of corrosion round the outer edge of the inboard disc face, where the outboard face is as clean as a whistle..

The family 4x4 with circa 25K miles has similar shielding, outer disc face is good as new, and the inboard disc face has widespread corrosion to the extent that replacement is now a consideration even though it very recently passed it`s MOT at the main dealership after service..?

Back to my +8, which has had the same discs for the 20 years and the 26k miles I have driven it in that time, now with circa34k on the clock, both outer and inner faces are in similar excellent condition.. Thus perhaps the shields may be good for keeping grease off, perhaps not so good for cooling and corrosion...I don`t know for sure..

This sounds to me like the oiling system is being used a bit over-enthusiastically. I disconnected my oiling system many years ago, only ever put grease in the lower nipple (about every 1,000 miles), and am always careful to wipe away any excess from around the stub axle when I finish the greasing operation. I have never had any grease on my brake discs. If you are concerned about kingpin wear, do what everyone else does and fit hard chrome kingpins.

I grease and wipe the front weekly in Morgan season.
Big lumps of grease will otherwise accumulate on the main spring and rebound spring, creeping closer and closer to the discs, if not removed.
Some grease lumps fall of when driving and hit the inside of the wing, or the exhaust, which gives that nice engine room smell.

I put clean paper towels between to the upper spring and the disc before greasing. I then after greasing I wipe off any excess grease before removing the paper towel. I then spray the disc with disc cleaner

Thanks to all for your view and advise. Seems as I'll have to wipe off and clean discs rather frequently. The car we just bought has massive lumps of grease and oil accumulated around the discs and calipers and I'm in the process of removing it and to change the brake pads. I still find it odd that Morgan didn't installed a shield or some aftermarked solution is available. Cheers /Finn

For comparison, In the 20 years and the 26k miles I have owned and driven my plus 8 with oiler removed... I have never had to clean grease off the face of a front disc. and I suspect I greased my suspension at circa 500 mile intervals or less, cleaning up the residue after each greasing... All of which causes me to wonder what might be the root of the issue you describe..?

The front suspension of Morgans is of vintage design and requires the level of attention that any driver of a vintage vehicle might expect.... I suspect modern expectations do not apply..?

I hope you resolve the issue to your satisfaction and get on and enjoy your Morgan as the warmer weather approaches...

I think once you get rid of all the years worth of accumulated gack, it shouldn't continue to be a problem in the future.

I give the stub/kingpin base a small wipe if needed everytime I grease, but never had to touch the discs.

Definitely. When you pump the grease in, you can see the excess coming out at the base of the main spring and there's absolutely no point pumping more in than just enough to see the grease start to move. If the stub axles have an unknown history then it's a good idea to strip it all out anyway and check for wear, Then when you reassemble you can ensure the stub axles are completely packed with fresh grease.